Bringing a dog or cat into Switzerland

The short version

• Rabies blood test for some origins
• Import permit for some pets
• Designated entry point for some trips
• Some origins not allowed

How early to start

The least time the officially fixed waiting periods allow, by where your dog is coming from. Vet, lab and paperwork appointment times come on top.

Where your pet is coming from matters

Switzerland sorts countries into groups. These are the groups exactly as the authority publishes them (Switzerland: countries by rabies status for dogs, cats and ferrets (FSVO list, status 06.2026), checked 2026-10-08).

• The FSVO lists Spain with the Balearic and Canary Islands, Ceuta and Melilla; France with French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Saint-Martin, Martinique, Reunion and Mayotte; Portugal with the Azores and Madeira — all group 1.
• The list's own codes 'NI' (Northern Ireland) and 'AC' (Ascension Island) are written here as ISO 3166-2 GB-NIR and SH-AC. 'Great Britain' is group 2, so GB-NIR is listed separately.
• The list 'applies with reservation as to temporary sanitary restrictions' (FSVO protective measures).

Every requirement

For every pet

1. 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”

2. 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”

Depends on your pet or your route

1. Blood test

   Rabies antibody blood test (titer)

   Applies when: your pet has been in a place in the group “Group 3: rabies risk countries (everything not in groups 1 and 2) — titer test, 3-month wait, FSVO licence for direct flights” in the last 6 months

   Because your pet comes from (or was recently in) a rabies-risk country, a vet takes a blood sample at least 30 days after the rabies vaccination and an EU-approved laboratory must measure at least 0.5 IU/ml. Your pet can enter Switzerland no earlier than 3 months after the blood sample.

   Details and the official words

   The FSVO says the 3-month wait applies to the first entry and to animals vaccinated and/or tested in a third country. We always show it; a Swiss pet tested in Switzerland before it left may not need to wait — check with the FSVO.

   List of approved labs: 'EU-designated laboratories for performing rabies antibody titration tests' (linked from the FSVO page).

   If this is missed: If the waiting period isn't over, the FSVO writes the earliest entry date on the licence ('import not before').

   “To confirm the effectiveness of rabies vaccination, a rabies antibody test (titration) from a designated laboratory is required and long waiting times have to be complied with.”

   “only tests from EU-approved laboratories and with blood samples that were taken at least 30 days after rabies vaccination are valid”

   “enter 3 months at the earliest after the blood sampling. This applies to the first entry and for animals that were vaccinated and/or tested in a third country”

2. Permit

   FSVO import licence (flying in from a rabies-risk country)

   Applies when: your pet has been in a place in the group “Group 3: rabies risk countries (everything not in groups 1 and 2) — titer test, 3-month wait, FSVO licence for direct flights” in the last 6 months

   For a pet flying into Zurich, Geneva or Basel from (or after a stay in) a rabies-risk country, send the FSVO application form (one per animal, with the microchip, vaccination and lab report proofs) to infobew@blv.admin.ch at least 21 days before the planned entry date.

   Details and the official words

   The licence is needed when the pet enters by direct flight through Zurich, Geneva or Basel airport and travels with its owner (or a person with written power of attorney).

   If the licence says 'only valid with veterinary certificate', the pet also needs the health certificate below.

   “For direct entry by plane an import licence from the FSVO is also required”

   “sent 21 days at the latest before the planned date of entry”

3. Paperwork

   Pet passport

   Applies when: the country you travel from is in the group: Group 1: EU member states and other European states and territories using approved pet passports (free of urban rabies)

   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.”

4. Paperwork

   Veterinary health certificate

   Applies when: it is not true that the country you travel from is in the group: Group 1: EU member states and other European states and territories using approved pet passports (free of urban rabies)

   Your pet needs the veterinary health certificate (EU model) issued by the authorities of the country you're travelling from. It's valid for 10 days from issue to the entry check. If your pet already met Switzerland's requirements before it left (e.g. a Swiss pet coming home), a valid Swiss or EU pet passport is enough instead.

   Details and the official words

   “If your animal already meets the necessary requirements before travelling to Switzerland, you will need a valid Swiss or EU pet passport.”

