The rules you must follow to get to Italy with a dog, a cat or a ferret

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For foreign people who want to travel/come back to Italy and other European Countries with a pet (dog, cat, ferret) from a NON-EU Country

If you come from Italy or EU and want to temporarily return to your Country of origin and then come back to Italy or EU, it is not necessary to wait 90 days (home quarantine) after taking the sample for the antibody test (see below) if it has been carried out in Italy or EU before leaving. In this case, it will be doable to demonstrate on the EU passport that the test was carried out in the EU before moving to the third country (and therefore that the animal, given that it resides in a rabies-free territory, at the time of collection for the test has never had contact with the disease).

If you come in Italy or EU for the first time, here are the steps to follow:

Step 1 (Identification and anti-rabies vaccination)

• Your pet has to be marked with a EU-compliant RFID microchip (ISO 11784)
• Your pet has to be vaccinated against rabies AFTER having been microchipped.
  The vaccine is considered active after 21 days (exception: see below).

NOTE: if your pet has a tattoo ID, it's considered a valid identification IF it was done until july 3, 2011 but it must be clearly readable. In case of doubt, it is mandatory having your pet microchipped.

Step 2 (verifying the Country of origin)

Verify if your Country is included in the third Countries List as in 576/577 EU Regulation (rabies-free Countries) 
See Third Countries (non-UE) list

If it is, go to step 3A
If it's not, scroll forward to step 3B.

Step 3A (coming from one of the Countries included in the list)

If the Country from where you come from is included in the list above, you have to follow these instructions:  

• As you come from a non-UE Country, you cannot have a UE Pet Passport.
  Therefore you have to use this form in substitution: Approved UE Certificate - Importing pets from a non-UE Country (non-commercial movement)
  filled and signed by an official veterinarian (belonging to sanitary veterinarian authorities of the Country from where you come).
• You can enter in Italy only after 21 days after having your pet vaccinated against rabies, bringing a good health certificate of your pet, issued by a veterinarian since max. 7 days.

Step 3B (coming from one of the Countries NOT included in the list)

If your Country is NOT included in the list above, you have to follow these instructions:

• 30 days after the vaccination if it has been the first antirabies vaccine inoculated to your pet
  OR
  21 days days after the vaccination if it has been a booster, 
  your vet will have to take a blood (serum) sample that must be sent to an approved UE lab in order to have an antirabies antibodies titulation, which has to reach at least 0,5 Ul/ml. You will receive from the lab your certification.
  You can find the info about the Authorized Labs below, and you can also download the appropriate request form for the test if you want to send the blood sample in Italy
• This must be done at least 3 months before arriving in Italy or another EU Country
• Finally, an official veterinarian (belonging to veterinarian sanitary authorities of the Country from where you come) must fill up the following form: Approved UE Certificate - Importing pets from a non-UE Country (non-commercial movement). 
• You must enter in Italy by a BCP (Border Control Point)

If your pet has already got a rabies antibodies titulation, you MUST submit your pet to his antirabies booster EVERY 11 MONTHS in order to maintain the validity of the test results.

Validity requirements for anti-rabies vaccinations

The anti-rabies vaccine must be a vaccine other than a live modified vaccine and fall within one of the following categories:
1) an inactivated vaccine of at least one antigenic unit per dose (recommendation from the World Health Organisation);
or
2) a recombinant vaccine expressing the immunising glycoprotein of the rabies virus in a live virus vector;

Where it is administered in a Member State

it must have been granted a marketing authorisation in accordance with Article 5 of Directive 2001/82/EC or Article 3 of Regulation (EC) No 726/2004;

Where it is administered in a territory or a third country

it must have been granted an approval or a licence by the competent authority and meet at least the requirements laid down in the relevant part of the Chapter concerning rabies in the Manual of Diagnostic Tests and Vaccines for Terrestrial Animals of the World Organisation for Animal Health.

An anti-rabies vaccination must fulfil the following conditions:

(a) the vaccine was administered by an authorised veterinarian;
(b) the pet animal was at least 12 weeks old at the date on which the vaccine was administered;
(c) the date of administration of the vaccine is indicated by an authorised veterinarian or an official veterinarian in the appropriate section of the identification document;
(d) the date of administration referred to in point (c) does not precede the date of application of the transponder or tattoo or the date of reading of the transponder or the tattoo indicated in the appropriate section of the identification document;
(e) the period of validity of the vaccination starts from the establishment of protective immunity, which shall not be less than 21 days from the completion of the vaccination protocol required by the manufacturer for the primary vaccination, and continues until the end of the period of protective immunity, as prescribed in the technical specification of the marketing authorisation referred to in point 1(b) or the approval or licence referred to in point 1(c) for the anti-rabies vaccine in the Member State or territory or third country where the vaccine is administered. The period of validity of the vaccination is indicated by an authorised veterinarian or an official veterinarian in the appropriate section of the identification document;
(f) a revaccination must be considered a primary vaccination if it was not carried out within the period of validity referred to in point (e) of the previous vaccination.

Authorized EU Labs for activated rabies antibodies test:

Europe and other countries in the world (Australia, Brasil, Chile, China, Israel, Japan, Korea, Macedonia, Mexico, Russia, Serbia, South Africa, Tunisia, Turkey, USA)

Main EU authorized Lab in Italy

Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale delle Venezie 
Via Romea 14/A
I-35020 Legnaro
Ph / Fax: +39 049 8084 259 / 8830 530
E-mail: fmutinelli@izsvenezie.it

Other EU authorized Labs in Italy

Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale Dell'Abruzzo e del Molise G. Caporale
Via Campio Boario
I-64100 Teramo
Ph / Fax: +39 0861 3321 / 332251
E-mail: rlelli@izs.it

Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Lazio e della Toscana 
Via Appia Nuova 1411
I-00178 Roma Capannelle
Ph / Fax: +39 06 79099 1 / 79340724
E-mail: glautorino@rm.izs.it

Veterinary custom point in Milan Malpensa Airport - Tel. +39/02/58583410
Veterinary custom point in Rome Fiumicino Airport - Tel. +39/06/65953992 - 65956072
Veterinary custom point in Ancona Falconara Airport - Tel. +39/071/55341

Authorized Laboratories in the rest of the world

Europe and rest of the world (Australia, Brasil, Chile, China, Israel, Japan, Korea, Macedonia, Mexico, Russia, Serbia, South Africa, Tunisia, Turkey, USA)

Updated  in sept. 2024 and currently valid
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