Traveling with dog to EU from USA
Posted by Reasonable-Aerie4266@reddit | expats | View on Reddit | 6 comments
So, kinda complicated. I adopted my dog (female chihuahua) from my mother a few years ago in the Americas, my mother used to live in Malta with the dog and she (the dog) technically has an EU passport, but I have not kept up with it (the passport), and my name is not on the passport. I am not sure if this would still be valid, or if I need to apply for a new passport for her with my registered information. I currently live in USA, but am planning to take an extended trip to stay with lifelong friends in Malta for a bit of a sabbatical, and I wanted to bring my dog with me. Fortunately, I have a lot of time as this will likely be towards the middle of next year, but I would like to get all my ducks in a row and start any process that may require many months.
If I have to get her a new passport, it seems I cannot get that done in USA and have to do it in EU, but not Malta. Does this mean I would have to perhaps spend some time getting her passport on a more "mainland" area within the EU? (Spain, Germany, Sweden, etc.) If that is something I have to do, that's very doable as I have friends to stay with there too.
I do have an old document from a phycologist stating she is an emotional support animal, but I have had no need to finalize anything anything officially as far as licenses or whatever, so I am unsure if it will help as is or if it's something I should look into as well.
I welcome any and all opinions and resources.
bighark@reddit
First, you need to get the dog from the USA to Malta. That’s going to require following these steps: https://agricultureservices.gov.mt/en/vrd/Pages/travelPet.aspx.
Once you’re in Malta, you can get a new EU pet passport. I don’t know the requirements for that, but when I did it in France, it was very easy.
Reasonable-Aerie4266@reddit (OP)
Oh wow, I guess I was reading this wrong in a bit of a hurry, so basically instead of an EU passport, she needs the listed items, and I can get her EU passport once I'm there?
Requirements I have questions about.
"An Official Health Certificate issued by the country of departure either ‘listed’ or ‘unlisted country’" How did you do this? was this something prepared for you by your vet or was it another service?
And how much time before did you submit the online pre notification? (does it need to be before or after the de-wormer?)
marioana99@reddit
The paperwork needs to be filled in by the vet and 10 days before departure you need to get it to USDA for stamping.
Reasonable-Aerie4266@reddit (OP)
At least 10 days or within 10 days?
marioana99@reddit
Within 10 days.
bighark@reddit
My experience is a bit dated (I did this in 2015), but I basically contacted my vet and asked if they had experience with preparing this kind of paperwork. I live in a big city, so I was lucky. The "official health certificate" came from the US Department of Agriculture, which required some running around to acquire.