Travelling with dogs or cats

When you want to bring your dog or cat into Sweden, you must always give Swedish Customs notification of the animal. Failure to do this may be a crime against Sweden’s Act on Penalties for Smuggling. The animal must also fulfil the Swedish Board of Agriculture’s requirements for importation or exportation.

The Swedish Board of Agriculture, which is the authority responsible for rules on the importation of animals to Sweden, has more detailed information.

Give notification via the internet – choose the green lane

If you are travelling from another EU country and have an animal with a European pet passport with you, you can give Swedish Customs notification of dogs and cats via the internet here. When you arrive in Sweden, you can choose the green lane (“Nothing to declare”) in the surveillance area. If a customs officer asks, you must be able to present your notification number and the animal’s European pet passport.

You do not have to “denotify” (i.e. “notify the return of”) your dog or cat.

Notify that you are going to travel with your dog or cat

Give notification at the border – choose the red lane

You give notification by going to a so-called “red point” (regardless of whether the animal is with you or was sent as freight). This is in the red lane of the surveillance area. Contact a customs officer in the surveillance area.

If there is no customs officer on duty, you are to give notification in any of the following ways:

Use the telephone in the red lane of the surveillance area.
Ring the telephone number stated on a poster in the red lane of the surveillance area.
Go to the nearest customs clearance office.

Travelling by train between Denmark and Sweden

If you are travelling on a direct train between Denmark and Sweden, there is no possibility of choosing a red lane. You may contact a uniformed customs officer on the train. If you do not find a uniformed customs officer on the train, you must ring Swedish Customs’ on-duty officers via +46 40 661 32 25.

Paying charges

If you buy, receive as a gift or adopt a dog or a cat from a country outside the EU, you may have to pay charges for the animal. The charges depend on, amongst other things, the purchase price or value of the animal and freight charges.

Is the dog or cat to have a new owner?

If the dog or cat is to change owner after importation into Sweden, or if the animal is travelling entirely alone as freight, other requirements apply.

When must you give notification of an animal?

	Animal from another EU country	Animal from a country outside the EU	Animal from Norway
Notify Swedish Customs when you cross the border	Yes, each time.	Yes, each time.	No. Dogs, cats and ferrets may be freely brought in if they are ID marked and have a European pet passport.
Notify Swedish Customs when you send animals as freight	Yes, each time.	Yes, each time.	Yes, each time.
Notify Swedish Customs via the internet	Yes, if you are resident in an EU country. Read more under the “Notify via the internet” heading.	No.	No.
Do you have to pay any charges?	No.	Yes. Read more about charges.	Yes. Read more about charges.
Which rules apply from which countries?	Applies from all EU countries and for animals travelling from Andorra, Iceland Liechtenstein, Monaco, San Marino, Switzerland and the Vatican State.	The Swedish Board of Agriculture here distinguishes between listed and not listed countries. Check with the board to find out which countries are listed and those which are not.

Help to stop smuggling

As a dog buyer, you can help to stop dog smuggling by meticulously checking the background of your dog(s). In this way, you help to stop animal suffering and ensure that contagious diseases do not enter Sweden.