Traveling from Belgium to another EU Member State and coming back

To travel with your pet from Belgium to other EU Member States, you must meet the following conditions:

Identification and registration

Your pet must have been identified with a microchip. The tattoo is still considered valid provided that it was placed before July 3, 2011 and that it is clearly legible; unless you travel to the UK, Ireland and Malta

In addition, your pet must have a European passport

Vaccination against rabies

Rabies vaccination is mandatory. This can only be done from the age of 12 weeks but your pet must already be identified. The veterinarian can, if necessary, still proceed with identification just before vaccination.

The first vaccination or first vaccination must be carried out at least 21 days before departure, since the period of validity begins to run only at this time. The day of the vaccination does not count.
The period of validity of the vaccine is calculated according to the manufacturer's instructions and is recorded in the passport of the animal. If the animal is vaccinated again during the validity period, then the vaccination is valid immediately. Vaccination outside the period of validity is considered a first vaccination.

Other conditions

To travel to the United Kingdom, Ireland, Finland or Malta, treatment against Echiniococcus multilocularis is required. The processing must take place at the earliest 120 hours and at the latest 24 hours before the scheduled arrival in one of these four Member States and must be entered in the passport.

Traveling from Belgium to third countries and coming back

To travel to and from third countries, both the conditions defined by the country of destination and the requirements for return to our country must be fulfilled. So be sure to check all relevant information on time, not only on this website but also in the country of destination. You can also contact embassies.

Identification and registration
Since the passport is written only in the language of the country of issue and in English, the third country may require a certificate in its own language.

Vaccination against rabbies
Countries outside the European Union usually accept only 1 year validity for rabies vaccination. In addition, a number of third countries require, in addition to the passport, a separate vaccination certificate and a health certificate. You must request the appropriate certificate template from the embassy of the country of destination (see list of embassy addressesdes adresses).

Legalization of documents
When importing cats or dogs, third countries require that the vaccination certificate or standardized EU passport be legalized by an official veterinarian employed by the government.
In Belgium, it is the Local Control Units (ULC)  "Unités locales de contrôle (ULC)" of the Federal Agency for the Safety of the Food Chain (FASFC) that are responsible for this legalization.

For Brussels

L'AFSCA unité de contrôle de Bruxelles Food Safety Center

Blv du Jardin Botanique 55

B- 1000 BRUXELLES

Telephone: +32 2 211 92 00

Fax +32 2 211 91 80

Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

At your service on working days from 8h 30 to 12h and from 13h to 16h 30

Some countries require that the signature of the authority is also legalized by Foreign Affairs and / or their embassy in Belgium. To know the exact procedure and conditions, it is best to contact the Embassy of the country concerned directly.


Return to Belgium after traveling to a country outside the European Union

If you return from a country that belongs to Annex II of European Regulation (EC) n° 577/2013, the same rules apply as for a trip within the European Union.

To be able to come back to Belgium without any problem from a country that is not on this list, it is necessary, before leaving our country, to carry out a serological blood test to test the antibodies against rabies in your pet. The Scientific Institute of Public Health (I.S.P.) "Institut scientifique de Santé publique (I.S.P.)" is responsible for this.

The result of the serological examination must be greater than 0.5 IU / ml and remain valid throughout the life of the animal, provided that the validity of the vaccination against rabies is not interrupted. This implies that your pet is always revaccinated against rabies during the validity period of the previous vaccination.
Vaccination against rabies and the result of the serological test must be certified by the veterinarian in the European passport before departure from Belgium.