Pet travel route
Taking a dog or cat from Ireland → 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.
How early to start
9 weeks
if your pet has no microchip or rabies vaccination yet (the least time the official waiting periods allow)
9 weeks
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
Ireland 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”
Notice
Contact your Regional Veterinary Office at least 2 months before you travel
Contact your Regional Veterinary Office at least 2 months before the trip so it can certify the documents. The department may not be able to sign your pet's documents if you contact it later.
Details and the official words
“make sure you plan well in advance and contact the Regional Veterinary Office at least 2 months in advance of travel to ensure that necessary documentation can be certified by department officials”
“The department may not be able to sign documentation for your pet to travel if you have not contacted your Regional Veterinary Office at least two months in advance of travel with your pet.”
Official stamp
Government stamp and signature from your Regional Veterinary Office
The most likely scenario: you and your private vet prepare the pet (vaccinations, blood tests and so on) and fill in the health certificate the destination asks for, then you bring it to your local Regional Veterinary Office for a government stamp and signature.
Details and the official words
DAFM's page gives no deadline for how recent the certificate must be: the destination's own requirements decide.
“The most likely scenario is that you and your private vet will prepare the pet (vaccinations, blood tests etc.) and provide a health certificate, that you can then bring to your local Regional Veterinary Office to get a government stamp and signature”
Good to know
- CFIA's list of rabies-free countries is under review and may change — check it before you travel.
- Ireland does not keep the entry (certification) requirements of other countries: contact the destination country for them, then follow its instructions for the health certificate. Allow enough time for any required tests.
- No tapeworm treatment is needed to leave Ireland. A dog needs the treatment from a vet abroad before it returns to Ireland.
- Make sure your pet qualifies to return to Ireland: the same rules apply to re-enter from a non-EU country whether the pet usually lives there or is an Irish pet that was there briefly on holiday.
- 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”
Notice
Contact your Regional Veterinary Office at least 2 months before you travel
Contact your Regional Veterinary Office at least 2 months before the trip so it can certify the documents. The department may not be able to sign your pet's documents if you contact it later.
Details and the official words
“make sure you plan well in advance and contact the Regional Veterinary Office at least 2 months in advance of travel to ensure that necessary documentation can be certified by department officials”
“The department may not be able to sign documentation for your pet to travel if you have not contacted your Regional Veterinary Office at least two months in advance of travel with your pet.”
Official stamp
Government stamp and signature from your Regional Veterinary Office
The most likely scenario: you and your private vet prepare the pet (vaccinations, blood tests and so on) and fill in the health certificate the destination asks for, then you bring it to your local Regional Veterinary Office for a government stamp and signature.
Details and the official words
DAFM's page gives no deadline for how recent the certificate must be: the destination's own requirements decide.
“The most likely scenario is that you and your private vet will prepare the pet (vaccinations, blood tests etc.) and provide a health certificate, that you can then bring to your local Regional Veterinary Office to get a government stamp and signature”
Good to know
- CFIA's list of rabies-free countries is under review and may change — check it before you travel.
- Ireland does not keep the entry (certification) requirements of other countries: contact the destination country for them, then follow its instructions for the health certificate. Allow enough time for any required tests.
- No tapeworm treatment is needed to leave Ireland. A dog needs the treatment from a vet abroad before it returns to Ireland.
- Make sure your pet qualifies to return to Ireland: the same rules apply to re-enter from a non-EU country whether the pet usually lives there or is an Irish pet that was there briefly on holiday.
- 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 Ireland 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.