My family and I (which includes two dogs) will be relocating to Switzerland this summer. I am just starting to research what steps I need to take to relocate my dogs. I keep seeing references to a Pet Passport. Is this an actual Passport I need to apply for and obtain for each of my dogs? Any help you can provide on this topic would be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance for your help!

Pet Passport - Rabies Vaccination Rules

European Pet Passport For My Cats?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pet_passport

http://europa.eu/travel/pets/index_en.htm

http://ec.europa.eu/food/animal/live...s/qanda_en.htm

I'm sure all the info you need is contained within the links above, so here's a pretty pic.

As long as you have the right permits you can bring the dogs in and then go to your local Vet of choice and they will apply for the passport for you, This is what we did anyway..

Thanks for all the helpful information! The links and actual picture are very helpful!

Do everything through your vet. The vet contacts the US government to obtain special certificates and to find out Switzerland's country requirements...and the vet should go through every step with you to make sure it is done correctly. It can get very specific as far as shot and paperwork timing so look into it as soon as possible!

Some people even pay businesses to do it all for them because it can be quite complicated! We were so lucky to have a wonderful and helpful vet so we were able to do it all on our own.

We relocated our 3 kitties from the US and it all went beautifully! Best of luck!

Thanks for all the information and for the picture. I will work on getting my dogs the Swiss Passport once we arrive in Zurich.

just an update,

i called the local vet, made an appointment and they will generate the pet passport was prety easy.

You don't need to worry about it coming from the US. You just need the International Health Certificate. Go to your vet, get the APHIS form filled out and signed by the vet. They will also fill out the EU form in German as this is required by Switzerland. Then you go to Richmond and have the APHIS Veterinarian Certify the APHIS form for a small fee. Voila. You can mail the APHIS form to Richmond or make an appointment and walk in. I highly recommend making the appointment and driving down there. That way you're assured that it doesn't get lost.

The hardest part is when you arrive in Switzerland. You have to take your dogs to the vet here to have their microchips registered in the national database and you also have to remember to register them with the cantonal Veterinary authority within 2 weeks.

If you are in the NoVa, and your vet won't or can't help you, I can tell you which vet I used.

if your pet has a swiss passport, can you marry it and get swiss citizenship?