Are you ready to take your pet on a plane to Greece but are concerned about what requirements have to be met for your pet to travel internationally? Our Pet Passport & Regulations guide will help you to find the answers on all important questions.
1. Pet Microchip
To enter Greece, your pet must first be microchipped with an ISO 11784/11785 pet microchip that is a 15 digit and non-encrypted. If your pet’s microchip is not ISO 11784/11785 compliant, you can bring your own microchip scanner.
2. Vaccinations
If your pet is entering Greece from a rabies-free or rabies-controlled country, it will need a rabies vaccination after the microchip is implanted and more than 21 days prior to entry but not more than the expiration date of the manufacturer of the vaccine. If your dog, cat or ferret has a current rabies vaccination but no microchip, it will have to be vaccinated again after the microchip is implanted and wait 21 days before travel. Once you have entered Greece, a 21 day waiting period is not required for subsequent visits, provided rabies boosters are kept up to date, and the other entry requirements are met.
Dogs must also be vaccinated against distemper.
3. Blood Titer Test
If your pet is entering Greece from a high-rabies country, your pet must be microchipped, then vaccinated for rabies (in that order). After waiting 30 days, a Blood Titer Test must be administered (Have your veterinarian scan your pet’s microchip prior to the titer test.) Samples must be processed at approved laboratories. Assuming test results within acceptable limits, your pet can enter Greece no sooner than 3 calendar months after the date the blood was drawn and avoid quarantine. This step is not required unless entering Greece from a high-rabies country.
4. Health Certificate
Here is where the rules differ and depend on whether or not you or a legal representative of yours is traveling within 5 days of your pet’s transport.
The owner or a legal representative of the owner is traveling with or within 5 days of your pet. If this is correct, then the following rules apply:
Traveling to Greece from a country outside of the EU:
– Regulations in steps 1 and 2 apply. If entering Greece from a high-rabies country, step 3 applies.
– A licensed veterinarian must complete the Annex IV form for Greece within 10 days of entry. If your pet is traveling from the United States or Canada, the veterinarian must be accredited by the USDA or CFIA respectively and the Annex IV form must be endorsed by the local USDA (United States) or CFIA (Canada) office. This form is good for transports of 5 or less animals. (see item 5 if you are traveling with more than 5 pets.)
Traveling to Greece from another EU Member State:
– Regulations in steps 1 and 2 apply.
– Have your veterinarian update an EU Pet Passport for your pet. An Annex IV form is not required for pets traveling to Greece from another EU Member State with an EU Pet Passport unless a rabies booster was received by a veterinarian outside of the EU at any time after your pet received its microchip. No matter what country you are entering Greece from, you or your representative must sign a Declaration of Non-Commercial Transport stating that your pet’s transport does not involve the sale or transfer of ownership of your pet.
The owner or a legal representative of the owner is not traveling with or within 5 days of your pet OR your pet will be re-homed or ownership of your pet will change. If either of these is correct, then the following rules apply:
Traveling to Greece from a rabies-free or rabies-controlled country outside the EU:
– Regulations in steps 1 and 2 apply.
– A licensed veterinarian must complete the the bi-lingual version of the Annex I form within 48 hours of entry. If your pet is traveling from the United States or Canada, the veterinarian must be accredited by the USDA or CFIA respectively and the Annex I form must be endorsed by the local USDA (United States) or CFIA (Canada) office. This form is good for transports of 5 or less animals. (see item 6 for transports of more than 5 pets.)
– Your pet must enter through an approved Border Inspection Post (BIP) at an international airport in Athens and Thessaloniki. Notice must be given 24 hours prior to arrival.
– If your pet is traveling unaccompanied and entering Greece from a high-rabies country, it must have a titer test according to step #3 above.
Traveling to Greece from another EU Member State:
– Regulations in steps 1 and 2 apply.
If your pet is traveling to Greece alone from another EU country, it must travel from a licensed premise which is registered with the governing authority in your EU country, responsible for the import and export of pets. Your veterinarian must obtain and update an EU Pet Passport for your pet. Your pet’s transport must be accompanied by an Intratrade health certificate completed within 48 hours of entry.
5. Traveling with more than 5 pets
If you are traveling with more than 5 pets that are 6 months or older, unless you are going to a show or competition, your pets must meet the requirements as listed above (Annex I instead of Annex IV form), and have endorsement from the government agency that regulates the import and export of animals. If you are traveling to Greece from another EU country, you will also need to have an Intra Trade Certificate and register the movement on the TRACES system. If you are entering Greece from a non-EU rabies-controlled or rabies-free country, you will need to enter through an approved Border Inspection Post and give 24 hours notice of arrival.
6. Entering Greece by Air
Accompanied pets entering the Greek mainland by air from non-EU countries must do so at Border Inspection Posts at international airports in Athens and Thessaloniki. Accompanied pets flying to the Greek islands may enter at the following airports: Rhodes, Kos, Kalimnos, Mitilini, Mirina (Limnos), Chios, Ermoupolis (Syros), Crete (Iraklio and Chania) and Corfu.
Pets should enter Greece directly or transit through another EU Member State. If your pet transits through a high-rabies country, then a Transit Declaration will be required stating that your pet has had no contact with rabies-carrying animals and remained secured within the airplane or airport. All domestic dogs and cats must be free of evidence of disease communicable to humans when examined at the port of entry to Greece. If your dog or cat is not in apparent good health, further examination by a licensed veterinarian may be required at your expense.
Pets can enter Greece in the cabin, as checked baggage or air cargo.
7. Puppies and Kittens
Unvaccinated puppies, kittens and ferrets are not permitted to enter Greece from any country or EU Member State. Rabies vaccinations must not be administered prior to 12 weeks of age and there is a 21 day wait for puppies and kittens arriving from EU Member States rabies-free countries or rabies-controlled countries. The minimum age for entering Greece from high-rabies countries is 7 months of age.
Unvaccinated puppies, kittens and ferrets may be exported from Greece with a declaration stating that, from birth until the time of the non-commercial movement the pet animals have had no contact with wild animals of species susceptible to rabies or they are accompanied by their mother, on whom they still depend, and from the identification document accompanying their mother it can be established that, before their birth, the mother was fully vaccinated for rabies.
8. Banned Breeds
Greece does not publish a list of banned dog breeds.
9. Exporting Pets Living in Greece
All dogs, cats and ferrets leaving Greece for another EU Member State must be microchipped, vaccinated for rabies (in that order) and wait 21 days before leaving Greece. If you are planning to take your pet on a trip to a country with a high incidence of rabies, your veterinarian should do a Blood Titer Test at least 3 months before you leave Greece if you intend to return. Export permits may be required for non-accompanied transports.
10. Other Animals
Owners traveling with amphibians, ornamental fish, spiders and other invertebrates (except bees and crustaceans) from other EU Member states or rabies-controlled countries are not subject to health restrictions and not required to be accompanied by veterinary certificates. Rodents, rabbits and reptiles entering Greece from another EU Member State or rabies-controlled country must be accompanied by a veterinary health certificate. Birds must have 30 days of quarantine in their originating country under official supervisioin and a 10 day isolation period and laboratory testing for avian influenza with negative results. They must be accompanied with a health certificate reflecting the results of the test.
11. CITIES
If your pet is not a dog, cat or ferret, and especially if it is a turtle or parrot, you should verify that it is not protected under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITIES). You will need to apply for additional permits if this is the case. Over 180 countries participate and enforce CITIES regulations.
-----This post is republished under license from theDelphiGuide.com, your guide for Delphi, the Navel of the Earth
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