US couple buying catamaran in Turkey and traveling around with our dog

[goboatingnow]

As I said , I would advise that bringing a pet to a designated high risk rabies country is not a good idea.

[Montanan]

If you decide to bring your pet to Turkey, which is now named Türkiye.


Linked below is a website with detailed guidance.

Expect a sizeable fee due for clearing an animal through customs [e.g., US$700 for two pets]. Bring Turkish Lira for payment. this is in addition to the fees charged by the pet transport company / agent & airline. Expect a long delay for the pet to clear customs upon arrival, assuming all goes right.

https://www.propertyturkey.com/buyer...ts-into-turkey

Be sure to check the policy and procedures of the airline that will be transporting the dog.

Exemplary airline info: https://www.bringfido.com/travel/air...kish_airlines/



Turkey Pet Passport & Import Regulations

Unless otherwise stated, the regulations below apply to domestic dogs, cats and ferrets only.

1.
Pet Microchip

Your pet must first be microchipped with an ISO 11784 pet microchip that is a 15 digit and non-encrypted. If your pet's microchip is not ISO 11784 compliant, you can bring your own microchip scanner.


2. Vaccinations

Your pet cat or dog should be vaccinated for rabies between 30 days and 12 months prior to entry into Turkey if it is not currently vaccinated. If your pet is due for a booster, the wait will not apply as long as the previous vaccination had not expired when the booster was administered. Turkey does not accept the 3 year rabies vaccination.

If your pet is not vaccinated as per requirements above or has a 3 year rabies vaccination administered over 12 months ago, your dog, cat or ferret can have a rabies titer test (FAVN) done at an approved laboratory prior to entering Turkey (see step #3). Levels must be acceptable.

An original rabies certificate reflecting all of your pet's rabies vaccinations should accompany your pet.


3.
Rabies Titer Test

A rabies titer test is required for cats and dogs entering Turkey. Blood samples must be processed at an approved lab. Your pet can enter Turkey as soon as acceptable results are received.

EXCEPTION: Cats and dogs entering Turkey from the United States that are vaccinated for rabies according to regulations in step #2 are exempt from this requirement.

The titer test is valid for travel to the European Union from Turkey as well as other countries as long as the blood sample is processed in an EU approved lab and your pet's rabies vaccinations do not expire.


4.
Health Certificate
Turkey Health Certificate
If traveling to Turkey from the United States, a USDA-accredited veterinarian must then complete the Veterinary Certificate for Turkey for endorsement by your State USDA or CFIA office within 48 hours of travel for pets traveling from the United States or Canada respectively. (one form per pet) Additionally, pet owners may also opt to have the EU health certificate completed by their veterinarian as well; however, endorsement of this document is not required.

If you are entering Turkey from a country other than the United States or Canada, your vet can complete the EU health certificate.

5.
Internal and External Parasites
internal and external parasite treatment
Before your dog or cat can enter Turkey, it must be treated against internal parasites (Echinococcus) and external parasites (fleas, ticks) and indicated on the health certificate.

6.
Entering Turkey by Air

All domestic dogs and cats must be free of evidence of disease communicable to humans when examined at the port of entry to Turkey. If your dog or cat is not in apparent good health, further examination by a licensed veterinarian may be required at your expense. Your pet should arrive at customs by 11:30AM for same day customs clearance. It can take 5-6 hours to clear a pet once landed in Turkey. Pets arriving 3:00 PM will be subject to extra fees.

Two pets per person can enter tax-free as long as they don't arrive unaccompanied. The owner must be present at customs clearance or have issued their representative a Power of Attorney and either an original passport or notarized copy indicating that they arrived in Turkey within 30 days of their pet.

7.
Puppies and Kittens
Puppy or kitten import to Turkey
Puppies and kittens under 3 months of age can enter Turkey with their Mother who meets the requirements above OR with a health declaration obtained by an official veterinarian in a country where rabies is known to be controlled which states where the puppy or kitten was born and reared and that it is an environment where it has not been in contact with wild animals. Additionally, an endorsed veterinary certificate and health declaration stating that your pet is healthy enough to travel, is free of diseases communicable to humans and is free of internal and external parasites is required. Prior permission from the Ministry is required. The owner's passport should be available.


8.
Banned Breeds
Banned Dogs in Turkey
Turkey does not permit the import of the following breeds or their crosses: Pit Bull Terriers, Japanese Tosa, American Pit Bull Terrier, Bull Terrier, American Staffordshire Terrier, Dogo Argentino, Fila Brasileiro, Rottweiller, Staffordshire Bull Terrier, Neopolitan Mastiff, Spanish Mastiff, Dogue de Bordeux, Roman Fighting Dog, Bandog Tosa Inu, Mastiff, Tibetan Mastiff or similar, mongrel breeds.