   “If your animal does not meet the requirements that apply in Switzerland, or the animal is travelling to Switzerland for the first time, you will need the veterinary certificate below, which is issued by the authorities in the exporting country”

   “This animal health certificate is valid for 10 days from the date of issue by the official veterinarian”

   “not less than 90 days prior to the date of issue of this animal health certificate”

5. Paperwork

   Written declaration if someone else brings your pet

   Applies when: someone else brings the pet (you are not travelling with it) and the country you travel from is in the group: Group 1: EU member states and other European states and territories using approved pet passports (free of urban rabies)

   If you can't travel with your pet, an authorised person may bring it, but you must travel within 5 days before or after the pet, and your written declaration must go with the pet passport.

   Details and the official words

   “In such cases, the owner must travel between five days before and five days after the pet. In addition, a written declaration by the owner must be enclosed with the pet passport.”

6. Route

   Entry check at an approved entry point

   Applies when: it is not true that the country you travel from is in the group: Group 1: EU member states and other European states and territories using approved pet passports (free of urban rabies)

   Coming from outside Europe, your pet must have an entry check: fly into Basel, Geneva or Zurich (in the cabin or as excess baggage) and take the red customs exit with your pet and its documents.

   Details and the official words

   If this is missed: During the mandatory entry control, animals with missing documents are refused entry.

   “An entry control must always be carried out. You must present the animal at the red customs exit.”

   “Animals can be directly brought into Switzerland by plane either accompanied (in the passenger cabin or as excess luggage) via the airports in Basel, Geneva or Zurich”

When this route doesn’t work

• Not covered by us yet · The pet is being sold, adopted or rehomed, or you bring 6 or more pets

  Bringing more than five dogs, cats or ferrets, or pets that will be sold or given to someone else, falls under Switzerland's commercial import rules. We don't cover commercial imports yet (there is an exception for more than five animals going to a competition or show).

• Not covered by us yet · Someone else brings the pet (you are not travelling with it) and it is not true that the country you travel from is in the group: Group 1: EU member states and other European states and territories using approved pet passports (free of urban rabies)

  From outside Europe, a pet travelling without its owner can only enter as air freight, with special formalities (for example, proof the pet already belonged to you in the country of origin, assessed by the FSVO). We don't cover this case yet.

• Not allowed · Your pet has been in a place in the group “Group 3: rabies risk countries (everything not in groups 1 and 2) — titer test, 3-month wait, FSVO licence for direct flights” in the last 6 months and your pet is under 7 months old on arrival

  Switzerland does not allow dogs, cats or ferrets under 7 months old to enter from a country with a high risk of rabies (the titer test and its waiting time can't be completed any sooner).

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.When: Your pet is a dog
• Young pets that haven't finished the rabies vaccination programme can enter Switzerland from the EU or a low-risk country with a special owner declaration (puppies and kittens up to 16 weeks). Our plan below assumes the standard route with a valid rabies vaccination.When: The country you travel from is in the group: Group 1: EU member states and other European states and territories using approved pet passports (free of urban rabies) or Group 2: countries with low risk of rabies — no titer test and it is not true that your pet has been in a place in the group “Group 3: rabies risk countries (everything not in groups 1 and 2) — titer test, 3-month wait, FSVO licence for direct flights” in the last 6 months and your pet is under 4 months old on arrival
• The FSVO's country list applies subject to temporary protective (sanitary) measures. Check the FSVO's current protective measures for the country you travel from.When: It is not true that the country you travel from is in the group: Group 1: EU member states and other European states and territories using approved pet passports (free of urban rabies)
• Your pet has been in a rabies-risk country in the last 6 months, so Switzerland applies the rabies-risk rules: a titer test, a 3-month wait after the blood sample, and an FSVO licence if it flies into Zurich, Geneva or Basel.When: It is not true that the country you travel from is in the group: Group 3: rabies risk countries (everything not in groups 1 and 2) — titer test, 3-month wait, FSVO licence for direct flights and your pet has been in a place in the group “Group 3: rabies risk countries (everything not in groups 1 and 2) — titer test, 3-month wait, FSVO licence for direct flights” in the last 6 months