Leaving a beloved pet behind is unthinkable for many of us, and the good news is you don't have to. We brought our dog from India to Amsterdam. It takes planning, but it absolutely works. The catch almost nobody warns you about is the timeline, so here it is up front.
Start about four months before you fly
India counts as a high-rabies country, so the EU requires a rabies antibody blood test followed by a three-month wait before your pet can enter. Miss this window and your pet simply can't travel with you. Plan backwards from your move date.
The steps, in order
- 1Microchip your pet with an ISO 11784/11785 chip. This has to come first. Anything done before the chip doesn't count.
- 2Rabies vaccination, given after (or on the same day as) the microchip.
- 3Rabies antibody (titer) test: blood drawn at least 30 days after the vaccination, tested at an EU-approved laboratory, with a result of at least 0.5 IU/ml.
- 4Wait three months from the date the blood was taken before your pet enters the EU.
- 5EU animal health certificate, issued by an official vet shortly before travel (within 10 days of arrival).
- 6Book a pet-friendly airline and route, and enter via an approved traveller's point of entry.
Once you arrive
- Consider an EU pet passport from a Dutch vet. It makes future travel around Europe far easier.
- Register with a local vet, and check whether your gemeente charges dog tax (hondenbelasting). Some do, many don't.
- Dutch life is wonderfully pet-friendly: dogs are welcome on trains, trams and in many cafés.
A good pet relocator earns its fee
The paperwork, timing and airline logistics are fiddly. A specialist pet-relocation service is worth it for peace of mind, though plenty of people manage it themselves with a switched-on vet.
Requirements are strict and change. Confirm every step with your vet and the Netherlands authority (NVWA) well before you book anything.
Questions & answers
- Cabin or cargo, and does summer heat really matter?
- From India most pets fly as manifest cargo rather than in the cabin, and yes, summer heat embargoes are real: airlines restrict live-animal cargo when it's too hot at either end, so spring or autumn travel is safer. Use an IATA-compliant crate your pet is already comfortable in, and honestly, a good pet-relocation agent earns their fee here by untangling the airline, crate and paperwork maze.