Pet Import Regulations in Finland

Expatriates relocating to Finland may easily take their pets with them through hassle-free pet relocation services. A pet passport is required which will serve as documentation on the animal to be relocated. The passport, which may come in a pink A4 sheet or a small blue booklet, expedites the transport process. It is necessary to determine if the animals are for commercial or non-commercial use for the appropriate requirements and documentation.The requirements in relocating non-commercial pets such as cats, dogs and ferrets are as follows:

• Owners are strictly prohibited from selling or giving away their pets.

• The number of pets must not exceed five.

• Attached with the pet passport is the veterinarian’s certificate right after injecting a microchip or placing a tattoo on the pet as a form of identification.

• Pets must be vaccinated against rabies at least 21 days and no more than 12 months prior leaving the country of origin. Dogs being transported to Finland, Malta, Ireland, and the UK are required to take medicines against Echinococcus. The treatment is for dogs that has parasitic diseases such as tapeworms. This must be done within a period of not more than 120 hours but not less than 24 hours before the time of scheduled travel.

• Owners or person responsible for the pet must determine if the animals will travel as:

- a cargo on the same flight

- on a different flight, accompanied by the owner’s relative, friend or through a cargo company that specialises in pet relocation.

Pets for commercial purposes require a commercial certificate.

Here are some of Finland’s cargo companies that provide pet relocation services:

Travel Cargo

Travel Cargo is one of Finland’s finest animal logistics companies and is an accredited member of the International Pet and Animal Transportation association (IPATA) and the GLN-Forwarding Network (Global Logistics Network). It provides air freight services for pet animals worldwide, suitable transportation containers (plastic) and custom-made containers for larger animals (wooden).

Pet Cargo

Pet Cargo is a worldwide pet shipping company which specialises in services for pets like dogs and cats being shipped to different parts of the world. It operates through flights in FinnAir, KLM and SAS. It also offers domestic transportation in Finland. Pet Cargo is the first professional animal shipper in the country.