For a lot of people, the move to Portugal only feels real once the dog is on the sofa in the new flat. Getting a pet here is entirely doable, but it runs on a fixed sequence of veterinary steps, and the order matters more than anything else. Miss the sequence and you can lose weeks re-doing vaccinations. This guide walks through what dogs and cats need, how it differs coming from the EU, the US or the UK, and what to do once you land — including the registration step most people forget.
The three things every pet needs
Whatever country you’re coming from, the foundation is the same for dogs, cats and ferrets travelling into Portugal:
- An ISO microchip. It must be a 15-digit chip meeting ISO 11784/11785. If yours is a non-standard chip (some older US chips are), either replace it or carry your own scanner. The chip has to be readable, because everything else is linked to it.
- A rabies vaccination — after the chip. This is the step people get wrong. The microchip must be implanted before or at the same time as the rabies shot. A rabies vaccine given before the chip doesn’t count, and you’ll have to redo it. The pet must be at least 12 weeks old for its first rabies vaccine.
- A 21-day wait. After the primary rabies vaccination, you must wait 21 days before travelling. Booster shots given on time don’t reset the clock, but a lapsed booster counts as a new primary vaccination — with a fresh 21-day wait.
Get those three right, in that order, and the rest is paperwork.
EU Pet Passport vs Animal Health Certificate
Which document you carry depends on where you’re starting.
Coming from another EU country (or if your pet already lives in the EU), you use the EU Pet Passport. A vet issues it once, it records the microchip and rabies history, and it’s valid for the life of the pet as long as the rabies vaccine stays current. This is the simplest route by far.
Coming from outside the EU — including the United States — your pet travels on an EU Animal Health Certificate (AHC). A vet completes it, and in the US it must be endorsed by a USDA-accredited vet and the USDA APHIS office within 10 days of travel. The AHC is valid for entry into the EU, then covers onward travel within the EU for four months. Once you’re settled, your Portuguese vet can convert everything to an EU Pet Passport so you never repeat the AHC.
A note on tapeworm treatment: some people read about a mandatory tapeworm (Echinococcus) treatment for dogs. Portugal does not require it for entry. That rule applies to dogs entering Ireland, Finland, Malta or Norway. If Portugal is your destination, you can skip it — though it’s still sensible general worming care.
Coming from the US
From the US, plan around the AHC and its 10-day window. The typical order:
- Confirm the microchip is ISO-standard, then rabies vaccine (if not already current), then wait 21 days.
- Within 10 days of the flight, your USDA-accredited vet completes the EU health certificate and gets it USDA-endorsed (increasingly done electronically via VEHCS).
- Book the flight and confirm your airline’s live-animal rules early.
Our moving to Portugal from the US guide covers the wider relocation timeline this fits into.
Coming from the UK
Post-Brexit, the UK is a third country, so old GB pet passports are no longer valid for EU travel. British pets travel on an AHC issued by an Official Veterinarian, valid for a single entry to the EU (used within 10 days of issue) and four months of onward EU travel. Microchip and in-date rabies vaccination rules are identical. See moving to Portugal from the UK for the broader picture.
Flying vs driving
By air is how most long-distance pets arrive. Small cats and dogs can often travel in the cabin in an under-seat carrier; larger dogs go in the temperature-controlled hold as manifest cargo. Rules, crate specifications and breed restrictions vary sharply by airline, and some snub-nosed (brachycephalic) breeds are barred from the hold. Book directly with the airline’s live-animal desk, well ahead — cabin and hold slots are limited.
By road suits moves from within Europe and gives nervous animals a calmer trip. From the UK, that means the Eurotunnel (which takes pets in your car) or a pet-friendly ferry, then a drive down through France and Spain. It’s slower but avoids the hold entirely, and specialist pet-transport companies do this run regularly.
Whichever you choose, five pets is the non-commercial limit per person; above that, or if the animals aren’t accompanying you as personal pets, commercial import rules apply.
After you arrive: SIAC registration
This is the step foreigners routinely miss. Portugal runs a national pet database, the SIAC (Sistema de Informação de Animais de Companhia), and registration is mandatory for dogs, cats and ferrets living in the country. Once you’re resident, take your pet and its documents to a Portuguese vet and have the microchip registered in SIAC under your details and Portuguese address. Do this in your first weeks — it’s how a lost pet gets traced back to you, and it’s a legal requirement, not an optional nicety. You’ll generally want your NIF sorted first, as it ties into your registration.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Vaccinating before microchipping. The single most expensive error — the rabies shot won’t count.
- Forgetting the 21-day wait. Count it from the vaccination date, not the vet visit.
- Leaving the AHC too late — or too early. It has a tight validity window; the 10-day rule is real.
- Assuming a UK or US passport still works. Neither is valid for EU entry now.
- Skipping SIAC. Getting your pet into Portugal isn’t the finish line; registering it here is.
Short FAQ
Is there quarantine in Portugal? No — if your pet meets the microchip, rabies and documentation rules, there’s no quarantine.
Puppies and kittens? They can’t be vaccinated for rabies before 12 weeks, so very young animals can’t meet the entry rules yet. Plan around their age.
Does my cat need the tapeworm treatment? No — tapeworm treatment is a dog-only rule, and Portugal doesn’t require it anyway.
One more thing: EU pet-travel rules are being updated through 2026 (new certificate formats phase in later in the year), so confirm the current forms with an official source close to your travel date. Start with the EU’s pet travel rules and, from the US, USDA APHIS pet travel to Portugal. For everything around the move itself, our relocation and living in Portugal pillars pull it together.
Moving with pets and want the whole relocation handled without the guesswork? Our team can coordinate the paperwork and the practicalities. Explore our services or contact us.