What does my dog need to enter Portugal from outside the EU?
Photo: Krzysztof Popławski, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0.
We want to bring a dog from outside the EU to Porto in the spring. Airlines, vets and Facebook groups each have a different list. What is the official shape of it?
1 answer
- Accepted answer
The dog needs a microchip before the rabies vaccination, not after, and then a waiting period that the EU rules set. The papers are an official veterinary certificate from the country you leave, in the form that country’s authority issues for the EU, plus the vaccination record. Airlines add their own crate and booking rules, which are not the law and still decide whether the dog flies. Start with the veterinary authority in the country of departure and with DGAV in Portugal, months before the ticket, not the week before.
A pet shop in Porto cannot fix a missing rabies timeline at the airport. If the dates are wrong, the dog can be refused or quarantined. This answer does not list a number of days, because you must read the rule that applies to your country of origin on the day you travel.
Checked 24 October 2026. This is not legal, tax or immigration advice. If an official page disagrees, follow that page.