Country Corridor
Flying Your Dog or Cat from Canada to Greece
With the right preparation and a knowledgeable guide by your side, your pet can arrive in Greece calm, healthy, and cleared through customs without a single unexpected delay.
Our perspective
Paws en route Notes
Travelling from Canada to Greece with a dog, cat, or ferret places you squarely within the European Union's animal import framework, one of the most rigorously constructed regulatory systems in the world. Greece, as a full EU member state, applies the same standards as every other country in the bloc, which means your pet's entry is governed not by Greek national rules alone but by EU-wide legislation that is uniform, non-negotiable, and enforced at the port of first entry into the EU. What this means in practice is that a mistake made in Canada, whether a vaccine given on the wrong date or a health certificate signed outside its validity window, cannot be corrected at the airport in Athens. The EU's approach is prevention at origin, not remediation on arrival, and understanding that principle is the single most important thing a Canadian pet owner can internalize before beginning this process.
The foundational requirement for any dog, cat, or ferret entering Greece from Canada is a compliant ISO 11784 or 11785 microchip, and the sequence in which this chip is implanted relative to everything else matters enormously. The microchip must be in place before the rabies vaccination is administered. This is not a bureaucratic formality; it is a hard rule that exists so the vaccine record can be permanently and unambiguously linked to the individual animal. If a veterinarian administers the rabies vaccine first and the microchip second, the EU will treat the animal as unvaccinated for the purposes of that dose, and the owner will be required to start the vaccination clock again from scratch. This single sequencing error is one of the most common and most costly mistakes we see Canadian pet owners make, often because a well-meaning family veterinarian follows a vaccination schedule designed for domestic travel rather than international export.
Once the microchip is confirmed and the rabies vaccination has been properly recorded, Canadian pet owners must also be aware that the EU does not automatically accept Canada's status as a low-risk country in the same way that, say, a passport-scheme country might be treated. For dogs entering Greece, the requirement for a rabies antibody titre test is a live question that depends on the specific movement type and the animal's documented vaccination history. When a titre test is required, it must be conducted at an EU-approved laboratory from a blood sample taken no earlier than 30 days after the rabies vaccination, and the result must show a minimum serum neutralization level of 0.5 IU per millilitre. The critical timing constraint that catches people off guard is the waiting period after a successful titre test result: the animal cannot enter the EU until three months have elapsed from the date the blood was drawn, meaning the total preparation window from first vaccination to legal entry can exceed six months. Owners who discover this requirement two or three months before a planned move face a genuinely difficult situation with no easy shortcut available.
The official health certificate for export from Canada to the EU is a document that carries its own strict validity window, and this is where precision in scheduling becomes as important as any veterinary procedure. The certificate must be issued and signed by a CFIA-accredited veterinarian and then endorsed by the CFIA itself, and it must be completed within ten days of the animal's departure. That ten-day window sounds generous until you factor in CFIA appointment availability, the time required for endorsement, and the reality that many pet owners are simultaneously managing the logistics of an international move. The certificate remains valid for entry into the EU for ten days from the date of the veterinary examination, and it must accompany the animal throughout its journey. If a flight is delayed, rescheduled, or rerouted in a way that pushes arrival beyond that ten-day window, the certificate becomes invalid and the animal may be refused entry or placed in quarantine at the owner's expense.
There is also a dimension of this journey that goes beyond paperwork: the question of how Greece specifically handles animals arriving from non-EU countries at its ports of entry. Dogs, cats, and ferrets arriving in Greece must enter through a designated Border Inspection Post, known as a BIP, that is authorized to receive live animals. Not every international airport or seaport in Greece holds this authorization, which means your routing choices are not purely a matter of airline preference or ticket price. Athens International Airport is the primary authorized point of entry, and for most Canadian itineraries it will be the natural choice, but this is something that must be confirmed in advance rather than assumed. Paws en route coordinates this routing verification as a standard part of our service, because an animal that arrives at an unauthorized entry point faces mandatory redirection or refusal regardless of how perfect the accompanying documentation may be. Planning this journey well means thinking about the full arc from microchip to arrival gate, and it means starting that planning far earlier than most owners expect.
