Bringing a dog or cat to Serbia: official requirements

Entering Serbia

What your pet needs

In the order you do them. Rules marked “Applies when” are only for some pets, origins or routes.

1. Get ready

   Weeks or months ahead: the steps with waiting periods, so start here.

   1. Identification

      Microchip, before the rabies vaccination

      Your pet must be permanently identified with a microchip (or a clearly readable tattoo applied before 3 July 2011). The identification must come before any rabies vaccination (and any antibody test).

      Details and the official words

      “1) животиње треба да буду трајно обележене -микрочип;”

      “тетовираном пре 3. јула 2011. године, а то означавање мора претходити свакој вакцинацији”

   2. Vaccination

      Rabies vaccination at 12 weeks or older, 21 days before entry

      Applies when: except when you do not travel from an unlisted country and you know your pet’s birth date and your pet is under 3 months old on arrival

      Your pet must be vaccinated against rabies with an inactivated vaccine (at least one antigenic unit per dose, WHO standard) or a recombinant vaccine, given at 12 weeks of age or older. After a first vaccination, wait 21 days before entering Serbia. A booster given after the previous vaccination expired counts as a first vaccination.

      Details and the official words

      “2) да су кућни љубимци вакцинисани против беснила са најмање једном антигенском јединицом по дози (препорука Светске здравствене организације); или рекомбинована вакцина која изражава имунизујући гликопротеин вируса беснила у живом вирусном вектору и да је протекао 21 дан од дана вакцинације, у случају прве вакцинације против беснила;”

      “Период ваљаности вакцинације почиње успостављањем заштитног имунитета, које није краћи од 21 дан од примарне вакцинације”

      “were at least 12 weeks old at the time of vaccination against rabies”

      “Any revaccination must be considered a primary vaccination if it was not carried out within the period of validity of a previous vaccination.”

   3. Blood test

      Unlisted countries: rabies antibody test, 3 months before

      Applies when: you travel from an unlisted country

      Because your pet comes from a country on neither of Serbia's lists, an authorised vet takes a blood sample at least 30 days after the rabies vaccination for an antibody test at an EU-approved laboratory (at least 0.5 IU/ml). The sample must be taken at least 3 months before the certificate is issued and your pet travels. The test needn't be repeated if later boosters were given on time.

      Details and the official words

      “4) да је кућни љубимац био подвргнут тестирању серума крви на висину титра специфичних неутрализирајућих антитела против вируса беснила, и то са граничним титром од најмање 0,5 IU/ml у лабораторији која је овлашћена од стране Европске уније, најмање 30 дана после вакцинације и три месеца пре изношења, с тим што се тестирање серума крви не мора понављати за животиње које су после претходне титрације биле редовно ревакцинисане у интервалима одређеним у упутству произвођача вакцине;”

      “Тест титрације антитела против беснила мора се обавити на узорку узетом барем 30 дана након датума вакцинације и најмање три месеца пре датума некомерцијалног кретања.”

      “at least 3 months prior to the date of issue of this certificate, proved an antibody titre equal to or greater than 0,5 lU/ml”

2. In the days before you travel

   Paperwork, treatments and stamps that must be recent when your pet travels.

   1. Paperwork

      Pet passport (EU and listed European countries)

      Applies when: you travel from an Annex 1 country (EU and pet-passport Europe)

      From an EU country or Andorra, Switzerland, the Faroe Islands, Gibraltar, Greenland, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Monaco, Norway, San Marino or the Vatican, your pet travels with a correctly completed pet passport issued by an authorised vet of that country. No veterinary certificate is needed.

      Details and the official words

      “4) да кућне љубимце прати исправно попуњен пасош издат од овлашћеног ветеринара одређене земље.”

      “Кућне љубимце псе, мачке и крзнашице не треба да прати ветеринарски сертификат издат од стране надлежног ветеринарског органа.”

   2. Paperwork

      Serbian model health certificate, valid 10 days

      Applies when: you do not travel from an Annex 1 country (EU and pet-passport Europe)

      Your pet travels with Serbia's model animal health certificate for non-commercial movement (Annex 7), issued by an authorised vet and endorsed by the competent authority of the country it comes from. It is valid for 10 days from issue until the document and identity check at the border (longer by the length of a sea crossing). Attach certified copies of the identification and vaccination details and, if a test was needed, of the laboratory report.

      Details and the official words

      “4) да животињу прати сертификат издат од стране надлежног органа земље из које долази;”

      “да су праћени исправно попуњеним обрасцем уверења (сертификат) из члана 15. став 1. тачка 1) овог правилника, који је издат од стране овлашћеног ветеринара и оверен од надлежног органа одређене земље”

      “This certificate is valid for 10 days from the date of issue by the official veterinarian until the date of the documentary and identity checks at the designated”

      “A certified copy of the identification and vaccination details of the animals concerned shall be attached to the certificate.”

