Travel to Spain With Pets From Non-EU Country - Who Knew This? (1 Viewer)

[HKF]

On the back of my thread about whether or not tourists in Spain need to have Civil Liability Insurance for their dogs, I came across this page https://www.mapa.gob.es/en/ganaderi...ento-animales-compania/dogs-cats-ferrets.aspx which has this information for tourists;

5. Introducing a pet from a non-EU country
To introduce a pet from a third country, you must enter with your pet through one of the designated Travelers' Points of Entry (December - 2023) and declare to the Guardia Civil's Tax Office that you are traveling with a pet, presenting the pet's documentation.
In those cases where there is no European pet passport, the animals must be accompanied by

• An animal health certificate, which must be signed by an official veterinarian of the third country, and presented at least in Spanish;
• and a declaration, both in accordance with EU models, and
• Certified copy (see FAQs) of the identification and vaccination data of the animal/animals.

I wonder how many people know this? I'm assuming it's not very well policed but what could be the consequences if you just drive over the border without going through a Designated Point of Entry?

 

[Nigel P]

Which non-EU border would you use to drive into Spain?

 

[HKF]

Which non-EU border would you use to drive into Spain?

It's not about that. It's about 'introduce a pet from a third country'. So, even if you've travelled from the UK through France, you're still 'introducing a pet from a third country'. Your pet doesn't gain French residency just because you've driven through France. It still comes from a non-EU country.

 

[Nigel P]

It's not about that. It's about 'introduce a pet from a third country'. So, even if you've travelled from the UK through France, you're still 'introducing a pet from a third country'. Your pet doesn't gain French residency just because you've driven through France. It still comes from a non-EU country.

Whilst my post was tongue in cheek, depending on how you interpret the wording the pet is not being introduced from a non-EU country it is being introduced from France. The origins of the animal are not mentioned just where it came from. To get to France the same designated ports for entry would apply for that country so the criteria for entering the EU should be met and further internal travel within the EU is not routinely subject to further checks. Much depends on how you interpret certain phrases.

 

[HKF]

Whilst my post was tongue in cheek, depending on how you interpret the wording the pet is not being introduced from a non-EU country it is being introduced from France. The origins of the animal are not mentioned just where it came from. To get to France the same designated ports for entry would apply for that country so the criteria for entering the EU should be met and further internal travel within the EU is not routinely subject to further checks. Much depends on how you interpret certain phrases.

I understand what you're saying but the wording is very unclear

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[JRT]

We were certainly unaware of this when we first planned to travel to Spain with our dog, obviously we knew about the AHC and designated port of entry but not about the need to present the dog to any official other than those at the ports.

I do wonder though if the use of the word 'introduce' rather than travelling means an animal that is going to be resident?

As we are no longer be taking the dog this year it won't affect us just yet.

 

[Nigel P]

I understand what you're saying but the wording is very unclear

I agree, the wording is a bit basic. Just as an example for context: my dog is from Eire but we have also lived in Germany and the UK, so begs the question where is my dog from? He has an Irish EU pet passport which is all the border officials are concerned with. Pets do not have a nationality as a means to obtain a passport so his origins are of no interest to the pet passport system. Any legislation can become distorted where no literal translation exists and the translator makes assumptions relative to their own understanding of the meaning. The whole concept of 'free travel' in the EU revolves around each country having a common approach to incomers, people or pets. If one EU state decides to do something different it immediately compromises the whole group and defeats the borderless arrangements. I used to work for a French company (in the days before email!) some of our telephone conversations were amusing and difficult to believe we were talking about the same thing, a bit of 'fork handles' exchanges.

 

[tribalbrit]

When applying for the AHC you have to register your point of entry into the EU. In my case France. Once in France you are in the EU and no further registration is required. The EU is one entity.
If you were to sail to Spain directly then this would be your point of entry and registered as such. You would then be free to travel to other EU nations from there.

 

[helen peters]

We have travelled to France and other EU countries with dogs for many years. At the point you enter the EU from outside, you do need to present your dog to the relevant authority for the standard checks….so we do this at the tunnel as that is our point of entry, and the dogs’ passports and microchip are checked. Once in the EU, you do not need to declare your dog each time you cross a border….I checked this when sailing from France to Menorca last October, and was told by the carrier that my dog would not be checked as part of the boarding process. However, they did say we would need to carry their pet passports with us. We traveled back a week later and can confirm that we were not checked either way by the authorities.