Return or travel to Finland
To return to Finland with your pet, the same basic requirements apply as when leaving the country. However, depending on the country of return and the duration of the trip, additional requirements such as rabies antibody testing may be necessary. In EU countries or countries equivalent to EU regulations, this is not required. On this page you will find the mandatory entry requirements to Finland (also if you travel there the first time) and other tips for returning home.
To come to Finland your pet needs
1. Identification mark
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Microchip (tattoo)
2. Identification document
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From other EU-countires: EU-Pet passport
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Outside of EU: Either an EU-style pet passport or a health certificate
3. Rabies vaccine
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Must be valid
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Must meet the same requirements as when traveling in the EU, read more here
4. Echinococcal medication
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1-5 days before returning to Finland
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Alternatively, the 28-day rule
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More information here
From which country are you returning/traveling to Finland?
Check out the return/travel regulations to Finland depending where are you returning from!
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What else is good to take into account when returning/traveling to Finland?
In addition to the mandatory entry requirements, it is important to pay attention to a few things regarding your dog and its equipments.
Has flea protection been maintained during the trip? Is your pet experiencing itching? If your pet has not been treated against fleas during the trip, and you suspect a flea infestation, it is recommended to administer a flea treatment before bringing your pet home back to Finland. Bringing cat/dog fleas into your home can cause significant additional cleaning work, as flea eggs and larvae can also live outside of the cat or dog. Therefore, it is much easier to eliminate fleas before returning home than to deal with them afterwards. Fleas on cats and dogs are very common in dogs and cats outside of Finland.
Check your dog for other external parasites! For example, the brown dog tick is such a troublesome parasite that it is best to leave it where it came from. Despite the use of tick medication during the trip, ticks may still have attached to your pet, so carefully inspect the whole animal, especially the areas such as the head, ears, and folds of the pet's skin. The brown dog tick can settle itself indoors in Finland and is particularly difficult to eliminate.
Was the external and internal parasite medication maintained throughout the entire trip? Many vector-borne diseases can have severe symptoms and may only manifest several months after infection, so testing for these diseases upon returning to Finland may be necessary. You can find more information about testing for infectious diseases here.