Pet travel route
Taking a dog or cat from Finland → Peru
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.
We’re re-checking these rules. An official source they rely on has changed since we last verified them, so something here may be out of date. Before you book or travel, confirm the details with the official authority.
- Conoce los requisitos para la salida e ingreso de mascotas al país (SENASA, 12 January 2020) · page changed, noticed 12 Oct 2026
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.
Limited official guidance. The authority for entering Peru publishes little for this route. Everything it does say is here, with its wording. SENASA states these requirements in a press note (29 November 2024) and an older page (2020), not in a regulation we could read. They give no deadline for the certificate, no blood test, no quarantine rule and no list of accepted origin countries, and the fees quoted in them are old. Ask SENASA (viajacontumascota@senasa.gob.pe) what applies to your route. Customs (SUNAT) has its own rules for the pet's arrival.
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.
What your dog or cat needs
Vaccination
Rabies vaccination (pets 3 months or older)
The rabies vaccine is compulsory for dogs and cats from 3 months of age, and the vaccination must be valid on the health certificate.
Details and the official words
“La vacuna de Rabia es obligatoria para ambas mascotas a partir de los 3 meses de edad”
Vaccination
Valid core vaccinations on the certificate
The export certificate must list current vaccines: for dogs canine parvovirus, distemper, canine hepatitis, leptospirosis and rabies; for cats feline panleukopenia and rabies.
Details and the official words
“(en perros: Parvovirus canino, Distemper canino, Hepatitis canina, Leptospirosis y Rabia; y en gatos: Panleucopenia felina y Rabia).”
Treatment
Internal and external parasite treatment before travel
Your pet is treated against internal and external parasites shortly before travel and the certificate says so. We plan for within 15 days (SENASA's 2024 note says 30 days, its 2020 page 15).
The official wording is ambiguous. Confirm this point with the authority.
Details and the official words
SENASA's two pages give different windows (30 and 15 days): the stricter is shown. Ask SENASA.
“además de la desparasitación interna y externa realizada dentro de los 30 días previos al viaje.”
“Desparasitación (interna y externa) realizada dentro de los 15 días previos del viaje.”
Paperwork
Original export health certificate from the official authority of the country you come from
Bring the original export health certificate issued by the official authority of the country of origin. It must give the pet's current vaccines, the parasite treatment and its state of health. SENASA's notes give no deadline for how recent it must be: ask SENASA.
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.
“Certificado sanitario de exportación original emitido por la Autoridad Oficial del país de procedencia que consigne la siguiente información”
“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.”
On arrival
Present the documents to SENASA on arrival and pass the clinical inspection
The owner or an agent takes an application with their details and the pet's, and the certificate, to the SENASA office at Jorge Chávez airport (or another international airport or land border post). A SENASA vet then examines the pet for signs of infectious or parasitic disease and decides whether it can continue with the entry procedure.
Details and the official words
“El propietario o apoderado de la mascota debe presentar en la oficina de SENASA, ubicada en el aeropuerto Jorge Chávez y otros terminales aéreos internacionales del interior del país, así como en puestos de control fronterizos (vía terrestre), los siguientes documentos:”
“Posteriormente, se realiza la inspección clínica a la mascota para detectar la presencia de algún signo de enfermedad infectocontagiosa o parasitaria.”
Good to know
- SENASA's 2024 note asks for the parasite treatment within 30 days before travel; its 2020 page says within 15 days. We plan for 15 days, which satisfies both: confirm with SENASA.
- 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 Peru?
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 Peru?
No. The official rules we have verified for this route don't ask for an import permit.
Will my dog or cat be quarantined in Peru?
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.