Hi everyone,
We are moving to France next spring and will be bringing our two dogs and a cat with us.
Do any of you have experience of shipping pets in from outside the EU? I am particularly keen to hear about customs and clearance protocol at CDG airport.
Many thanks
Wendy
In case anyone is looking for this information, my dogs have now arrived safely. The process at CDG was really straightforward: the airline told me in advance where to go ( the building and the address on the outskirts of the airport). When we arrived we were dealt with quickly and given the paperwork to take to the Douane (in the same building). The customs officer took around five minutes to look through the papers and then gave us a permit d'enlever the dogs which we took back to the freight handling guy downstairs. We paid around 70 handling for both dogs together and then a lovely man with a forklift brought our pooches out to us and invited us to give them a run on the grassy area in front of the buidling.
Couldn't have been simpler!
Thanks June - good to know the dogs can travel back and forth to the UK once we are home in France!
Sorry, please disregard my question to you. I have just read the original question again and the writer talks about pet from OUTSIDE the EU. Sorry about that.
Why do you suggest they may be quarantined. The point of the Pet Passport is to ensure they are rabies free (and treated for ticks, fleas and worms). A dog or cat coming from UK to France with a Pet Passport would not have to be put in quarantine. My dog has travelled between UK and France on a Pet Passport for 9 years. Can you explain to me why you mention quarantine please?
Sorry, just re-read the question and the writer refers to pets from OUTSIDE the EU. My mistake.
If you haven't done this, might be worth asking for advice on the Dogs, Dogs, Dogs/Cat Chat groups. Might be someone there who's done this.
Hi Terry,
thanks for that.
I had already read that section in the useful links page but I am still not clear about the process for clearing my pets at CDG airport.
The vaccinations, microchip, certificate of rabies anitbodies (which is only necessary from a country like Sri lanka and is not usually mentioned in general info on bringing pets into France) etc is all in hand.
What I am hoping to find is someone who has actually shipped their pets into CDG who can tell me what the process is at that end - can I just go up to the cargo section to claim the animals and clear them through customs or do I have to hire an agent? How long does it take to clear them once the aircraft has landed? We will probably be travelling on the same flight - do we need to book into a hotel to wait for the animals to be cleared or will it be a fairly swift process?
We live about five hours' drive away from Paris, so we will need to hire a vehicle with a driver to collect us. (I once hired a car at the airport and drove myself and vowed never to do it again after a 15 hour flight!) So I need to know roughly what time I can expect to have everyone gathered together again otherwise we and our taxi service could be waiting around for a very long time at the airport.
I guess what I am trying to do is to reduce the stress involved in this relocation. We are moving lock, stock and barrel after four years in SL so there is a huge amount of planning and preparation involved, especially for the animals. There are companies around who will collect, clear and deliver your pets to you, but as it is a long journey from the airport to home, I would rather collect them myself to save them more travel distress. One dog in particular is a very nervous ex-street dog who has never been outside Colombo!
Any further help gratefully received!
Go to the useful links page, Wendy, http://www.survivefrance.com/page/useful-links , scroll down to the bottom, and the section Pets has the info you need.
Thanks for that Celeste.
Yes, it is the procedures at CDG I am particularly interested in as we have the rest of the rigmarole pretty much covered.
We are coming from Sri Lanka and we have already had them microchipped and the bloods sent to Switzerland for certification of rabies antibodies etc etc.
What I really need to know is can I clear them at customs at CDG myself or do I have to hire an agent? Here in SL only authorised personnel are allowed into the cargo area so individuals cannot take or collect their animals, they have to be cleared through an agent.
I am hoping in France we can go direct to the cargo clearance area to collect the animals ourselves.
Anyone know if this is possible?