Pet travel route
Taking a dog or cat from Luxembourg → 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 Luxembourg publishes little for this route. Everything it does say is here, with its wording. The portal gives no deadline or fee for the certificate or for ALVA's authentication: book the appointment early and ask ALVA what your destination needs.
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
Luxembourg is in the group “Not on CFIA's rabies-free list” 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 (in English or French, signed by a licensed vet, showing the vaccine and how long it protects). CFIA doesn't list a waiting period after vaccination.
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
Your vet issues the health certificate; ALVA's official vets can authenticate it by appointment
If the destination asks for a veterinary certificate on the animal's health (an 'animal health certificate'), your own vet can issue it. ALVA's official vets (animal health and welfare department) can then authenticate the certificate and the details in the EU pet passport, after an inspection, with a stamp and their signature: you must book an appointment.
Details and the official words
The portal gives no deadline for how recent the certificate must be: the destination's own requirements decide.
“Wird eine tierärztliche Bescheinigung über den Gesundheitszustand (animal health certificate) des Tieres verlangt, so kann diese vom behandelnden Tierarzt ausgestellt werden.”
“Die offiziellen Tierärzte der ALVA, Abteilung für Tiergesundheit und Tierwohl, können, nach Terminvereinbarung, dieses Gesundheitszertifikat und die Angaben im Heimtierausweis nach einer Kontrolle mit einem Stempel und ihrer Unterschrift beglaubigen.”
Good to know
- Each country sets its own entry rules for pets, so find out from the destination's authorities, in good time, which documents your pet needs.
- If the destination asks for a rabies antibody titer test, contact your own vet, who arranges the blood sample.
- To come back from other non-EU countries the pet has to have the rabies antibody titer test before it leaves the EU, and your vet must enter the result in the EU pet passport before it leaves.
- 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 (in English or French, signed by a licensed vet, showing the vaccine and how long it protects). CFIA doesn't list a waiting period after vaccination.
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
Your vet issues the health certificate; ALVA's official vets can authenticate it by appointment
If the destination asks for a veterinary certificate on the animal's health (an 'animal health certificate'), your own vet can issue it. ALVA's official vets (animal health and welfare department) can then authenticate the certificate and the details in the EU pet passport, after an inspection, with a stamp and their signature: you must book an appointment.
Details and the official words
The portal gives no deadline for how recent the certificate must be: the destination's own requirements decide.
“Wird eine tierärztliche Bescheinigung über den Gesundheitszustand (animal health certificate) des Tieres verlangt, so kann diese vom behandelnden Tierarzt ausgestellt werden.”
“Die offiziellen Tierärzte der ALVA, Abteilung für Tiergesundheit und Tierwohl, können, nach Terminvereinbarung, dieses Gesundheitszertifikat und die Angaben im Heimtierausweis nach einer Kontrolle mit einem Stempel und ihrer Unterschrift beglaubigen.”
Good to know
- Each country sets its own entry rules for pets, so find out from the destination's authorities, in good time, which documents your pet needs.
- If the destination asks for a rabies antibody titer test, contact your own vet, who arranges the blood sample.
- To come back from other non-EU countries the pet has to have the rabies antibody titer test before it leaves the EU, and your vet must enter the result in the EU pet passport before it leaves.
- 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 Luxembourg 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.