Hi,

I really am very sorry if there are thousands of threads on this already, I haven't been able to find them which will be due to stupidity rather than a lack of trying.

My husband applied for his B permit last month, he has opened a bank account, rented a house, been approved for swiss caution on the basis of the handwritten bit of paper with a stamp on it confirming his application. We are EU citizens and he's got a 13 month work contract with UBS, model upstanding citizens etc etc etc hooray for us.

He is driving across to CH with our two cats and will be followed by the rest of our household on Thursday including myself and our baby. I have suddenly become concerned that the application for the B permit will not be enough for the border guards. If this is the case then it will really scupper our plans but not as much as if our cats get halfway across Europe and are then turned away at the border......

I have tried to call the (truely) wonderfully helpful people at the Basel border control however they are only open Mon-Fri.

Help? Please?

TIA

Not sure if this can help

Cats and dogs
Cats and dogs may be imported into Switzerland without a permit. A border veterinary inspection is not required for animals that are accompanied, except when more than three animals are imported together.


from http://www.switzerland.isyours.com/e...portation.html

Thank you so much. That's a relief in regards to the beasts at least and I can wait until Monday to check on the rest of our stuff.

Really appreciate the help (I promise I did google as well, just obviously not very well).

It has nothing to do with your permit. Do you have some kind of identification for your cats? If so, that is enough. This is basic information taken from the Swiss Gov't website: http://www.bvet.admin.ch/themen/0161...x.html?lang=en

Essentials at a glance

1. Protection against rabiesHave your animal vaccinated at least 21 days before entering Switzerland. If a booster vaccination has been given within the validity period of the first vaccination, the waiting period does not apply.
2. IdentificationYour animal must be identified - with a microchip or a tattoo (valid until 2011). Swiss dogs must also be registered in the ANIS database. Anyone who definitively imports a dog into Switzerland from abroad must have it registered in the ANIS database by a veterinarian within 10 days.
3. Pet IDThe animals must be accompanied by a correctly completed pet ID.
4. Unlimited number of animals
Coming from EU countries a unlimited number of pets may be brought into Switzerland.
5. No dogs with docked ears and/or tailsSee details in the following document:

Specifically for you coming from GB (http://bvet.bytix.com/plus/dbr/default.aspx?lang=en):
Crossing the border with dogs or cats

I come from: Great Britain.
I am moving to Switzerland with my dogs or cats:
2 Cats, older than 7 months


FVO information:

You need the following if you are moving to Switzerland:

• Valid rabies vaccination
• For animals younger than 3 months instead a veterinary certificate declaring that, since their birth, the young animals have been kept at their place of birth and had no contact with wild animals. The certificate is not necessary if the young are accompanied by their mother, on which they are still dependent. Puppies aged less than 56 days may only be brought into Switzerland if they are accompanied by a mother or a wet nurse.
• Microchip or tattoo
• Official EU pet passport

Please note the following:

• Report to the Swiss Customs with your animal(s) and carefully keep all documentation on the correct declaration and, if applicable, receipts for the payment of value-added tax.
• It is forbidden to bring dogs with docked ears or a docked tail into Switzerland. Exceptions are made in cases of a relocation to Switzerland. Customs decide whether the criteria for an exemption are met in the case of a particular animal.
• As a dog owner, you have to register your dog with the authorities at your place of residence in Switzerland. Your veterinary practitioner must also register dogs in the Swiss dog database. Find out also about the training obligations for dogs and dog owners in Switzerland (in German).
• The regulations presented here only apply to pets, i.e. to animals which are kept in the household out of interest in the animal or as a companion and which are accompanied by their owners. You must not bring animals across the border with the intention of selling or delivering them, otherwise this is deemed to be a commercial import (for more on this)

Happy Traveling!

Thanks Ziger, they have all the vaccinations, chips and passports etc.

I am now confident the cats will be ok so am just concerned about the importation of our household effects.

BTW, I would be thanking you but don't seem to have the capacity, perhaps because I'm so new. Forgive me my rudeness, I am very grateful!

YOu really shouldnt have a problem importing your personal effects. The border guards are usually quite on the ball, and know what they are doing. As long as you have the paper saying youve applied, if he gets stopped, he will be fine.
Enjoy the move and welcome to Switzerland.

I (as an EU citizin) imported my household effects last month. I don't have permit yet, and I haven't even applied for it, as I'm here looking for a job, and I can do that for 3 months as a tourist. The only thing what I needed was the copy of rental agreement and the necessary form (18.44) and the list of my household effects (and the copy of my passport as I wasn't at the customs at that time). My parents brought the stuff and everything went ok. The customs people checked the 18.44 without checking any of the rest of the papers and asked the usuals: are there any new stuff, alcohol/cigarettes etc.

My cats came here with me in October and everything went well then as well as they had the necessary vaccines, chips and passports.

I hope my story help you. I think it will be the same for you, even though I'm not 100% sure.