Pet travel route
Taking a dog or cat from Luxembourg → 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 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 “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
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.
The portal 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”
“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.”
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.
- 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 or cat need a rabies blood test to go from Luxembourg 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.