Pet travel route
Taking a dog or cat from Finland → Mexico
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 “Any other country — Certificate of Good Health (15 days)” in Mexico’s published list.See every group
Headlines for Mexico
- Import permit needed
What your dog or cat needs
Permit
Zoosanitary Import Certificate (CZI) on arrival
On arrival, ask SENASICA staff at the airport, port or border for the CZI application form for your dog or cat (you can also download it beforehand).
Details and the official words
“you must request the Zoosanitary Import Certificate (CZI) at our offices located at all points of entry into the country (ports, airports, and borders).”
On arrival
Physical inspection on arrival
SENASICA inspects your pet on arrival to check its health. Pets with recent wounds or parasites need treatment first.
Details and the official words
“a physical inspection of your animal will be carried out to verify its health status”
Paperwork
Certificate of Good Health (issued within 15 days)
Bring the original and a copy of a Certificate of Good Health issued no more than 15 days before you arrive, by an official vet or a private vet on letterhead with their licence number. It must show your pet's rabies vaccination (date and validity), that it was healthy at the pre-travel exam, and that it was dewormed inside and out in the last 6 months and is free of external parasites.
Details and the official words
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.
Ruokavirasto's page gives no deadline for how recent the certificate must be: the destination's own requirements decide.
If this is missed: You must use a private vet in Mexico to treat your pet and issue the certificate, at your cost.
“you must present a Certificate of Good Health with a maximum validity of 15 days from its date of issuance”
“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.”
Vaccination
Rabies vaccination (recorded on the certificate)
Your pet's rabies vaccination date and its validity must be on the Certificate of Good Health. Pets under 3 months old are exempt.
Details and the official words
“Date of administration of the rabies vaccine and its period of validity (animals under 3 months of age are exempt).”
Treatment
Internal and external deworming
Your pet must be dewormed internally and externally within the 6 months before travel and be free of external parasites — this goes on the Certificate of Good Health.
Details and the official words
“That the animal(s) have been dewormed internally and externally within the six months prior to travel and are free of ectoparasites.”
Good to know
- Mexico removes and destroys crate bedding, diapers, newspaper, sawdust, rags, toys and treats made with ruminant ingredients. Travel with a clean crate — it will be sprayed on arrival. Collar and leash are fine.
- If parasites such as ticks are found at the inspection, you must pay a vet in Mexico to treat your pet before it's released.
- 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 or cat need a rabies blood test to go from Finland to Mexico?
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 or cat into Mexico?
Yes: On arrival, ask SENASICA staff at the airport, port or border for the CZI application form for your dog or cat (you can also download it beforehand).
Will my dog or cat be quarantined in Mexico?
Not on the routes we have verified: the official rules list no quarantine for a pet that meets the requirements.
Does my dog or cat need a microchip?
The official rules we have verified for this route don't list a microchip requirement.