   3. Paperwork

      Pets under 16 weeks: declaration of no contact with wild animals

      Applies when: you do not travel from an unlisted country and you know your pet’s birth date and your pet is under 3 months old on arrival

      A pet under 12 weeks that isn't vaccinated against rabies (or between 12 and 16 weeks, vaccinated less than 21 days ago) may enter from a listed country if you sign the declaration (Annex 5) that since birth it has had no contact with wild animals susceptible to rabies, or if it travels with its mother, on whom it still depends, and the mother's passport shows she was vaccinated against rabies before it was born. A pet aged 12 weeks or more must already be vaccinated.

      The official wording is ambiguous. Confirm this point with the authority.

      Details and the official words

      Ages are counted in whole months here: a pet of 2 full months may already be 12 weeks old, and must then be vaccinated before entry.

      For Annex 2 countries the page says the exception applies only if the country has a 'favourable epizootic situation regarding rabies', and the certificate asks that Serbia has 'informed the public' that it allows it. Serbia doesn't publish which countries those are: ask the Veterinary Directorate before travelling with a young pet from an Annex 2 country.

      “Уколико је животиња млађа од 12 недеља или има између 12 и 16 недеља може да уђе ако:”

      “1) власник или овлашћено лице доставе потписану изјаву да кућни љубимци од рођења до тренутка некомерцијалног кретања нису имали никакав контакт са дивљим животињама пријемчивим на беснило; или”

      “су кућни љубимци у пратњи своје мајке од које су још увек зависни”

      “Ако је земљи која се налази на листи Прилога 2 повољна епизотиолошка ситуација у вези беснила, животиње млађе од 12 недеља или имају између 12 и 16 недеља могу да уђу из тих земаља ако:”

   4. Paperwork

      Someone else brings your pet: written authorisation, within 5 days of your trip

      Applies when: someone else brings the pet (you are not travelling with it)

      If you don't travel with your pet, the person bringing it needs your written authorisation, and the pet must travel within 5 days of your own journey (you may be asked for proof, such as a boarding pass). The certificate includes your declaration that the trip isn't for sale or change of ownership.

      Details and the official words

      The 5-day limit is stated in the certificate (for pets from Annex 2 and unlisted countries); the rulebook defines the authorised person for every origin.

      “овлашћено лице јесте било које физичко лице које је власник писмено овластио за некомерцијално кретање кућних љубимаца у име власника”

      “owner or the natural person who has authorisation in writing from the owner to carry out the non-commercial movement of the animals on behalf of the owner within not more than 5 days of his movement”

      “The evidence referred to in point II.1 (e.g. boarding pass, flight ticket)”

Worked out from the rules

How long it takes from each country

For a pet coming from each country: the group Serbia’s rules put it in, and the least time the official waiting periods allow. Tap a country for the full route.

Money

What it costs to enter Serbia

Serbia’s government fees, exactly as the official pages state them, and what the rules make you pay for.

Where your pet comes from matters

Country groups

Serbia puts every country in a group, and the group decides some of the rules. Our short name comes first; the official name is underneath.

Check first

When this doesn’t work

• Not covered by us yet

  When you bring 6 or more pets.

  An owner or authorised person may bring at most five dogs, cats or ferrets as a non-commercial movement. More are allowed only for competitions, shows or sporting events (pets over six months, with proof of registration); otherwise the general veterinary import rules apply. We don't cover those cases.

• Not covered by us yet

  When the pet is being sold, adopted or rehomed.

  A pet that changes owner (sold or given away) is a commercial movement: a person or shipping agent in Serbia applies to the Veterinary Directorate for an import decision, which takes 10 working days, and a separate import certificate is used. We don't cover that case yet.

• Not covered by us yet

  When you travel from an unlisted country and you know your pet’s birth date and your pet is under 4 months old on arrival.

  The non-commercial rules don't cover pets under 16 weeks (unvaccinated, or vaccinated less than 21 days ago) from a country on neither of Serbia's lists. A pet from such a country also needs the antibody test, taken at least 30 days after the vaccination and 3 months before travel, so it can't meet the rules this young. Ask the Veterinary Directorate.

Notes

Good to know

• Serbia's country lists date from 2019, when the United Kingdom was in the EU, and haven't been updated: the UK is on neither list today. We therefore show the rules for unlisted countries (official certificate and rabies antibody test). Ask the Veterinary Directorate (vetuprava@minpolj.gov.rs) whether a UK pet passport or certificate without the test is accepted.Applies when: you travel from the United Kingdom or Northern Ireland (UK)
• If your pet passes through a country that is on neither of Serbia's lists, you must sign a declaration that during the transit it had no contact with animals susceptible to rabies and stayed inside the means of transport or the international airport (Declaration, Annex 6).Applies when: your route passes through another country and you do not travel from an unlisted country

Where this comes from

Official sources

Questions owners ask