Hi everyone. I posted a frantic message last week regarding importing our cat to Switzerland from the USA. I received a few calming words and replies and appreciate that. I thought that it would be nice to have a thread that lists the steps as explained to me by both the FVO and the USDA on importing a cat/dog to Switzerland from the USA. I can't, unfortunately, speak for other countries but here are the steps to take in the US.

1. When booking your airline ticket call the airline company to inquire if they have room available on the flight for your pet. We are flying Swiss Air. Their restrictions/policies are that if the pet is in a soft-sided carrier and the combined weight of the carrier and animal is less than 17.6lbs the animal can fly with you in the cabin. (consult your vet regarding medicating an animal during flight. Ours recommended that we NOT sedate due to the possibility of turbulance and the stress). As of May 2009, our kitty is charged the same way as an additional carry-on bag: $200.00. This fee is due at the counter when you actually check in for your flight. It is important to note here that according to the Swiss Air policy the animal must be awake and alert prior to traveling. You must present clear and completed paperwork to the airline. (see below for more on that)

2. Make sure that you have all of the health records and vaccinations current for your animal. Any rabies shots must have been administered no more than 364 days (really, I wouldn't push it. Better safe than sorry here) prior to travel and no less than 21 days prior to travel.

3. Make sure that your animal has a European microchip. AVID and the other major US microchip companies WILL NOT SCAN in Europe. It's unlikely that your vet will have a "Eurochip" in their pantry of pet items. We were able to purchase a Datamars crystal tag chip (made in CH so it will DEFINITELY work) from www.pettravel.com. We took this chip with us to the vet and they happily implanted it into Paco del Gato(cat). The chip cost $49.95 in May 2009.

4. There is A LOT of paperwork to move one of our canine/feline friends from the US. Make sure you have an airline health certificate, Swiss bilingual health certification form, Swiss import form and the USDA APHIS 7001 form. You can actually buy the first three in a packet from pettravel.com (honestly, I'm not connected with them at all. they saved me in a major time of need). The APHIS 7001 form is something that you can get from your vet.

5. Within 10 days of travel(this is the airline standard. You might have to take 2 trips to the vet if you aren't within driving distance to your state USDA veterinarian's office) make an appointment for your animal to be seen by a USA, USDA Federally accredited vet. If you're unsure if your vet falls into this category, ask. Some states require that all vets have national certification/accreditation. Others only require a few so this is IMPORTANT. Your paperwork is invalid unless the vet has proper certification. During this trip make sure the animal has his microchip scanned, all of the documents in #4 completed in full and is given a clean bill of health. Additionally, it is IMPERATIVE that you get a rabies certificate that includes the manufacturer of the vaccine, lot number and date of vaccine. ***Please note that some states DO NOT require that a cat receives a rabies certificate despite the fact that they receive a rabies shot. In this case they have to CREATE one. Your animal CANNOT travel without this lovely piece of paper. I know that Arizona is one of these states. I don't know what other states have a similar policy.**** Once your vet has completed these forms they must be taken or sent(not what I would recommend) to the state USDA veterinarian's office to be approved, certified and stamped.

This process was relatively easy once I had all of the appropriate information and health records. I simply found it difficult to find ALL of the information in one place that was "life tested" rather than a government how-to form. Hope this helps! If you have any questions at all I would visit the Swiss Federal Veterinary Office website here:
http://www.bvet.admin.ch/index.html?lang=en

or call them at: 41 031 323 30 33 they'll speak English if you ask nicely. They want to help.

Good luck!

Rebecca

Info for traveling with a pets on Swiss/Swiss International Air Lines can be found at:

http://www.swiss.com/web/EN/services...s/animals.aspx

Good information. We had all of the required forms/shots/tests done, but were flying out of Boston instead of where we had been living in Arizona. We had our last vet check-up in Boston the day before the flight only to find out that we needed the State Vet (USDA) to stamp the original (not faxed) forms. Next morning at 7am had to drive out there, so we could fly that night.

One thing I did find kind of strange was that when we originally made the Swiss Airlines reservation for the dog crate, they were very insistent on knowing exact measurements. Before flying, we decided to get her a slightly larger crate, so she'd be more comfortable (and could "stay away from" any accidents she might have during the flight), and when I called back to give the airline the new size, they didn't want the numbers. Wouldn't even check them. But kept saying "as long as it isn't TOO big, it is fine." And wouldn't tell me what "too big" meant. Luckily, once we got to the airport in Boston the crate wasn't "too big" but what would we have done if it had been?

Thank you Rebecca ! I have two six year old Ragdolls to bring w/me and have gotten varied information- you have clarified so much for me ! Not many vets in Nashville are familiar with the process ! Main obstacle is having two as the airlines want one passenger per animal..

