Pets traveling to Finland with refugees from Ukraine
Return to normal conditions for pet travel from July 1, 2023
At the request of the EU Commission, the exemptions in the entry conditions for pet dogs, cats and ferrets traveling with persons fleeing the war in Ukraine will end on June 30, 2023. Therefore, from July 1, 2023, dogs, cats and ferrets arriving in Finland from Ukraine must meet the normal entry conditions defined by legislation. Pets that do not meet the entry requirements can be returned to the country of origin or euthanized at the owner's expense.
Pets traveling from Ukraine with their owners are subject to the following conditions:
- the animal is tagged with a microchip before the rabies vaccination
- the animal has a valid vaccination against rabies, which was given no earlier than 12 weeks of age
- at least 30 days after vaccination, a blood sample has been taken from the pet for the rabies antibody testing and the test has been performed in an EU-approved laboratory
- the result of the rabies antibody test is at least 0.5 IU/ml or more
- the animal has waited in the country of origin for at least 3 months after the date of taking the test, before arriving in the EU
- the dog (Note! only applies to dogs) has received medication against echinococcosis under the supervision of a veterinarian 1–5 days before crossing the Finnish border
- the animal has the original vaccination documents and the result of the antibody test as well as a health certificate issued by the veterinary authority of the country of origin for transfer to the EU area (non-commercial movement) when crossing the border
- the same owner can have a maximum of 5 pets
More detailed information on moving pets can be found on the Food Agency's search engine (in Finnish): https://www.ruokavirasto.fi/elaimet/matkustus/lemmikkien-maahantulo/
and from the website of the European Commission: https://food.ec.europa.eu/animals/movement-pets/eu-legislation/non-commercial-movement-non-eu-countries_en
If the owner is not traveling with the pet, the person responsible for the import must ensure that the import conditions are met. https://www.ruokavirasto.fi/en/themes/import-and-export/import/animals-and-animal-products/animals/dogs-cats-and-ferrets/import-of-dogs-cats-and-ferrets/