Moving with a pet to Poland: documents, new rules and an EU passport

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Required Documents for Bringing a Pet to the EU

A four-legged family member requires special preparation for a move to the European Union, particularly to Poland. Allocate 3–4 months for preparing your pet to ensure you have enough time to complete all necessary documents and procedures. Follow the steps below for a smooth process.

Step 1: Microchipping. This is necessary for identifying your pet and its owner in case it gets lost. You can do this at any private or municipal veterinary clinic. ISO 11784 or ISO 11785 standard microchips are acceptable.

Step 2: Obtaining a government-issued international passport. This can only be done at a state veterinary station, usually at your place of registration. It’s best to issue the document in Latin script or bilingually. All vaccinations and parasite treatments should be recorded in this passport.

Step 3: Rabies vaccination. It must be an EU-manufactured vaccine. Vaccination records should be added to the government-issued international passport. If your pet was vaccinated before obtaining the passport, contact the clinic where the vaccines were administered to transfer the records to the new passport.

Important: At least 21 days must pass between vaccination and crossing the border, so plan accordingly!

Step 4: Rabies antibody titer test. From September 16, 2024, a European Commission regulation mandates that pets from Russia and Belarus must undergo a rabies antibody titer test.

Key point: After the test, the pet must wait three months before entering the EU. Plan all other steps accordingly to meet this timeline!

You can read the legal basis.

Step 5: EU export certificate. Obtain this document from a state veterinary station. Make sure the certificate includes the details of the person crossing the border with the pet. This is especially crucial if someone other than the owner is accompanying the pet. The transporter’s information will also be listed as a co-owner in the passport, so don’t be surprised if your pet seems to have a new owner.

Important: The EU export certificate is valid for only five days from the date of issuance, so get it just before your trip to avoid delays at the border.

Border Crossing Rules for Pets

It would be nice to say that after preparing all the documents, all that’s left is a friendly wave at the border—but that’s not the case.

First, choose border checkpoints with veterinary control. Otherwise, there will be no one to inspect your pet.

Second, if your pet is a pedigree breed, the border officials may require a deposit amounting to 23% of the pet’s estimated value. The valuation is determined by the officials based on sales websites.

However, there’s a catch! If you’re moving to Poland to live permanently and don’t plan to bring the pet back, the deposit won’t be refunded. Be prepared for this expense.

Third, the border officials may ask you to declare your pet. Avoid filling out a T1 declaration, as this will require customs clearance in Poland, leading to additional payments.

Finally, if you’re relocating to Poland, decline a “odprawa czasowa” document. This temporary clearance obliges you to take the pet back within a set timeframe. If you’re not planning to return the pet, temporary documents are unnecessary.

Every situation is unique. We spoke to Angelika, a Belarusian who relocated her cat to Poland last year.

Angelika, cat owner:
“We entered the EU by car about a year ago, bringing along our three-year-old cat. We crossed the Lithuanian border—this is important!

Our cat already had a veterinary passport and a valid rabies vaccination. Before the trip, we went to the state veterinary station at our place of residence, obtained a government-issued passport, confirmed the vaccination, checked the microchip, and received a special export permit.

We didn’t need to administer an additional rabies vaccine since it was already valid. Now, titer tests are required.
The process of obtaining the export permit at the state veterinary station took less than an hour. It’s important to issue the permit for the country whose border you’re crossing. So, if you’re going to Poland via Lithuania, the documents must be prepared for Lithuania.

Our cat was also declared at the Lithuanian border, and we later paid customs fees in Poland.”

Currently, entering Lithuania with Belarusian license plates is only possible for vehicle owners with a Lithuanian visa, residence permit, or other documents confirming legal status in the country.

This option may not be feasible for those planning to live in Poland.

Registering a Pet in Poland

After crossing the border, the next step is registering your pet at your place of residence. If the pet was imported from a non-EU country, it already has a microchip. If you adopted the pet in Poland, microchipping is optional but strongly recommended, as it increases the chances of recovering a lost pet.
Microchipping. If the chip is already in place, check its registration in European databases. Visit safe-animal.eu, bazachipow.pl, identyfikacja.pl, and europetnet.org. Many of these databases allow you to add pet details independently, but it requires some effort.

Registration. For dogs, registration is mandatory in most municipalities, and owners must pay an annual tax. The tax amount and requirements can be confirmed with local authorities. Registration can be completed in person or via the ePUAP app. Vaccination records are required. The maximum annual tax is 135 PLN, but exemptions are available for certain groups, such as seniors and guide dog owners.

For cats, registration is optional but recommended. The process is the same: visit an office, provide vaccination records, and pay an annual fee.

EU Pet Passport. Surprisingly, obtaining an EU pet passport is much faster than obtaining one for humans. Contact any private veterinary clinic in Poland to apply. If the first clinic declines, don’t give up—try another. Verified clinic addresses are shared in pet owner groups.

The clinic may require new vaccinations and a quarantine period. These will be recorded in the EU passport. Since December 2019, old vaccination records cannot be transferred to the new passport. With an EU passport, you can travel with your pet across borders.
Follow your veterinarian’s advice and take good care of your furry friend.

Now that your pet is registered and documented, check out Reloaction.io guides to prepare documents for yourself and your family. Temporary or permanent residence permits, citizenship applications, Blue Card, Polish driver’s license replacement, or visa invitations for relatives—register on the platform and benefit from detailed and accurate guides!

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