Thanks a lot for all the information here! It's very very helpful!

Just one question, from the instruction from pet travel, the airline health certificate does NOT need to be certified by the USDA veterinarian, but I noticed a post above mention flying from Boston and the need to go to the state USDA office?

Can someone tell me whether the USDA certification is requried for the airline health certificate? Or is the USDA certification only needed for the Swiss bilingual health certification form and/or the APHIS7001 form?

Thanks!

The airline health certificate must be done within 10 days of traveling to Switzerland and can be done by your vet. It does not have to be brought to or stamped by the USDA. PM me if you have any other questions or concerns but it is actually quite simple of a process. Make sure you specify International Health Cert:

1. Bilingual form must be completed by a USDA vet (you have this already)
2. European micro chip must be implanted. I recommend you go to a vet that can scan it using the Euro frequency so you are sure the chip works. I have heard you can get them chipped at the airport but I am sure that is a huge hassle and I don't recommend risking it.
3. Airline health cert, must be done within 10 days of travel date or it is not valid. These cost us $90 per dog but I am sure every vet charges something different.

When you exit the airport, you will be stopped to make sure all of your paperwork is in order. They will also scan your pet to make sure you have the correct chip. Finally you will pay $44 per pet, at least that is what we were charged 3 weeks ago. Cash only I believe but I could be wrong.

I emailed the folks at www.bvet.ch and they were very responsive and helpful.

Once you are set up with your residence permits, you also have to register your dog. You also have to register with a local vet so they can scan your dogs, log you into the system and then they issue you a pet passport. There are two passports, Swiss and International. We got the International because we want to travel with our dogs. There are some restrictions to the UK, Norway and Sweden so if you do plan on traveling with your pet, you may want to look up the country first to make sure there aren't any limitations crossing the border.

Good luck and again, pm me if you need anything else. I know how stressful this can be.

I believe it is a one time charge of CHF88 regardless of the number of animals. I brought in 2 dogs and a cat and only paid CHF88.

Hum... How long did it take for them to get back to you? I emailed them last Friday (after the regular work hour), but have not gotten a reply back so far.

My cats are already microchipped, and unfortunately, they are not the 15-digit numeric only Eurochip. I thought about getting them a second chip, but would rather not because of the higher risk involved with a second chip. From the bvet.ch website, it seems like if I bring a scanner of my own for the non-ISO compliant microchip, it would be OK. However, I haven't heard of anyone else doing this, so I just wanted to make sure. Anyone has any idea on this?

We are going to the vet this Friday for the cats to get their annual rabbies, so it would be nice if I could hear back from bvet soon since this way they can get microchipped in the same appointment this Friday if needs to be done.

I have read that folks call the number on the bvet site if they need immediate advise. You can ask for an english speaking representative to assist you.

I don't know the answer to the "bring your own scanner" question. If you can do it this way, you may want to research if you have to bring it with you at border crossings if you plan on traveling with them.

Good luck!

phoned them the other day and the lady confirmed that as long as I bring my own microchip scanner, they cats do not need to be re-chipped with Eurochips.

Forgot to ask during the phone call, so I will ask here, while the airline health certificate needs to be completed within 10 days, what about the Swiss bilingual and the international health certificate (APHIS 7001) form? I have an appointment with my vet on 9/22 and an appointment with USDA on the 23rd, but not flying until 10/5. Is this OK (within two weeks)? on the bvet site, it didn't seem to provide how recent the health cert must be. Will be flying Swiss, do they even require an airline health certificate? Nothing was mentioned on the Swiss Airline site about this...

That sounds great, but....once you are here, it would make sense to have your cats rechipped and registered in ANIS the Swiss database. After all, the whole idea is that they can find the owner should the cats stray. If you do not have them rechipped it kind of defeats the purpose wouldn't you say?

We brought over 4 dogs and 5 cats over the last 6 months from California.

There is a chip(ResQ) you can get in the US that WILL scan here in Europe. And, to get your paperwork approved by the USDA, you have to have a valid Health cert. with your paperwork.

But a chip is worthless if the owner is not registered in Switzerland on ANIS.

Thanks on the chip info, but probably not going to get my cats re-chipped until at least after the move to Zurich. Really don't want to stress them out by throwing in another chip right before the plane trip.

Do you know how recent must the Swiss biligual and the USDA health cert (APHIS 7001) be? Does within 14 days work? or does it have to be within 10 days?

Yes, the USDA paperwork is valid for 4 months.

actually, APHIS 7001 is only valid for 1 month. USDA office confirmed and it's also printed on the form. Just thought that I would point this out b/c I too used to think that it was valid for 4 months...

Weird, when we came over both the USDA and Swiss side said 4 months. Perhaps it just changed?