Bringing your dog or cat to France

Which rules apply, by country of departure

It all starts with one question: where is your pet coming from? The country it lives in before the move decides the document, whether a titre test is needed and where it has to enter.

In every case the pet must be microchipped, vaccinated against rabies after the chip was implanted, and old enough as a result: about 15 weeks, or about seven months if it comes from an unlisted country. Each situation is set out in full, with the legal texts, on bringing a pet into France.

French expats coming home: passport or certificate?

Many French expats still have the EU pet passport issued before they left. It is not always enough:

• You were living outside the EU. The European Commission treats your pet as travelling from that non-EU country: it needs an EU animal health certificate, issued or endorsed by an official vet there, not its old passport.
• A rabies booster or titre test was done abroad. The passport alone is no longer valid; only an official health certificate from the non-EU country will get the pet home.
• You went away for a short stay while keeping your residence in France, with a vaccine given in France that is still valid: the passport is enough, provided, for an unlisted country, that the titre test was done before departure and recorded in the passport.

No rule sets a length of stay after which you count as living abroad. If you have lived outside the EU for several years, we advise preparing a health certificate. Our guide to returning to France with a pet covers each case, from a lapsed vaccine to updating I-CAD.

The three-month trap

In practice: if you live in China, South Korea, Thailand or Morocco, have the titre test done as soon as a move back is on the cards, even without a date. The result stays valid for the pet's whole life as long as its boosters are on time. Our article on the rabies vaccine and titre test walks through the calculation.

Working back from your departure date

1. Check the breed and the country of departure as soon as plans firm up

   Listed or unlisted country, a dog that might be classified as a category dog, a Bengal or Savannah cat: these three points shape everything else.

2. Chip, vaccine and, if needed, titre test at least 4 months ahead from an unlisted country

   From a listed country, the vaccine just needs to have been valid for at least 21 days.

3. Health certificate no more than 10 days before arrival

   Issued or endorsed by an official vet in the country of departure, in French and English for entry via France, with the signed declaration that the move is non-commercial.

4. Journey and arrival arrival day

   Entry through a travellers' point of entry, presenting the pet to customs without being asked.

5. I-CAD registration within 7 days

   With a vet in France, for a stay of three months or more.

On arrival: the customs check

For a pet arriving from any country not in Annex I, the rules require a systematic documentary and identity check, carried out in France by customs:

• Go to the customs officers yourself before leaving the international zone. There is no appointment to book.
• Customs endorse the health certificate. Keep it: it remains valid for six months for further travel within the EU, as long as the rabies vaccination is still valid.
• The chip is read to check it matches the documents.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture's guidance note, a dog imported from a non-EU country must also have at least one adult tooth. A pet that does not meet the rules may be isolated, sent back to its country of departure or, as a last resort, put down, at the owner's expense. From Switzerland or another Annex I country, checks are not systematic, but the rules still apply.

Category dogs and hybrid cats

Category 1 and 2 dogs

• Category 1 (American Staffordshire Terrier, Mastiff or Tosa types without a pedigree recognised by the ministry): banned from entering France, even in transit. A dog that is perfectly legal where you live now may be classified this way in France.
• Category 2 (pedigree American Staffordshire Terriers and Tosas, and Rottweilers with or without a pedigree): they can be imported, with proof of registration in a studbook (not needed for Rottweilers). Once in France, you need a keeper's permit from the town hall, which requires among other things a certificate of competence, a behavioural assessment, liability insurance and an up-to-date rabies vaccination.
• A look-alike dog without papers: before you leave, get a vet's statement that it does not belong to either category, in French or translated.

See bringing a dog to France.

Bengal and Savannah cats

The French feline registry (LOOF) recognises the Bengal and the Savannah as breeds in their own right. But if you cannot prove the breed at import, with a birth certificate or pedigree, the cat is treated as a hybrid, and importing it then requires a permit issued in advance by the regional environment authority (DREAL). Gather these documents before you leave. See bringing a cat to France.

Once you have settled in: I-CAD, vet, passport

• I-CAD within seven days. For a dog or cat arriving from a non-EU country or from another Member State that stays three months or more, the owner must have it registered in the national dog, cat and ferret identification database within seven days (arrêté of 9 November 2023, Article 15). A vet in France enters the details and issues a provisional identification certificate valid for one month. A fee is payable to the database operator, at the amount shown on its portal.
• Find a vet. We suggest choosing a vet in the first few weeks, before any emergency: they can also handle the I-CAD registration and, later, boosters.
• Ask for an EU pet passport. Once your main residence is in France, shown for example by a residence permit, a pet that arrived on a health certificate can be issued an EU passport, which it will use for all future travel within the EU. See the EU pet passport explained.
• Category 2 dog. Start the keeper's permit process with the town hall straight away.

The checklist to keep handy

• Country of departure identified: EU, Annex I, Annex II or unlisted.
• Readable chip; valid rabies vaccine given after the chip.
• Favourable titre test taken at least three months before the certificate is issued, if the country is unlisted.
• Breed checked: dog category, proof of breed for a Bengal or Savannah.
• Health certificate issued within ten days before arrival, with the non-commercial declaration.
• If someone else travels with your pet: written authorisation and proof of your own journey, within five days.
• Copies of every document in your hand luggage.
• After arrival: I-CAD within seven days, a vet, then an EU passport.

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