Movement of dogs, cats or ferrets to Sweden – both travel and trade
If you are going to bring a dog, cat or ferret to Sweden, there are rules you must follow. This applies, for example, if you have been on holiday abroad with your own dog, if you buy a dog for yourself abroad or if you buy a dog abroad and then sell it, rehome or put it up for adoption in Sweden. The rules exist to prevent the spread of diseases, especially rabies. Rabies is not found in Sweden today but it is found in many countries outside Europe and also in a few countries in Europe.
Travel guide for dogs, cats and ferrets
The travel guide is a help for you who are going to bring a dog, cat or ferret to Sweden.
The rules that apply in your particular case depend on which country you are to bring in animals from and what the rabies situation looks like in that country. The countries are divided into three groups, mainly based on the rabies situation. Find the current country in the list below and then click on the link.
From EU countries and from Andorra, Gibraltar, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Monaco, Northern Ireland, Norway, San Marino, Switzerland and the Vatican City
These are the EU countries:
Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Denmark (including Greenland and the Faroe Islands), Estonia, Finland (including Åland), France (including French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Corsica, Martinique and Reunion), Greece, Ireland, Italy, Croatia, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal (including Azores and Madeira), Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain (including mainland, Balearic Islands, Canary Islands and Ceuta and Melilla), Sweden, Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary and Austria.
From countries outside the EU where the rabies situation is documented and monitored
This applies to these countries:
Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Aruba, Ascension, Australia, Bahrain, Barbados, Bermuda, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bonaire, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Chile, Curaçao, Falkland Islands, Fiji, French Polynesia, United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong, Jamaica Japan, Canada, Northern Macedonia, Malaysia, Mauritius, Mexico, Montserrat, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saint Helena, Singapore, Saint Eustatius and Saba, Sint-Maarten, Great Britain (excluding Northern Ireland, but including the Channel Islands Guernsey, Jersey and the Isle of Man), Taiwan, Trinidad and Tobago, USA (including Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, American Samoa and US Virgin Islands), Vanuatu, Wales and Futuna.
In the case of Malaysia, there are more rules due to Nipah disease.
Changed rules from Russia and Belarus
Important information for you who will travel with your dog, cat or ferret from or through Russia or Belarus, or import a dog, cat or ferret from there. As of September 16, 2024, additional entry requirements will be added to Sweden and the rest of the EU.
Your animal must also have an approved amount of antibodies against rabies. The blood sample must be taken no earlier than 30 days after the last rabies vaccination and analyzed by an EU‑approved laboratory.
After the approved antibody result, your animal must wait another 3 months, counted from the day of sampling, before it can travel.
Thus, in order to meet the entry requirements, your animal needs to be at least 7 months old.
Animals that do not meet the requirements for entry can be rejected at the border to Sweden or other EU countries or, in the worst case, euthanized.
From countries outside the EU where the rabies situation is not under control
In some of these countries there are cases of rabies or there are no effective routines to detect rabies, which makes it difficult to assess the rabies situation. If you bring in a dog, cat or ferret from one of these countries, there is therefore a greater risk that the animal will carry rabies.
This includes all countries that are not included above. Examples of countries in this group are Belarus, Brazil, China, Egypt, Georgia, Iran, Kenya, Moldova, Peru, Serbia, South Africa, Thailand, Turkey and Ukraine.
If the animal is to change owner in Sweden, travels without its owner or travels in a group of more than 5 animals, it may only travel from some of the countries where the rabies situation is not under control.
Revision date: 2023-02-20