Moving with a dog or cat between France and the Netherlands

At a glance

Netherlands → France

Bringing a pet from the Netherlands to France

Between two Member States, the EU rules for non-commercial movements apply. A dog or cat living in the Netherlands enters France with:

• Its EU pet passport, issued in the Netherlands, where its owner habitually lives, and signed by the owner.
• Valid identification and rabies vaccination, recorded in the passport.
• Nothing else on the health side: no titre test, no health certificate, no tapeworm treatment and no designated point of entry.

Up to five pets can travel in one vehicle. If the pet is not travelling with its owner, the person accompanying it needs the owner's signed written authorisation, and the trip must take place within five days before or after the owner's.

French rules on dogs

The Netherlands has no national list of banned breeds; France does. A dog that lives without restriction in the Netherlands can therefore fall into a category in France.

After arrival: I-CAD

Unless the stay is shorter than three months, a dog, cat or ferret arriving from another Member State must be recorded in the French national identification database (I-CAD) within seven days, by a vet who transfers the details from the passport. That includes cats: chipping and registering cats is not yet compulsory in the Netherlands, but it is in France. A microchip implanted in the Netherlands is kept as long as an ISO-standard reader can read it.

France → Netherlands

Moving to the Netherlands with a dog or cat

For a dog or cat arriving from another EU country, the Dutch food and consumer product safety authority (NVWA) asks for an EU pet passport, a microchip and a valid rabies vaccination. It states that the pet must be at least 15 weeks old to enter the Netherlands, and that assistance dogs get no exemption.

Hairless and fold-ear cats: banned since 1 January 2026

Since 1 January 2026, it has been illegal to keep a hairless cat or a cat with folded ears in the Netherlands. The government agency RVO names the Scottish Fold, Highland Fold, Foldex, Sphynx, Bambino Sphynx and Peterbald. The ban applies during temporary stays too, such as holidays.

• The exception: a cat coming from abroad can be admitted if there is proof that it was born and microchipped before 1 January 2026.
• Penalties announced by RVO: a €1,500 fine for keeping such a cat and €500 for exhibiting one.

For a cat of these breeds born before 2026, we recommend gathering the birth certificate or pedigree and the passport page showing the microchip date before you leave, in Dutch or English if possible. A cat of these breeds born or microchipped on or after 1 January 2026 cannot move to the Netherlands.

Dogs: registration within 14 days

For a stay of less than three months, the Dutch registration rules do not apply, as long as the dog is not sold. For a stay of three months or more, RVO describes four steps:

1. register with the municipality's population register (BRP), which gives you a citizen service number (BSN);
2. apply for a DigiD login;
3. obtain a location number (UBN) for keeping a dog non-commercially;
4. see a vet within 14 days of arriving in the Netherlands: only a vet can make the registration.

The first three steps take time, so start them as soon as you arrive, or before if your municipality allows. RVO's page does not say whether a microchip implanted in France is taken over as it is; we check this for your dog.

Cropped ears and docked tails

A dog whose ears or tail were cropped after 1 December 2016 cannot take part in shows or competitions in the Netherlands, even if the procedure was done abroad, and trading in animals that have undergone these procedures is banned. RVO's page does not, however, ban such a dog from entering, being kept or travelling.

Dog breeds, cats and municipal tax

• No banned-breed list: the Dutch rules on aggressive animals were repealed with effect from 1 January 2009.
• Cats: microchipping and registration are not yet compulsory in the Netherlands. In June 2026 the government said it was preparing the requirement, without a start date.
• Dog tax (hondenbelasting): each municipality may levy it, or not. Ask yours.

Identification and vaccination

In both directions, the pet must be identified with an ISO-standard microchip (or a clearly readable tattoo applied before 3 July 2011) and then vaccinated against rabies. Microchip first, vaccine afterwards (or on the same day). The primary vaccination must be at least 21 days old on the day of travel; a booster given before the previous vaccine expired is valid immediately.

Puppies and kittens: neither France nor the Netherlands accepts animals too young to be validly vaccinated. The rabies vaccine can be given from 12 weeks, plus the 21-day wait: the NVWA turns this into a minimum age of 15 weeks for entering the Netherlands, and the same limit applies in practice for France.

Documents to prepare

• From France: the pet's EU passport with a valid rabies vaccination. For a hairless or fold-ear cat, proof that it was born and microchipped before 1 January 2026.
• To register a dog in the Netherlands: your BSN, DigiD and UBN, then the dog's passport at the vet.
• From the Netherlands: the EU passport issued in the Netherlands. For a category 2 dog, its pedigree registration papers (except for the Rottweiler type) for the keeping permit.
• Authorised person: if the pet is not travelling with its owner, the owner's signed written authorisation, attached to the passport.

Rabies antibody titre test

It is not required in either direction: titre tests do not apply to movements between Member States. It may become necessary, however, if your pet stayed in an unlisted non-EU country before coming to France or the Netherlands: the rules of that country of origin then apply. See bringing a pet into France.

Typical timeline

1. Check your cat's and dog's breed as soon as the move is planned

   Hairless or fold-ear cat: dates of birth and microchipping. Dog coming to France: its category.

2. Microchip and rabies vaccine at least 21 days before departure

   No need to repeat anything if the vaccination is up to date and recorded in the passport.

3. Travel

   Up to five pets per vehicle, with the owner or an authorised person.

4. BRP, DigiD, UBN as soon as you arrive

   For a dog staying three months or more in the Netherlands.

5. After arrival 14 days (Netherlands) · 7 days (France)

   Dog registered by a vet in the Netherlands; I-CAD registration in France for stays of three months or more.

Ways to travel

By car, there are no formalities attached to the vehicle itself: the rules only limit a movement to five pets in one vehicle.

By train, as of 19 October 2026, Eurostar says pets are welcome on its trains between France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany, which covers Paris, Rotterdam and Amsterdam. A pet under 6 kg travels free in a carrier; a larger dog pays a €30 "dog" fare and travels on a lead and muzzled.

By air, KLM's page (read in its 25 September 2026 version, as the live site did not respond on 19 October) says a dog or cat can travel in the cabin in a bag of up to 46 × 28 × 24 cm, weighing no more than 8 kg with the pet, from 15 weeks of age; the fee depends on the route. We reconfirm these conditions at booking time.

Border crossings, stations and airports

Between two Member States, there is no required point of entry: the designated points of entry and systematic document checks apply to arrivals from most non-EU countries. Any road crossing or station will do, in either direction, although the documents can still be checked. If your plans involve a flight to or from Amsterdam Schiphol, the conditions (cabin, hold or cargo) depend on the airline and the flight, and we check them for your booking. See also airports in France.

What affects the cost

On this route, cost depends mainly on what is left to do at the vet (microchip, vaccine, passport update), the steps after arrival (registering a dog in the Netherlands, I-CAD in France, any municipal dog tax) and how the pet travels: your own car, the train (€30 for a large dog on Eurostar as of 19 October 2026, an operator price), a flight, or transport arranged through a partner, subject to availability. Our quote lists each item separately. See pricing.

Common mistakes

• Taking a Sphynx or Scottish Fold on holiday to the Netherlands without proof of its birth and microchip before 1 January 2026.
• Putting off the BSN, DigiD and UBN: without them, the 14-day registration is hard to meet.
• Planning to show a dog in the Netherlands whose ears or tail were cropped after 1 December 2016, even abroad.
• Assuming a cat needs no registration back in France because it had none in the Netherlands: I-CAD applies.
• Overlooking the French category of an American Staffordshire Terrier, Mastiff or Tosa-type dog that lived without restriction in the Netherlands.

Frequently asked questions

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