We explain how to manage the transportation of your pet to Spain, whether it’s a dog, cat, ferret, rabbit, or any other. At BaggagePets, we not only organize pet trips to anywhere in the world but also take care of pet transportation to Spain. We can even bring your pet from the airport to your home so you don’t have to worry about a thing.
Ways to bring your pet to Spain from abroad
Depending on the route, airline, breed or size of the pet, and other factors, the way you transport your pet to enter Spain changes:
- Pet transportation as excess baggage by plane: In this case, it doesn’t mean your pet travels with the suitcases but rather in the special climate-controlled cargo hold of the plane. This is a dedicated compartment for animals, with controlled and personalized temperature, similar to that for passengers.
- Unaccompanied pet travel by plane: These cases occur when the owner and the pet do not travel on the same flight. However, this usually isn’t a problem as the owner is typically waiting to complete the check-out and collect the pet at the airport upon its arrival. If not, we take care of it.
- Ground transportation of pets: Only for cases within the European continent.
- Pet transportation by ferry: For cases like the Balearic Islands, the Canary Islands, or the United Kingdom.
Access points for travellers with pets coming from outside Spain
When a pet arrives in Spain, depending on its country of origin, it will go through all or some of these four access points:
- Flight Arrival and Documentation
Once the plane has landed, the handling staff will collect your pet and take it to the “Animal Hotel” at the airport. Depending on the facilities at each airport, different services are offered for the pet’s stay. In any case, it will be a comfortable and tranquil stay while all the necessary entry procedures are formalized.
Simultaneously, the airline will provide us with the original documentation to initiate the veterinary and customs processes, which typically take around 1 to 2 hours.
- Veterinary Inspection
When the pet is at the “Animal Hotel,” government veterinarians will read the microchip to identify it and, depending on its origin, conduct an inspection of all associated documentation to confirm that all requirements have been met correctly. This process usually takes about 1 hour.
- Customs Clearance
Once we have approval from the Spanish government veterinarians, we can notify customs to proceed with customs clearance. This process includes the set of procedures carried out to control, monitor, and approve the entry or exit of pets into or out of a specific territory during any international journey.
At this point, customs determine whether your pet has travelled with you or if it’s a purchase, and applies taxes upon arrival if applicable. It’s important to note that in many airports if the arriving pet is less than one year old, customs consider it a purchase and apply relevant taxes. These taxes must be paid at that moment.
- Airport Retrieval
Once the government veterinarians and customs have given their approval and signed the necessary documentation, we return to the handling company’s facilities to retrieve the pet from the airport and finalize the process.
Veterinary Requirements for Pet Transportation to Spain
Several factors affect the conditions for a pet’s entry. It depends on the type of pet and its origin. Therefore, if you’re interested in transporting pets to Spain, we recommend visiting the government’s website where points of entry and types of companion animals are detailed.
