If you are planning to travel to Germany with a pet, you must consider the rules that the country sets for the importation of pets for non-commercial purposes. A maximum of five animals per person is allowed, and no animals can be sold or passed to third parties.

As in many other EU countries, you can only bring more than five animals into Germany in exceptional cases. These can be trips to participate in competitions, exhibitions or sporting events, as well as to prepare for them. In such cases, the pet must be at least 6 months old and the pet owner must provide written proof of registration for one of these events.

To visit Germany with a pet, the following rules must be observed:

• Each pet must be identified with a microchip. It is allowed to have a readable tattoo if it was made before 07.03.2011;

• The pet must have a valid rabies vaccination, the details of which are indicated in the pet passport or veterinary certificate;

• If you are coming from a country with a high risk of rabies (not listed in Annex II of Regulation (EC) No 577/2013), your pet must be tested for rabies antibodies at least three months before entering Germany;

• You must provide a document proving the identity of the pet. As a rule, this is a pet passport for EU countries and a veterinary certificate for third countries. The certificate template can be found at: https://www.bmel.de/SharedDocs/Downloads/EN/_Animals/EN-DurchfuehrungsVO-577-2013-Bescheinigung-561-2016_neu.html

• Animals from third countries must be accompanied by a written declaration from the owner that the animal will not be sold or given to third parties during the journey. You can find the template here: https://www.bmel.de/SharedDocs/Downloads/EN/_Animals/TravellingWithPets/EN-DurchfuehrungsVO-577-2013-Anhang4-Teil3.html

• Your pet does NOT need to get tapeworm treatment to enter Germany. However, if you also plan to visit Finland, Ireland, Malta or the UK during your trip, please check the requirements of these countries in addition.

Germany prohibits the importation of young animals, even from other EU member states. To enter Germany, your pet must be at least 15 weeks old and must be vaccinated against rabies in accordance with all international regulations (WHO).

Animals from third countries must be checked for all necessary documents at one of entry points. You can find the list of the entry points on the official website of the German Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (https://www.bmel.de/EN/topics/animals/pets-and-zoo-animals/pets-entry-regulation.html).