Pet travel route
Taking a dog or cat from Finland → Canada
What the official rules ask for on this route, for a family pet travelling with its owner. Enter your travel date and your pet’s details to turn it into a dated checklist.
Limited official guidance. The authority for leaving Finland publishes little for this route. Everything it does say is here, with its wording. Ruokavirasto's page gives no deadline, fee or booking route for the certificate: the destination's conditions decide, and the municipal or city vet issues the official certificate.
How early to start
No fixed wait
if your pet has no microchip or rabies vaccination yet (the least time the official waiting periods allow)
No fixed wait
if it is already microchipped and vaccinated
Counted only from the officially fixed waiting periods. Vet, lab and paperwork appointment times are on top, so start earlier.
Which rules apply to you
Finland is in the group “Recognized by CFIA as rabies-free” in Bringing a pet dog or cat into Canada’s published list.See every group
What your dog needs
Dogs
Vaccination
Rabies vaccination certificate
Bring a valid rabies vaccination certificate — or, because you're coming from a country Canada recognizes as rabies-free, a Rabies Country-Freedom Certificate from your government vet authority instead (your dog must have lived there since birth or for the last 6 months).
Details and the official words
If the certificate doesn't state the duration of immunity, Canada treats it as valid for 1 year from the vaccination date.
If this is missed: The owner must have the pet vaccinated against rabies within a set time, at their own expense, and show the record to a CFIA office.
“a valid rabies vaccination certificate”
“a valid rabies vaccination certificate or a valid Rabies Country-Freedom Certificate”
“specify the duration of immunity (otherwise, it will be considered valid for 1 year from the date of vaccination)”
“state that the animal has been in the exporting country since birth or for at least 6 months immediately preceding the date of export to Canada”
On arrival
Healthy and transported humanely
Your dog must appear healthy on arrival and travel in line with Canada's humane transportation requirements.
Details and the official words
“the dog appears healthy and meets humane transportation requirements”
Official stamp
Health certificate for the trip, official one from a municipal or city vet
Almost always your pet must travel with a certificate about its health. It can be free-form or follow the exact model the destination sets, and, depending on the destination, it can be issued by an official vet or a private vet. An official certificate is always issued by a municipal or city vet, who must be able to confirm where the pet comes from and know the conditions for taking it to the destination.
Details and the official words
Ruokavirasto's page gives no deadline for how recent the certificate must be: the destination's own requirements decide.
“Virallisen todistuksen myöntää aina kunnan- tai kaupungineläinlääkäri”
“Voidakseen myöntää virallisen todistuksen, kunnan- tai kaupungineläinlääkärin on pystyttävä varmistumaan lemmikin alkuperästä ja tiedettävä ehdot, joilla lemmikki voidaan viedä kohdemaahan.”
Good to know
- CFIA's list of rabies-free countries is under review and may change — check it before you travel.
- Destination countries, and any countries you pass through, almost always set conditions for bringing a pet in or through. Under Finland's Animal Disease Act, whoever takes the pet out of Finland is responsible for finding out those conditions and for meeting them.
- Learn the conditions well and early, so that all the vaccinations and their waiting times are done before the trip.
- If the conditions of the destination or a transit country are not met, the pet may have to be sent back to Finland, held in isolation for a set period or put down, depending on the country. The person travelling with the pet, or the recipient in the destination, pays the costs.
- Some destinations accept the EU pet passport as proof of the animal's health, and Ruokavirasto recommends getting one for every travelling pet.
- Planning to bring your pet back to the EU? After a short stay in a non-EU country you can skip the 3-month wait after the rabies blood test, but only if, before you leave the EU, your pet was vaccinated against rabies, passed a successful titer test, and your vet recorded both in its EU pet passport. So do the blood test before you go.
What your cat needs
Cats
Vaccination
Rabies vaccination certificate
Bring a valid rabies vaccination certificate — or, because you're coming from a country Canada recognizes as rabies-free, a vet certificate (cat lived there since birth or for the last 6 months) with official government documentation that the country has been rabies-free for 6 months.
Details and the official words
If the certificate doesn't state the duration of immunity, Canada treats it as valid for 1 year from the vaccination date.
If this is missed: The owner must have the pet vaccinated against rabies within a set time, at their own expense, and show the record to a CFIA office.
“a valid rabies vaccination certificate”
“a valid rabies vaccination certificate or a valid Rabies Country-Freedom Certificate”
“specify the duration of immunity (otherwise, it will be considered valid for 1 year from the date of vaccination)”
“state that the animal has been in the exporting country since birth or for at least 6 months immediately preceding the date of export to Canada”
Official stamp
Health certificate for the trip, official one from a municipal or city vet
Almost always your pet must travel with a certificate about its health. It can be free-form or follow the exact model the destination sets, and, depending on the destination, it can be issued by an official vet or a private vet. An official certificate is always issued by a municipal or city vet, who must be able to confirm where the pet comes from and know the conditions for taking it to the destination.
Details and the official words
Ruokavirasto's page gives no deadline for how recent the certificate must be: the destination's own requirements decide.
“Virallisen todistuksen myöntää aina kunnan- tai kaupungineläinlääkäri”
“Voidakseen myöntää virallisen todistuksen, kunnan- tai kaupungineläinlääkärin on pystyttävä varmistumaan lemmikin alkuperästä ja tiedettävä ehdot, joilla lemmikki voidaan viedä kohdemaahan.”
Good to know
- CFIA's list of rabies-free countries is under review and may change — check it before you travel.
- Destination countries, and any countries you pass through, almost always set conditions for bringing a pet in or through. Under Finland's Animal Disease Act, whoever takes the pet out of Finland is responsible for finding out those conditions and for meeting them.
- Learn the conditions well and early, so that all the vaccinations and their waiting times are done before the trip.
- If the conditions of the destination or a transit country are not met, the pet may have to be sent back to Finland, held in isolation for a set period or put down, depending on the country. The person travelling with the pet, or the recipient in the destination, pays the costs.
- Some destinations accept the EU pet passport as proof of the animal's health, and Ruokavirasto recommends getting one for every travelling pet.
- Planning to bring your pet back to the EU? After a short stay in a non-EU country you can skip the 3-month wait after the rabies blood test, but only if, before you leave the EU, your pet was vaccinated against rabies, passed a successful titer test, and your vet recorded both in its EU pet passport. So do the blood test before you go.
Common questions
Does my dog need a rabies blood test to go from Finland to Canada?
No. The official rules we have verified for this route don't ask for a rabies blood test.
Do I need an import permit to bring my dog into Canada?
No. The official rules we have verified for this route don't ask for an import permit.
Will my dog be quarantined in Canada?
Not on the routes we have verified: the official rules list no quarantine for a pet that meets the requirements.
Does my dog need a microchip?
The official rules we have verified for this route don't list a microchip requirement.