Guide · Settling in
Bringing your dog or cat to France: the order that decides the date
Identification, then vaccination, then passport: the order is a rule and not a convenience. Why a vaccination given too early is not recognised, and how to avoid travelling without your pet.
It is the simplest step of a move and the one that pushes back the most departures. It comes down to three documents, and everything turns on the order in which they are obtained.
Three documents, one order
Electronic identification comes first. A chip meeting the international standard, readable by the scanners used in France. Everything else attaches to it: it is what links a document to one particular animal.
Rabies vaccination comes next, and only next. A first vaccination given after the chip is fitted, never before. A waiting period runs after that first injection before the vaccination counts as valid for travel.
The passport or health certificate closes the list. From a Member State of the Union, it is the European pet passport. From a third country, it is a health certificate drawn up by an authorised vet, with the requirements specific to the country of departure.
The mistake that costs weeks
It is always the same, and it comes from a reasonable reflex: having the animal vaccinated as soon as you decide to leave, then identifying it afterwards because that is a formality.
A rabies vaccination given before identification is not recognised. Nothing then links the vaccine to the animal, and no vet can certify it. The first vaccination must therefore be redone after the chip is fitted, and the waiting period restarts from zero.
It is the one mistake in a move that can separate a family from its pet for several weeks. It is not corrected, it is started again.
The calendar, first and not last
The practical consequence is simple: this step is launched before all the others, before even getting a transport quote.
The waiting period after the first vaccination is incompressible, and it adds to the time needed to obtain the certificate, which varies by country of departure. Started the day the settling date takes shape, the step raises no problem. Started a month before departure, it pushes back the animal’s departure, and sometimes the household’s.
Check too, very early, the health requirements specific to your country: some impose additional tests whose results take time, and they are not usefully discovered the night before.
The transport itself
It is handled with the mover or separately, depending on the species, the size and the airline chosen. It is the most visible and least constraining part: once the three documents are in order, it is arranged in a few days.
That is in fact the right moment to raise it with the carrier, since a quote is discussed on its commitments and not only on its total, and a pet almost never appears on one spontaneously.
A final point, belonging to the same file: from a third country, the animal is not part of the container load and does not come under customs relief. The three conditions of that relief bear on personal belongings, and an animal is not one within the meaning of the regulation.
Frequently asked questions
Why does the order identification then vaccination matter?
Because a rabies vaccination given before electronic identification is not recognised: nothing then links the vaccine to the animal. It must be redone after the chip is fitted, and the waiting period following the first vaccination restarts from zero. It is the most frequent mistake, and the only one that makes an animal travel weeks after its family.
Is a European passport enough from a third country?
No. The European pet passport is issued within the Union; from a third country a health certificate drawn up by an authorised vet plays that role, with the requirements specific to the country of departure. The base is the same, identification then a valid vaccination, but the final document differs and takes longer to obtain.
When should the process be started?
First, before even getting a moving quote. It is the only step whose calendar cannot be caught up: the waiting period after the first vaccination is incompressible, and it adds to the time needed to obtain the certificate. Started the day the settling date takes shape, it raises no problem; started a month before departure, it pushes it back.