Travelling with a pet
The instructions on this page apply to a situation where you are visiting Finland or you go on a trip with your pet. Read the separate instructions for a situation where you buy a pet from abroad and bring it to Finland for the first time.
It is important that you find out the requirements for travelling with a pet before you go on your trip.
Note changes concerning situations where a pet arrives from Russia
From 16 September 2024, dogs and cats arriving from Russia and Belarus must have rabies antidote certificates. This requirement also applies to pets returning to Finland, for which the antidote certificates must be obtained before the trip. Read more in our customer notice in Finnish or Russian.
I’m visiting Finland from abroad
I’m visiting from another EU country
- Before you bring in the animal, be sure to check the requirements via the Finnish Food Authority’s search engine.
- You do not need to declare your pet to Customs, and your pet does not need to undergo customs clearance. However, note that Customs can check your pet and its documents.
- This also concerns pets brought in from Norway directly to Finland by road.
I’m visiting from a non-EU country
- Before you import the animal, be sure to check the requirements on the Finnish Food Authority’s website.
- When you arrive in Finland, choose the red channel. Present the pet and its documents to Customs.
Please note! If you arrive in Finland by air via another EU country and you pet travels as hand luggage, the pet and its documents must be inspected in the country where you make the stopover. This means that if you arrive from the United States and you change planes in Brussels, the pet must be inspected in Brussels. An inspection may not always be offered, but you need to make sure it is done. When you arrive in Finland after the stopover, you must have a stamped EU standard model health certificate for your pet.
If the pet arrives in the cargo hold or as freight, it is usually inspected only in Finland.
Please note that you and your pet must travel to Finland via an approved point of entry.
Please note that customs offices on the eastern border are closed temporarily.
By air
- Helsinki Airport
By road, rail or via the Saimaa Canal
The customs offices on the eastern border are temporarily closed. Before travelling, check if the customs offices are open.
By road or railway
- Imatra
- Kuusamo
- Niirala
- Nuijamaa
- Raja-Jooseppi
- Salla
- Vaalimaa
- Vainikkala
- Vartius
By sea and via the Saimaa Canal
- Helsinki
- Hamina
- Nuijamaa
- Hanko
- Inkoo
- Kotka
- Loviisa
- Mariehamn
- Porvoo
- Turku
Exceptions
Even though Norway is not part of the EU, the same rules apply to Norway as to the EU countries. This means that you can travel with your own pet from Norway to Finland via any point of entry, for example across the border between Norway and Finland. The other guidance is also the same as for travel within the EU.
The same exception applies to the following countries outside the EU: Andorra, the Faroe Islands, Gibraltar, Greenland, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Monaco, San Marino, Switzerland and the Vatican City State.
I’m leaving Finland for a trip abroad
When you leave Finland with your pet, you need to take two sets of requirements into account: the requirements in the country of destination and Finland’s own requirements for bringing the pet back.
Requirements of the country of destination
The requirements in different countries vary, and Finnish Customs does not know the restrictions of other countries. Only Finland’s requirements are mentioned on this page. To find out about the restrictions and requirements of the country of destination, contact e.g. the authorities of the country. It is important that you find out the requirements before you go on your trip.
Finland’s requirements when you return from your trip
Before you bring the animal back to Finland, be sure to check the requirements on the Finnish Food Authority’s website.
- The Finnish Food Authority’s search engine for dogs and cats (in Finnish) (in the section Lähtömaa, select the country from where you arrive in Finland)
- The Finnish Food authority’s webpages about other pets
If you are travelling with a dog, it will need treatment against echinococcosis when it arrives in Finland from most countries. If you visit e.g. Sweden, Estonia or Spain with the dog, the dog must have a valid treatment against echinococcosis before you return to Finland. If your trip is short, the treatment against echinococcosis cannot be given at the destination, but must be started already in Finland before you go on the trip. For detailed instructions, see the Food Authority's website.
If you return to Finland from a country with a high risk of rabies, such as Turkey or Russia, your pet needs to have a rabies antidote certificate. The antidote certificate must be acquired already before you leave Finland, because it takes several months to get the certificate. Read more (in Finnish) about the test for rabies antibodies on the website of the Finnish Food Authority.
There are also restrictions on the import of animal food if you arrive in Finland from outside the EU.
Frequently asked questions
These requirements serve to ensure that dangerous diseases such as rabies do not spread to other animals or persons in Finland.
If the requirements for the arrival of the pet are not fulfilled, it will be returned to the country of departure. Animals that arrived by air will be returned in a transport box in the cargo hold. If the animal does not already have a transport box, one must be obtained.
If the animal cannot be returned for some reason, it must be put down, because there is no possibility to quarantine the animal in Finland.
The owner must pay the costs incurred if the requirements for arrival in the country are not fulfilled. Accommodating the animal in Customs’ facilities prior to its return to the country of departure is subject to a charge, as is killing the animal.
A puppy less than six months old may not be brought into Finland, if the intention is to sell or otherwise hand over the puppy in Finland within four months of import.
You can get a puppy or kitten for yourself from abroad, but only from a foreign vendor. The sale or transfer agreement must have been made between a person living in Finland and the foreign entity before the animal arrives in Finland. The agreement must show the parties of the agreement as well as the target of the agreement. In addition, the information of the new owner must be recorded in the puppy's EU pet passport and in the possible health certificate.
If the puppy is brought to Finland in breach of regulations, Customs can order the puppy to be returned to the country of departure. Read more on this page in the section: What happens if the pet does not meet all the requirements.
Read more
Read more
The concise instructions on this page are meant to answer only the most frequently asked questions. Always check the Finnish Food Authority’s website for detailed instructions.
- Bringing in pets - the Food Authority’s search engine (in Finnish)
- The Finnish Food authority’s webpages about other pets