Passport
We always recommend that you consult with the embassy or Department of Agriculture of the country you are travelling to for the exact requirements as these are subject to change.
Some of the general regulations are as follows;
- Your pet requires an ISO standard identification microchip. This can be done any time before a rabies vaccination or even on the same day, but it must be before the vaccination.
- Rabies vaccination. The microchip will be read immediately before vaccination so that it’s all recorded. A rabies vaccination can be carried out once your pet is over 12 weeks of age.
- A passport can usually be issued at the vaccination appointment. However your pet cannot travel until 21 days after the rabies vaccination has been administered.
- Additionally for dogs, before travelling back into Ireland from mainland EU and the United Kingdom they will need to be seen by a vet 1-5 days prior to re-entry to be given a tapeworm treatment, and this will need to be recorded on their passport. This is to prevent entry of a specific tapeworm (Echinococcus multilocularis) into Ireland that is widespread in certain parts of Europe and, whilst harmless to dogs, can infect humans causing serious illness and even death. Ireland is free of this disease, and we want to keep it that way!
- To further protect animal and human health and welfare, it is also strongly recommended that your pet be treated for ticks at the same time as the tapeworm treatment.
Following the first rabies vaccination, the passport will have a ‘valid until’ date. To keep the passport up to date, a rabies booster vaccination must be given on or before that expiry date. If you miss the revaccination date, even by one day, the 21-day rule will be re-applied before you can travel again. The vaccine we use currently requires boosters every 3 years. We are happy to answer any questions you may have in relation to pet travel, but if you would like to access further information on EU pet passports or non-European union countries please visit; www.agriculture.gov.ie/pets