Travelling with dogs, cats and ferrets from EU-countries to Norway
These requirements concern only non-commercial movement of dogs, cats or ferrets from EU-countries to Norway (except Svalbard).
Looking for a checklist for bringing you pets to Norway? Please try our Guide: Travelling with pets to Norway
The guide includes third (non-EU) countries such as Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
What is non-commercial movement?
The movement of dogs, cats or ferrets is considered non-commercial if the animals accompany their owner or a natural person responsible for them on behalf of the owner and the animals are not intended to be sold or transferred to another owner. The movement of the animals must be caused by the owners need to move and may take place up to five days before or after the movement of the owner.
If the movement of the animals cannot take place at the same time as the movement of the owner, but within the time limits mentioned above, the movement of the animals must take place under the responsibility of a natural person authorised by the owner to move the animal on his/her behalf. The authorisation must be in writing and accompany the animals during their movement. The animals must also be accompanied by a written declaration from the owner stating the non-commercial nature of the movement and the name of the authorised person. Pet owners are welcome to use the model for authorisation and declaration which can be downloaded below.
On request from the competent authorities the owner must document that the movement of the animals is a part of his/her movement. Proper documentation can be hotel reservations or invoices, boarding passes, flight or train tickets etc. which clearly indicates that the movement of the animals is caused by the movement of the owner.
Please be aware of the tough requirements for the import of former stray dogs and cats to Norway.
Checklist
1. ID-marking
The animal must be identified by a microchip or clearly readable tattoo. The microchip has to comply with the ISO 11784 standard and it has to utilize HDX or FDX-B technology. The microchip can be read with a microchip reader complying with the ISO 11785 standard. If the microchip does not comply with the standard requirements, the owner has to provide a microchip reader capable of reading the microchip. As of 3 July 2011 only a microchip will be approved as identification. Tattooing is accepted as a method of identification if it was done before 3 July 2011. The animal must be identified before the rabies vaccination.
2. Anti-rabies vaccination
The animal must have a valid anti-rabies vaccination.
The vaccine must either be an inactivated vaccine of at least one antigenic unit per dose (recommendation from the World Health Organisation) or a recombinant vaccine expressing the immunising glycoprotein of the rabies virus in a live virus vector. If administered in an EU-country or in Norway the vaccine must have been granted a marketing authorisation.
The vaccine must be administered by an authorised veterinarian.
The animal must be at least 12 weeks old when the vaccine is administered. The date of administration shall be indicated in the appropriate section of the pet passport. The animal must be identified before the rabies vaccination.
The period of validity starts not less than 21 days from the completion of the vaccination protocol required by the manufacturer for a primary vaccination. A revaccination has no 21-day waiting period if performed within the period of validity of the previous vaccination.
The period of validity shall be indicated by the authorised veterinarian in the appropriate section of the pet passport. A revaccination is considered a primary vaccination if it is not carried out within the period of validity of the previous vaccination.
Read more about validity requirements for anti-rabies vaccinations in Annex III to Regulation (EU) No 576/2013 (europa.eu).
No anti-rabies vaccination is required for animals travelling only between Norway and Sweden.
3. Anti-echinococcus treatment
An anti-echinococcus treatment is required for dogs, including puppies. Cats or ferrets do not need to be medicated.
The treatments shall be administered by a veterinarian and shall consist of a medicine containing praziquantel or pharmacologically active substances, which alone or in combination, have been proven to reduce the burden of mature and immature intestinal forms of the Echinococcus multilocularis parasite in the host species concerned.
As a main rule, the treatment must be administered 24 – 120 hours prior to entering Norway.
Alternatively, the 28-day rule can be applied. Then the dog has to be treated at least twice before travelling at a maximum interval of 28 days and after that regularly at maximum intervals of 28 days for as long as the pet keeps travelling to and from Norway. If the dog remains in Norway, the last treatment has to be administered after the travelling has ended. If the 28-day interval is exceeded, the treatment series has to be started over with two treatments to trigger the 28-day rule again.
The treatment shall be certified by the administering veterinarian in the relevant section of the pet passport
No anti-echinococcus treatment is required for dogs travelling to Norway directly from Finland, Malta, Ireland or Northern Ireland.
More about anti-echinococcosis treatment of dogs imported to Norway
4. Pet passport
The animal must be accompanied by a pet passport carrying details of ownership, description and ID-marking of the animal. The passport shall also contain details of the issuing veterinarian, rabies vaccination and anti-echinococcus treatment when necessary.
Pet passports are issued by authorised veterinarians. A uniform model for the pet passport is applied in the EU-countries and Norway. No other vaccination card can replace the pet passport.
From 29 December 2014 pet passports issued in an EU-country must comply with the model laid down in Part 1 of Annex III to Regulation (EU) No 577/2013 (europa.eu). Pet passports issued in Norway must comply with the same model (with some national adaptations on the cover) from 1 June 2016. Pet passports issued in an EU-country before 29 December 2014 or in Norway before 1 June 2016 must comply with the model laid down in Decision 2003/803/EC (europa.eu).
Travelling with more than five animals
The maximum number of dogs, cats or ferrets which may accompany the owner or an authorised person during a single non-commercial movement shall not exceed five. Otherwise the movement is considered commercial.
The maximum number may only exceed five if the purpose of the trip is to attend a competition, show, sporting event or training related to these types of events. The owner or the authorised person has to provide written evidence that the animals are registered either to attend such an event or with an association organising such events and the animals must be over six months old.
See also: Travelling with dogs, cats and ferrets from third countries and territories to Norway