Pet travel route
Taking a dog or cat from Malta → Switzerland
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
3 weeks
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
Malta is in the group “Group 1: EU member states and other European states and territories using approved pet passports (free of urban rabies)” in Bringing a dog, cat or ferret into Switzerland’s published list.See every group
Headlines for Switzerland
- Rabies blood test for some origins
- Import permit for some pets
- Designated entry point for some trips
- Some origins not allowed
What your dog needs
Dogs
Taking a dog or cat out of an EU country (national procedure not yet verified): we summarised this from a short or older official page and it is still under review, so it may be incomplete.
Identification
Microchip
Your pet must be microchipped before (or at the same time as) its rabies vaccination.
Details and the official words
“All animals must be chipped (before the rabies vaccination) and must have a valid rabies vaccination and the necessary supporting documents.”
“vaccinations are valid only after microchip implantation”
Vaccination
Rabies vaccination
Your pet must be at least 12 weeks old when first vaccinated. The vaccination becomes valid 21 days later; keep boosters up to date so there's no gap.
Details and the official words
“The first vaccination is possible from the age of 12 weeks.”
“It only takes effect (in other words becomes valid) 21 days later.”
“above an age of 12 weeks and without lapses in vaccination”
Paperwork
Pet passport
From the EU and the other European countries on the FSVO list, your pet needs a recognised pet passport showing its microchip and valid rabies vaccination.
Details and the official words
“To travel to Switzerland from the EU, dogs, cats and ferrets must generally meet three requirements: they need a microchip, a valid rabies vaccination and a recognised pet passport.”
Good to know
- Switzerland bans importing dogs with docked tails or cropped ears. Owners living abroad may bring such a dog for a holiday or short stay against a deposit at customs, and people moving to Switzerland may bring theirs as household effects (ask customs first). A dog with a naturally short tail needs FSVO confirmation, applied for at least 3 weeks before arrival.
- EU rules on pet travel cover moving between EU countries and entering the EU. They do not set the rules for entering a non-EU country: the destination does that. Each member state's veterinary authority issues or endorses the certificate a destination asks for. For this country we could not read an official national page that describes that procedure (the site was unreachable from our checks, blocks automated reading, or the instructions are not in the page text), so we show only the EU-wide rule below. Ask your vet or your national veterinary authority which certificate, stamp and timing your destination needs.
- 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
Taking a dog or cat out of an EU country (national procedure not yet verified): we summarised this from a short or older official page and it is still under review, so it may be incomplete.
Identification
Microchip
Your pet must be microchipped before (or at the same time as) its rabies vaccination.
Details and the official words
“All animals must be chipped (before the rabies vaccination) and must have a valid rabies vaccination and the necessary supporting documents.”
“vaccinations are valid only after microchip implantation”
Vaccination
Rabies vaccination
Your pet must be at least 12 weeks old when first vaccinated. The vaccination becomes valid 21 days later; keep boosters up to date so there's no gap.
Details and the official words
“The first vaccination is possible from the age of 12 weeks.”
“It only takes effect (in other words becomes valid) 21 days later.”
“above an age of 12 weeks and without lapses in vaccination”
Paperwork
Pet passport
From the EU and the other European countries on the FSVO list, your pet needs a recognised pet passport showing its microchip and valid rabies vaccination.
Details and the official words
“To travel to Switzerland from the EU, dogs, cats and ferrets must generally meet three requirements: they need a microchip, a valid rabies vaccination and a recognised pet passport.”
Good to know
- EU rules on pet travel cover moving between EU countries and entering the EU. They do not set the rules for entering a non-EU country: the destination does that. Each member state's veterinary authority issues or endorses the certificate a destination asks for. For this country we could not read an official national page that describes that procedure (the site was unreachable from our checks, blocks automated reading, or the instructions are not in the page text), so we show only the EU-wide rule below. Ask your vet or your national veterinary authority which certificate, stamp and timing your destination needs.
- 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 Malta to Switzerland?
We couldn't find this in our summary of the rules, but that summary is short and still under review. Ask the official authority before you rely on it.
Do I need an import permit to bring my dog into Switzerland?
We couldn't find this in our summary of the rules, but that summary is short and still under review. Ask the official authority before you rely on it.
Will my dog be quarantined in Switzerland?
We couldn't find this in our summary of the rules, but that summary is short and still under review. Ask the official authority before you rely on it.
Does my dog need a microchip?
Yes: Your pet must be microchipped before (or at the same time as) its rabies vaccination.