The step that delays the most departures
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.
Moving to France
Bringing your dog or cat to France: the microchip, vaccination, passport order that sets the date
It is the simplest step of a move to France, and the one that delays the most departures. It comes down to three documents, and everything depends on the order in which you obtain them. This dossier says which ones, in what order, with what delays, and how to avoid travelling without your pet.
By Jean Mascla, founder of Home Select Updated · 5 min read
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 figures to know
A primary rabies vaccination is only valid for travel after 21 days. It can only be given from twelve weeks of age: a puppy or kitten therefore cannot enter France before roughly fifteen weeks.
From third countries that are not on the European Union’s list, a rabies antibody titration test is added: the blood sample is taken at least thirty days after vaccination, and the animal only travels three months after that sample. It is this requirement that turns a departure of a few weeks into one of four months.
Beyond five animals, the movement is no longer treated as a family one and falls under other rules. For a bird, a rabbit or a reptile, the conditions differ: check with the veterinary services before setting the date.
Gassin, Côte d’Azur
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.
What Home Select organises for your pet’s arrival
Settling in is prepared during the search: the date of the deed sets that of the delivery, and the contracts are opened before the arrival. Your Home Select property finder keeps that calendar with you, from the preliminary contract to the first night.
We introduce the international remover, the tradespeople of the fit-out and the concierge service that receives deliveries and prepares the house. Transport, customs and works are theirs, under their responsibility: our role is that you arrive in a house that is ready.
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.
Which documents are needed to bring a dog or cat to France?
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.
How do you organise a pet’s transport?
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.
Can a pet travel in the removal container?
No. The animal travels separately, with the carrier or airline that accepts it according to its species and size. From a third country, it does not fall under the customs relief for personal belongings either: it follows its own health route, with its certificate.
Further reading
Preparing a purchase in France from abroad, or already an owner there? Describe your situation: a Home Select property finder answers within one working day, and the file starts with the right partners, in the right order.
Discuss your projectThe moving guides
- Moving to France from abroad: customs, duty relief, lead times, quotes, pets and the car
- Groupage or full container: the choice that decides your delivery date more than your budget
- International removal quotes: declared value, packing, access, timing and storage
- Damage in a removal: writing precise reservations on delivery, and confirming them within ten days
- The parking permit: the town hall paper without which the removal lorry cannot park
- Moving into a co-ownership: hours, lift, common areas, what the building rules impose
- Bringing your car to France: customs relief, type approval, registration, to settle before loading it
- Setting up a home in France from abroad: contracts, furniture, the first night
- Fitting out a home remotely: the plan, the budget by room, deliveries and signing off the finishing
- Working with an interior designer remotely: the brief, the moodboard, samples and photo approval
- Equipping a home for short stays: the sturdy essentials, the spares and resetting between stays
- Internet in a rarely used home: fibre or mobile, the subscription, remote installation, rebooting the box
- Moving to France as a family: choosing the school, enrolling the children, getting the first weeks right
Talk to Home Select about your project
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