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Bringing a dog or cat to Spain from outside the EU

The rules are about order and waiting time, and none of it can be fixed at the airport. Start with your vet in your departure country, and start early.

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On this page
  1. Is it a pet move?
  2. The steps, in order
  3. The rabies blood test and the three-month wait
  4. Arriving: the airport and the checks
  5. Once you live here
  6. Dogs: the national animal welfare law
  7. Flights
  8. Sources
  9. Who can do this for you

Is it a pet move?

Spain treats it as a personal pet move (a desplazamiento de animal de compañía) when there are five animals or fewer, no commercial purpose and no change of ownership, and the animals travel with their owner or a person acting for them. If someone else brings the animal, it can travel separately only within five days of the owner's own journey.

More than five animals, or a sale or transfer of ownership, is a commercial movement with different rules. This guide covers pets only.

The steps, in order

  1. Microchip first. The chip must be in before the rabies vaccine, so the vet can check the animal's identity when vaccinating. A tattoo counts only if it was done before 3 July 2011 and is still clearly readable.
  2. Rabies vaccine. The animal must be at least 12 weeks old to be vaccinated, and the vaccine counts after at least 21 days from a first vaccination. Spain admits no unvaccinated dogs or cats.
  3. Blood test, only for some departure countries. See the next section.
  4. Health certificate. An official vet of the departure country signs an EU animal health certificate, plus an owner's declaration, in the EU models. It must be presented at least in Spanish, with a certified copy of the identification and vaccination records. Your Europe says it must be issued no more than 10 days before arrival.
  5. Land at a designated airport. See the section below.

The rabies blood test and the three-month wait

Whether you need it depends on the country the animal travels from. Countries and territories listed in the annexes to Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/636 do not need it. For any other country, the animal needs a rabies antibody test in an approved laboratory, with a result of at least 0.5 IU/ml.

  • The blood sample is taken at least 30 days after the first rabies vaccination.
  • The animal may enter only after three months from the day of the sample. MAPA counts from the day after the sample.
  • In practice the youngest animal that can come from such a country is about 7 months old. MAPA says the whole process can take at least 3 to 4 months.
  • If the vaccination schedule is kept up, the result stays valid for the animal's life, according to MAPA.

Check your departure country on the official EU list (linked under Sources) before you book anything. The list is amended, so use the current version, not a blog.

Arriving: the airport and the checks

Dogs and cats must enter through a designated travellers' point of entry (Punto de Entrada de Viajeros). MAPA publishes the list as a dated PDF. Not every airport is on it.

At that airport, find the control point and declare the animal to the Guardia Civil (Resguardo Fiscal) or customs staff. They check the documents and the identity, and read the microchip. If you change planes in another EU country and stay in the transit area, the checks normally happen at your final arrival airport.

If the paperwork does not meet the rules, MAPA says the animal can be held in quarantine, sent back to the country of origin or, as a last resort, put down, at the owner's expense.

Once you live here

  • Register the animal. Spanish law requires dogs, cats and ferrets to be identified with a microchip and registered in the pet register of the region where you live (Registro de Animales de Compañía). How you register, the fees and the deadlines are set by each region, so ask a vet or your regional government.
  • Get an EU pet passport. Your departure certificate is not a passport. MAPA says the passport is issued by an authorised vet in the EU country where the animal is, and non-EU vets should not enter vaccinations in it. You need it to travel within the EU later.
  • Keep rabies cover current. A valid rabies vaccination is needed to travel within the EU. Whether your region also requires it for residents varies, so confirm locally.

Dogs: the national animal welfare law

Law 7/2023 (in force since 29 September 2023) says that anyone who wants to hold a dog must show they have done a free dog-ownership course, and that the owner must keep a third-party liability insurance policy in force for the dog's whole life. Both articles say the content of the course and the amount of the insurance are to be set by regulation.

We could not find that national regulation published in the BOE, so we cannot tell you a nationwide course or insurance amount. Your region or town may already require one. Ask the vet who registers your dog, and check your ayuntamiento. This is the point most likely to change, so confirm it before you rely on this page.

Flights

Airlines set their own rules on crates, cabin or hold travel and breeds. They are commercial and change often, so check with your airline before you book.

Sources

Who can do this for you

A vet in Spain registers the animal, issues the EU passport and keeps its vaccinations current. The pre-departure steps are done by your vet at home.

This page is general information, not legal advice. It was checked against the sources above on the date shown. Pet entry rules and country lists are amended, and regional pet rules differ. Confirm the current position with MAPA and your vet before you book.

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