Entry Requirements
What your pet's journey to Greece requires
Every detail is prepared before you even think to ask. The requirements below are verified against CFIA guidelines for this corridor.
ISO Microchip
Your pet must be implanted with an ISO 11784 or ISO 11785 compliant microchip before any other procedure is performed. The microchip must be in place prior to rabies vaccination so the vaccine record can be permanently linked to the individual animal. If your pet already has a non-ISO chip, a compliant chip must be implanted and all subsequent procedures performed after that implantation date.
Rabies Vaccination
A valid rabies vaccination must be administered by a licensed veterinarian after the microchip is confirmed in place, and the vaccine must not be expired at the time of travel. Primary vaccinations are subject to a waiting period before the animal is considered protected; booster vaccinations given within the validity period of a prior vaccine are considered immediately valid. The vaccination record must appear on the official health certificate.
Rabies Antibody Titre TestLong lead time
Dogs, cats, and ferrets travelling commercially from Canada to the EU may be required to demonstrate a successful rabies antibody titre test result of at least 0.5 IU per millilitre, conducted at an EU-approved laboratory from a blood sample taken no earlier than 30 days after rabies vaccination. The animal cannot enter the EU until three months have passed from the date of the blood draw, making this the single longest lead-time requirement in the process. Owners should confirm with the CFIA and their destination country's current import conditions whether this requirement applies to their specific movement type.
EU Export Health CertificateLong lead time
An official EU-format health certificate must be completed by a CFIA-accredited veterinarian and endorsed by the CFIA within ten days of the animal's scheduled departure. The certificate is valid for ten days from the date of the veterinary examination, and the animal must arrive in the EU within that window. The certificate must travel with the animal and be presented to the Border Inspection Post officer upon arrival in Greece.
Authorized Entry PointLong lead time
All dogs, cats, and ferrets arriving in Greece from Canada must enter through a Border Inspection Post that is specifically authorized to receive live companion animals. Not every international port of entry in Greece holds this designation, and Athens International Airport is the standard authorized point of entry for most Canadian itineraries. Your routing must be confirmed against the current EU list of authorized BIPs before tickets are purchased.
Every requirement, handled
These are the steps we manage, start to finish.
Share your travel dates and your pet's details. We build the compliance timeline, confirm lab approvals, and coordinate every appointment.
Preparation Timeline
Plan 210 days ahead
Nothing is left to chance. Here is how we stage your pet's documentation, step by step.
- 1
As early as possible, and before all other procedures
ISO Microchip Implantation
The microchip must be implanted and confirmed before the rabies vaccination is given, as the EU requires the chip to precede the vaccine in order for the vaccination record to be considered valid.
- 2
Immediately following microchip confirmation
Rabies Vaccination
The rabies vaccine must be administered by a licensed veterinarian after the microchip is in place; the date of this vaccination starts the clock for the titre test blood draw eligibility period.
- 3
No earlier than 30 days after rabies vaccination
Rabies Antibody Titre Test Blood Draw
A blood sample must be submitted to an EU-approved laboratory and must return a result of at least 0.5 IU per millilitre; the date of this blood draw then starts the three-month waiting period before EU entry is permitted.
- 4
Begins on the date of the titre test blood draw and runs for 90 days
Three-Month Waiting Period
This mandatory waiting period is non-negotiable and cannot be shortened; the animal legally cannot enter the EU until three months have elapsed from the blood draw date, regardless of test results or travel urgency.
- 5
Within 10 days of scheduled departure
CFIA-Accredited Veterinary Examination
A CFIA-accredited veterinarian completes the official EU-format health certificate during this appointment, confirming the animal is fit to travel and that all documentation is in order.
- 6
After veterinary examination and before departure, within the 10-day validity window
CFIA Endorsement of Health Certificate
The completed health certificate must be submitted to the CFIA for official endorsement before the animal travels; owners should build in several business days for this step and not schedule the veterinary appointment at the last possible moment.
