How do you bring a pet to the Netherlands in 2026?

For travel from another EU country, dogs, cats, and ferrets need a microchip (or a readable pre-July 2011 tattoo), an EU pet passport issued by a vet, and a valid rabies vaccination recorded in that passport. The chip must be implanted or read before the rabies shot that counts for travel. A primary vaccination is usually given from 12 weeks of age and becomes valid after 21 days, so standard entry starts around 15 weeks. You may bring up to five pets for non-commercial travel when you travel as the owner or authorised companion.

From outside the EU, NVWA distinguishes lower- and higher-risk rabies countries. Many third-country routes need an official health certificate and, in higher-risk cases, a blood titre test months before departure. Read the current NVWA page for your exact origin rather than copying a friend’s EU passport checklist. Airlines and ferry operators add crate and cabin rules on top of animal-health law.

Register an imported dog in the Dutch identification and registration system within two weeks of arrival. A Dutch vet usually enters the import, chip, and passport details; you cannot implant the chip yourself. Municipal hondenbelasting (dog tax) is a separate local bill in some gemeenten and does not exist in others such as Amsterdam, so check your new municipality after address registration.

Lease contracts and building rules can ban pets even when entry papers are perfect: How to rent a home. Daily dog life in parks and trains sits in Dog-friendly Netherlands. Keep a Dutch number for vet callbacks: Get a mobile phone. Fold pet steps into the wider arrival sequence in Paperwork after moving.