Pet travel route
Taking a dog or cat from Lithuania → 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 Lithuania publishes little for this route. Everything it does say is here, with its wording. VMVT's page says only that the destination sets the rules, that an import permit and a veterinary certificate from an official vet may be needed, and that some procedures take months. It gives no deadline, fee or endorsement procedure for leaving Lithuania: ask VMVT (phone 1879, or +370 5 242 0108 from abroad).
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
Lithuania 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
An official vet of the country the pet leaves from approves and issues the veterinary certificate: When the destination asks for a veterinary certificate, VMVT says it is approved and issued by an official vet in the country the animal leaves from. Its form and content, and any annexes, are set by the destination country: for some countries the certificates are already published (VMVT's page links them).
VMVT's page gives no deadline for how recent the certificate must be, no fee and no booking procedure: the destination's own requirements decide, and VMVT is the place to ask.
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”
“Sertifikatą patvirtina ir išduoda oficialus veterinarijos gydytojas toje šalyje, iš kurios gyvūnas išvyksta.”
“Keliaujant iš ES į trečiąsias šalis ar teritorijas, veterinarinio sertifikato forma ir turinys bei bet kokie priedai nustatomi trečiosios šalies.”
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.
- The conditions for bringing a pet into a country outside the EU are set by that country's own national law. VMVT recommends finding out well before the trip what your pet must meet to enter that country, because some procedures can take several months.
- Check the destination's veterinary rules in advance. If the country requires it, you must get an import permit and a veterinary certificate.
- Not every country outside the EU accepts the EU pet passport. Some let dogs, cats and ferrets travel with it; others require a veterinary certificate issued by an official vet of the competent authority.
- 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 Lithuania 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.