- 7
Within 10 days of the veterinary examination date
Arrival at Athens Border Inspection Post
The animal must be presented to the authorized BIP officer at Athens International Airport with all original documentation, including the CFIA-endorsed health certificate and vaccination records, for inspection and clearance.
Start today
The sooner we begin, the smoother each deadline becomes.
Tell us your travel window and your pet's current vaccination status. We stage everything from there.
FAQ
Questions about this corridor
Greece does not impose a routine quarantine period for dogs, cats, and ferrets that arrive with complete and compliant documentation. However, if any required document is missing, expired, or inconsistent with the animal's records, Greek border authorities have the authority to place the animal in a quarantine facility at the owner's cost until the matter is resolved. In serious cases of non-compliance, the animal may be refused entry entirely. Thorough preparation well in advance is the only reliable way to avoid this outcome.
For most dogs, cats, and ferrets, the minimum preparation window is approximately six to seven months when a titre test is required, because the three-month waiting period after the blood draw alone accounts for roughly 90 of those days. Owners who begin the process believing they have enough time and then discover the titre test requirement mid-way through often face a very difficult choice about their travel date. We strongly recommend initiating contact with Paws en route at least seven months before any intended departure date to allow for veterinary scheduling, laboratory processing time, and CFIA appointment availability.
The rabies antibody titre test is a blood test that measures whether your pet has developed a sufficient immune response to the rabies vaccine, confirming a serum neutralisation level of at least 0.5 IU per millilitre. The EU requires this test for animals entering from certain non-EU countries as an additional safeguard against rabies introduction, and the blood sample must be analysed by an EU-approved laboratory. The test must be performed no earlier than 30 days after the rabies vaccination, and the animal must then wait a further three months from the blood draw date before it is eligible to enter the EU. Your Paws en route coordinator will help you identify the correct approved laboratory and confirm current requirements for your specific movement type.
The official EU-format health certificate is valid for ten days from the date of the veterinary examination, and your pet must arrive in Greece within that window. If your flight is significantly delayed or cancelled and rescheduled beyond the ten-day period, the certificate will no longer be accepted and a new examination and CFIA endorsement will be required before travel can proceed. This is one of the reasons Paws en route monitors flight schedules closely around the time of departure and advises clients on the safest timing for veterinary appointments relative to their travel date. Choosing a non-stop or minimal-connection routing reduces the risk of delay-related certificate expiry.
Greece, like several EU member states, has domestic legislation that restricts or regulates certain dog breeds considered to be of a dangerous type, including a number of bully and molosser breeds. These restrictions are applied at the national level and are separate from the EU-wide import health requirements, meaning a dog can be medically and documentarily compliant for EU entry and still face breed-specific restrictions upon arrival in Greece. Owners of breeds that may be affected should confirm current Greek national legislation with a local legal contact or the Greek consulate in Canada well before travel is planned. Paws en route can assist in identifying whether your dog's breed warrants additional inquiry.
Yes. Dogs, cats, and ferrets arriving from Canada must enter Greece through a Border Inspection Post that is officially authorized by the EU to receive live companion animals, and not every international entry point in the country holds this designation. Athens International Airport is the primary and most reliably authorized point of entry for most Canadian itineraries. Routing your pet through an unauthorized entry point will result in refusal or mandatory redirection regardless of how complete the documentation is, so confirming your specific entry point against the current EU BIP list before purchasing tickets is an essential step in the planning process.
Carriers
Airlines serving this corridor
These carriers operate between Canada and Greece with known pet transport policies. We verify current breed restrictions and cargo availability before every booking.
Related Routes
City routes within this corridor
Looking for a specific city pair? Each route page has carrier-specific notes, compliance timelines, and booking guidance for that exact origin and destination.
City-pair routes for this corridor are being added. Check back soon.
Ready to travel?
Every requirement, handled before you even think to ask.
Tell us your travel dates and your pet's details. We take care of the rest, from health certificates to airline coordination.
