Buying a pet from abroad

You can bring a pet you bought abroad to Finland. There are various requirements and restrictions concerning the importation of live animals. The requirements and restrictions vary, for example depending on what type of animal it is and on the country from which it is brought to Finland.

I am buying a pet from another EU country, for example from Sweden or Estonia

  1. Before you bring in the pet, be sure to check the import requirements well in advance on the Finnish Food Authority’s website (in Finnish).
  2. You don’t need to declare your pet to Customs, and your pet does not need to undergo customs clearance. However, please note that Customs can inspect your pet and its documents.

Please note! If you buy a pet from the customs territory of the EU but outside its fiscal territory, for example from the Åland Islands or Canary Islands, the animal must be declared when it is brought to Finland.

I am buying a pet from outside the EU, for example from Russia or the United States

  1. Before you bring in the pet, be sure to check the import requirements well in advance on the Finnish Food Authority’s website (in Finnish).
  2. Present your pet and its documents for control by the authorities in the EU country where you first arrive from outside the EU. The authorities will check your pet and its documents.
Example: If you bring an animal to Finland from the United States and you have a connecting flight from Germany, the German authorities will check the animal.

If the importation is considered non-commercial, Customs will inspect the pet and its documents in Finland. You can bring your pet to Finland through an approved point of entry.

If the importation of animals is commercial, they will undergo a veterinary border control in the EU country where they first arrive. Pets can be brought to the territory of the EU only through a border control post approved for bringing in live animals. In Finland, Helsinki Airport and Vaalimaa are approved border control posts. At these locations, the Finnish Food Authority carries out veterinary border controls. The control is subject to a fee, and the control appointment must be arranged in advance. For instructions, please visit the Food Authority’s website.

Puppies less than six months old cannot be brought into Finland from another country, if the purpose is to sell or otherwise hand over the puppy in Finland within four months of the entry into Finland. Customs may decide that such a puppy must be returned to the country of departure.

Commercial and non-commercial import of a pet

The import of a pet is considered non-commercial when all of the following requirements are met:

  • you are travelling with your own pet
  • you have no more than five animals
  • you are bringing the animals with you to Finland
  • if some other person brings in the pet, and you travel to Finland using the same route within five days of the date when the other person brings your pet to Finland
  • you don’t sell or hand over your pet in the territory of the EU

Importing a pet is considered commercial when one of the following takes place:

  • you have at least six animals
  • an animal is travelling alone
  • some other person brings in the pet, and you don’t personally travel to Finland within five days of the date when the other person brings your pet to Finland
  • the animals are sold or handed over in the territory of the EU
  1. In Finland, submit an import declaration to Customs for your pet. You can submit your declaration at a customs office. You can also authorise a forwarding agency to see to customs clearance.

When an animal is imported by airplane from outside the EU to Finland

Animals arriving by air and travelling without their owner can enter Finland only as airfreight. Such animals must undergo a veterinary border control. If a person other than the owner (person accompanying the pet) brings the animal to a new owner in the cabin or hull of an aircraft, the animal will be denied entry to the territory of the EU. An animal that is denied entry can either be returned to the country of departure or be put down in accordance with Article 66 of Regulation 2017/625.

Points to consider

Ask the Finnish Food Authority about the restrictions and regulations regarding the importation of pets.

Clear the pet through Customs when you enter the country. Present documents and the invoice for the pet in connection with the customs clearance. You can bring in the pet without paying duties or taxes as long as the value limit for imports by travellers is not exceeded. The value limit is 430 or 300 euros depending on which transport vehicle you use.

If the value limit is exceeded, the amount of VAT payable is 24% of the purchase price plus transport costs and possible insurance costs. Read more about import duties and taxes.

Read more: Buying a pet from abroad


Sometimes a pet arrives in Finland by air freight. This means that the airline transports the pet in the freight space of the airplane. In other words, the pet does not travel in the cabin with you or some other person accompanying the pet or as luggage.

When the pet has arrived in Finland, it is taken to the transport company’s temporary storage facility. You must declare the pet before it can be handed over to you from the storage facility.

Read these instructions if you are in this situation:

  • The pet has been acquired from abroad. For example:
    • You have bought a pet from abroad.
    • You are moving to Finland and you have acquired the pet at least 6 months earlier.
  • In addition, the pet is brought in from outside the EU directly to Finland without stopover or transfer in another EU country.

Before the animal arrives in Finland

On the website of the Finnish Food Authority, there is a search engine (in Finnish) where you can find out the requirements for pets entering Finland.

No veterinary border inspection is required if both of the following conditions are met:

  • There are no more than five pets.
  • The pet arrives in one of the following ways:
    • You travel on the same flight with your pet.
    • You travel first and the pet travels within five days from the same country of departure.

If these conditions are met, it is a case of so-called movement of one’s own pet. In that case, Customs will check the microchip and documents of the pet, but no veterinary border inspection is required.

In other cases, the border veterinarian of the Finnish Food Authority will carry out a veterinary border inspection of the pet. On the website of the Finnish Food Authority you can read the guidance on how to book a veterinary border inspection.

When the animal arrives at Helsinki Airport by air freight

  1. The pet arrives at the transport company’s temporary storage facility. The transport company notifies you of the arrival of the pet.
  2. If the import of the pet does not require a veterinary border inspection, Customs will check the documents and microchip of the pet with the assistance of the customer. The importer of the pet must participate in the check.

    If the import of the pet requires a veterinary border inspection, it will be carried out at the veterinary border inspection post of the Finnish Food Authority. Read the instructions on the veterinary border inspection on the website of the Finnish Food Authority.

    After the check by Customs or the inspection by the Finnish Food Authority, the pet must be declared. You can declare the pet at Customs’ customer service point at Rahtitie 1 A, Vantaa. The customer service point is open on weekdays 8.00–16.15. At other times, you can contact Customs by calling +358 295 527 039. You can also authorise a representative to declare the pet on your behalf.

    If the border veterinarian has inspected the pet, attach the CHED-A issued by the vet to the declaration.

    If you are moving to Finland from outside the EU, attach a document verifying your residency abroad to the declaration, so that you can bring in the pet tax-free as removal goods.
  3. Once the pet has been declared and any import duties due have been paid, you will receive a decision on release from Customs or from the representative who declared the pet. Take or send the decision on release to the temporary storage operator so they can hand over the pet to you.

Dogs and cats that are hybrids of domestic dogs or domestic cats can be brought to Finland only under certain conditions. Such breeds have generational restrictions, so Finnish Customs requires a genealogy of the pet upon import. A genealogy must be presented e.g. for wolfdogs, and Savannah cats or Bengal cats.

Read more on import of domestic dog or domestic cat hybrids on the Food Authority’s website ‘Bringing in a wild animal as a pet’ (in Finnish)


Any questions?

Contact Customs Information Mon–Fri 8 am–4.15 pm

Please have a look at the frequently asked questions.

If you have a question about the arrival of parcels, its contents or the handling fee, please contact Posti.

Customs Information Service