9.
Exporting Pets What you will need to do to exit your pet from Turkey
Export pets from Turkey
Pet owners planing to export their resident pets from Turkey must visit the local branch of the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock with their pet at least 48 hours before departure. Owners should bring their pet's shot records to get a Veterinary Certificate for Domestic Dogs, Cats and Ferrets for Exportation from the Republic of Turkey.

Mind you that it will be very helpful if you speak Turkish so as to facilitate processing with the bureaucrats.

[goboatingnow]

Note the exporting of pets does not apply to pets imported along with their tourist owners.

[Montanan]

For entry to Turkiye,

If you desire to have your dog cleared through customs on the same day, be sure to have the flight arrive before 11:30 AM.
To avoid paying taxes on your pet it must arrive accompanied, the owner must be present at customs or an attested Power of Attorney on their behalf.

Documents:
Passport of the pet owner on hand at time of arrival.
Valid Rabies Vaccine Certificate
A completed APHIS 7001 form certified by the USDA.

Unaccompanied animals
It is recommended that the pet animal travels on the same transport as the owner. If the animal is to travel unaccompanied, it is essential that it has an import permit; without this it will be refused entry. An import permit can be obtained from the Turkish Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs:

Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs
Akay Cad No 3: Bakanliker
Ankara
Turkey
Tel: (009) 0312 4174 176
Documents travelling with the unaccompanied pet must be legalised by the relevant foreign office authority in the country of departure after being completed by the vet, but before departure.

On arrival in Turkey
The health certificate issued by the vet of the exporting country must be produced on arrival at a border, seaport or airport. An inspection is carried out by the official veterinary doctors for identification, documentation and health. Entry permission is given to healthy animals with the correct documentation. The following documents are required at customs clearance:

Copy of the pet owner’s passport
Original rabies vaccine certificate provided by the vet or as entered into an up-to-date European Pet Passport
Original health certificate provided by the vet

Live animals are imported through a MARA-designated customs gate. This is one that is jointly administered by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, the Ministry of Finance and the Undersecretariat of Customs. There are 29 such customs gates in Turkey, most being at sea and airports.

[Claudine]

Thanks for all the info everyone.
I’ve gone through pretty much all web sites on this thread and have a bunch of notes and my dog fits all the requirements except for getting the health certificate. She’s got all her shots and she’s chipped with the right type of chip. There’s a few things I need to clarify because I’m getting opposite info, but overall, Europe shouldn’t be too difficult. As for Turkey, yeah, it’s going to be quite the process, but also doable. The logistics of making sure we meet all the date requirements and come and go at the right times is not going to be any fun at all. I have no idea what we will do. Lord help me… lots of great info from all of you and I very much appreciate it. I may come back with more questions, but the web sites you all provided have been very helpful.

[more]

Originally Posted by Claudine

Thanks for all the info everyone.
I’ve gone through pretty much all web sites on this thread and have a bunch of notes and my dog fits all the requirements except for getting the health certificate. She’s got all her shots and she’s chipped with the right type of chip. There’s a few things I need to clarify because I’m getting opposite info, but overall, Europe shouldn’t be too difficult. As for Turkey, yeah, it’s going to be quite the process, but also doable. The logistics of making sure we meet all the date requirements and come and go at the right times is not going to be any fun at all. I have no idea what we will do. Lord help me… lots of great info from all of you and I very much appreciate it. I may come back with more questions, but the web sites you all provided have been very helpful.

what is your dog pet 0-5 kg 8 kg +8kg
how old is
do you know your stay have problem and boat also have problem.


and now you must managed
PET coming return stay.
boat stay,coming,return, stay in Schengen,rest EU,Africa,Asia
your stay also is time regulated.

do you understand you can stay in EU for up to 90 days per 180-day period.

Not having an ETIAS could have serious consequences, including denial of entry to the Schengen member country. The travel authorisation will be an obligatory requirement as of May 2023

[Anders]

Originally Posted by Claudine

Can you elaborate on the 6 month quarantine please? Where, when and how... and why... and is that just a UK thing? We don't plan to sail to the UK and if we visit, we'd fly in for a short vacation and leave the boat behind wherever we are at that time... and we'd get a dog sitter for a few days while we are in the UK, if need be.

No quarantine when travelling to the UK from the EU if the dog has rabies vaccination but it must have the tapeworm tablet from a vet 24 to 120 hours before scheduled arrival. This will be checked when entering and you cannot enter UK with the dog on board! Must be by ferry, tunnel or plane. Malta also requires the tapeworm tablet.
How are you planning to travel around Europe? Flying will get expensive with a dog. Public transport often take dogs but in some countries they don't.

[Montanan]

Wishing that your dog and new cat get along well together.

Bon voyages.

[Lake-Effect]

What a saga. A problem we'll never have (above our pay grade) but interesting to read about. From reading this and the VAT thread, I think you need an expert (or experts) to sort out the VAT and visa situations, but one thing that seems pretty clear to me: leave the poor dog in the US. At a minimum, don't bring it initially when you go to pick up the cat in Turkey. Maybe bring the dog over later, for the EU-only part of your cruising, when you fly home for one of your gap trips, depending on your visa. Easier on you, easier on the dog.

[AllenRbrts]

Originally Posted by Claudine

Thanks for all the info everyone.

I’ve gone through pretty much all web sites on this thread and have a bunch of notes and my dog fits all the requirements except for getting the health certificate. She’s got all her shots and she’s chipped with the right type of chip. There’s a few things I need to clarify because I’m getting opposite info, but overall, Europe shouldn’t be too difficult. As for Turkey, yeah, it’s going to be quite the process, but also doable. The logistics of making sure we meet all the date requirements and come and go at the right times is not going to be any fun at all. I have no idea what we will do. Lord help me… lots of great info from all of you and I very much appreciate it. I may come back with more questions, but the web sites you all provided have been very helpful.

My two cents is get the titer test done in the US now. It is my understanding it is good until the rabies vaccine expires. You should be able to get a titer test done in the US in 30 days or perhaps less. Key is to use a vet who knows the process both with the titer test and USDA approval. Try to get actual lab result paperwork rather than just receipts for tests, the receipts are not generally accepted as proof of test results. In our experience, most times custom folks wave you through without going through all the paperwork, but we always have all the paperwork in order and organized just in case.

[Montanan]

For return to the USA, linked below are the approved labs for Rabies Titer Tests.

https://www.cdc.gov/importation/brin...oved-labs.html

In an earlier post I had provided the list of the two labs in the USA that are approved by Turkey and presumably the EU.

If you bring your dog to Turkiye then it will have entered a high risk country, and thus high risk country protocols will apply.

Linked below to Frequently Asked Questions on USA CDC Suspending Dogs from High-Risk Countries for Dog Rabies
https://www.cdc.gov/importation/brin...k-dog-ban.html

[Claudine]

Originally Posted by AllenRbrts

My two cents is get the titer test done in the US now. It is my understanding it is good until the rabies vaccine expires. You should be able to get a titer test done in the US in 30 days or perhaps less. Key is to use a vet who knows the process both with the titer test and USDA approval. Try to get actual lab result paperwork rather than just receipts for tests, the receipts are not generally accepted as proof of test results. In our experience, most times custom folks wave you through without going through all the paperwork, but we always have all the paperwork in order and organized just in case.

Oh my goodness, I am so happy to hear from someone who's experienced this because after all the reading I did yesterday, my brain melted. Sounds a lot more complicated when I first started reading through it all, but really, it's pretty straight forward.

[Anders]

No idea about entering Turkey but the titers returning from Turkey to the EU must be done by an EU approved lab. I would wait until arriving in France to do the titers and get an EU pet passport at the same time. The French vets usually requires you to be resident to issue a passport but I believe that started after Brexit and should be possible to get by an American or have the relatives take the dog to the vet.

[AllenRbrts]

Originally Posted by Anders

No idea about entering Turkey but the titers returning from Turkey to the EU must be done by an EU approved lab. I would wait until arriving in France to do the titers and get an EU pet passport at the same time. The French vets usually requires you to be resident to issue a passport but I believe that started after Brexit and should be possible to get by an American or have the relatives take the dog to the vet.

This has a list of the EU approved labs and the usual lab in the US (Kansas) is on the approved list.

https://food.ec.europa.eu/animals/mo...u-countries_en

[Anders]

Originally Posted by AllenRbrts

This has a list of the EU approved labs and the usual lab in the US (Kansas) is on the approved list.

https://food.ec.europa.eu/animals/mo...u-countries_en

I know there are EU approved labs in the US but don't see the point when a visit to an EU vet will get her an EU pet passport. Don't know about prices in the US but when we left Asia the cost was high. Fortunately we did not need it.