Ireland is one of the easier moves I've made with Cooper, and the file is short: a microchip, a rabies vaccination given after it, and an EU certificate used inside ten days. No import permit. No quarantine. Here's what I wish someone had told me — the only real trap is the order of the first two steps, and a vaccination in the wrong order cannot be argued, only redone.

Bringing a pet to Ireland requires three documents in the right order: a microchip, a rabies vaccine within the destination's wait window, and a government-endorsed health certificate. The table below lays out exactly what's required, what's not, and where each rule comes from.

How Ireland handles your pet

Official sources

  • PETS MAY NOT ENTER IRELAND THROUGH SMALL/PRIVATE AIRPORTS, PORTS, MARINAS, YACHT CLUBS ETC."
  • DAFM: "If your dog is entering Ireland from any country apart from Finland, Malta, Norway or Northern Ireland, a vet must treat your dog for tapeworm (specifically Echinococcus multilocularis) and record the treatment in the pet passport or EU health certificate before each time you intend to travel to Ireland." The treatment must contain praziquantel and be given between 24 and 120 hours before your scheduled arrival — so it is a vet visit in the last five days, not something you can do early. "Your dog may be refused entry into Ireland or quarantined under official control if it has not been correctly treated." Cats do not need it
  • There is no charge for compliance checks on pets entering from Great Britain or on guide dogs and assistance dogs"
  • But the Control of Dogs Regulations 1998 require that ten named breeds — American Pit Bull Terrier, Bull Mastiff, Doberman Pinscher, English Bull Terrier, German Shepherd (Alsatian), Japanese Akita, Japanese Tosa, Rhodesian Ridgeback, Rottweiler, Staffordshire Bull Terrier — plus the Ban Dog and any strain or cross of them, be controlled in public: "A person shall not permit a dog to which this article applies to be in a public place unless such dog is:— (i) securely muzzled; and (ii) being led by a sufficiently strong chain or leash, not exceeding two metres in length, by a person over the age of sixteen years who is capable of controlling the said dog"

Key points

  • Where you may land, and where you may not
  • Ireland is strict about this and says so in capitals: "PETS MAY ONLY ENTER IRELAND THROUGH CORK AIRPORT, DUBLIN AIRPORT, DUBLIN PORT, SHANNON AIRPORT, THE PORT OF CORK AT RINGASKIDDY OR ROSSLARE EUROPORT AND MUST UNDERGO COMPLIANCE CHECKS UPON ARRIVAL
  • A private flight or a yacht is not a way in
  • You must also give advance notice and book the compliance check through the Department's Advance Notice Portal before you travel; Ireland publishes a 24-hour minimum for service dogs and no figure for ordinary pets, so book as early as you can rather than counting hours
  • Tapeworm is the one that catches dog owners out
  • Ireland is one of the few EU countries that still requires it, and the window is narrow
  • Bring the paper original. "The original paperwork , stamped and with a wet signature. photocopies and digital printouts are not acceptable." The certificate must be endorsed by an Official (State) Veterinarian of the country of departure within 10 days of your pet's arrival in the EU — counted to arrival, not to the day you fly
  • The compliance check has a fee, with two exceptions. "There is a fee for compliance checks on pets (charged per animal) entering Ireland from most countries outside the EU
  • Owning certain dogs in Ireland: a muzzle-and-lead duty, not a border rule
  • No breed is barred from entering Ireland
  • Note how wide that list is: a German Shepherd is on it, and so is any cross
  • It applies once you are living there, not at the airport

Each fact comes straight from the operator’s published policy. Tap the to read the exact wording; the opens the source page.

In the hold / cargo Accepted

Hold & cargo policy

Pets accepted Acceptedverified 2026-10-01

Health & documents

Microchip · Required Yesverified 2026-10-01
Microchip · StandardISO 11784/11785verified 2026-09-03
Microchip · Must be done before vaccination Yesverified 2026-10-01
Quarantine · Typenone_if_compliantverified 2026-10-01
Quarantine · Required Noverified 2026-10-01
Rabies titer test (FAVN) · Required Yesverified 2026-10-01
Rabies titer test (FAVN) · Minimum level iu ml0.5verified 2026-10-01
Rabies titer test (FAVN) · Approved laboratory required Yesverified 2026-10-01
Rabies titer test (FAVN) · Waiting period after test days90 daysverified 2026-10-01
Rabies titer test (FAVN) · Test must follow vaccination days30 daysverified 2026-10-01
Health certificate · Issueran Official (State) Veterinarianverified 2026-10-01
Health certificate · Required Yesverified 2026-10-01
Health certificate · Endorsed byOfficial (State) Veterinarian of the country of departureverified 2026-10-01
Health certificate · Validity days10 daysverified 2026-10-01
Health certificate · Original required Yesverified 2026-10-01
Health certificate · Government endorsed Yesverified 2026-10-01
Rabies vaccination · Required Yesverified 2026-10-01
Rabies vaccination · Booster required Yesverified 2026-10-01
Rabies vaccination · Waiting period after vaccination21 daysverified 2026-10-01
Rabies vaccination · Min age at vaccination12 weeksverified 2026-10-01
Tapeworm treatment · Drugpraziquantelverified 2026-10-01
Tapeworm treatment · Required Yesverified 2026-10-01
Tapeworm treatment · Vet documented Yesverified 2026-10-01
Tapeworm treatment · Window max hours before arrival120verified 2026-10-01
Tapeworm treatment · Window min hours before arrival24verified 2026-10-01

Other rules

Pets accepted Acceptedverified 2026-10-01

Service & assistance animals

Recognized Yesverified 2026-10-01
Advance notice hours24 hoursverified 2026-10-01
Import rules modified Noverified 2026-10-01
Documentation required Yesverified 2026-10-01
Recognized organizations
  • Assistance Dogs International
  • International Guide Dog Federation
verified 2026-10-01

Timing chain

Day -90 microchip implant · Day -21 rabies vaccine deadline · Day -10 health certificate issued · Day 0 arrive at customs

Conditional requirements

These rules apply only to some travellers — where the pet is departing from, where it has been, or who is travelling with it. Most people can ignore them, but if one applies to you it can change what you need, or mean denied entry if you skip it.

Pet arriving from, or recently in, a third country or territory NOT listed in Annex I or II to Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/636 — If your pet has been in one of 154 higher-risk countries in the last 6 months:

  • Rabies titer (blood) test: Rabies antibody titration test >= 0,5 IU/ml, on a sample taken by an authorised veterinarian at least 30 days after the primary vaccination and not less than 90 days before the animal health certificate is issued, performed in a designated laboratory (Del. Reg. (EU) 2026/131; model certificate Annex III to Impl. Reg. (EU) 2026/705, point II.3.1).

Trained service dog — recognized by many EU airlines with proof of training

  • Import permit: Service/assistance dogs recognized under EU Regulation (EC) No 1107/2006 concerning rights of disabled persons in air transport. Proof of training (e.g. IGDF, ADEu, or national accreditation) required. EU Pet Passport and standard rabies vaccination still required.
  • Carrier required: Service/assistance dogs recognized under EU Regulation (EC) No 1107/2006 concerning rights of disabled persons in air transport. Proof of training (e.g. IGDF, ADEu, or national accreditation) required. EU Pet Passport and standard rabies vaccination still required.

Breed restrictions

Restricted breeds: American Pit Bull Terrier, Bull Mastiff, Doberman Pinscher, English Bull Terrier, German Shepherd (Alsatian), Japanese Akita, Japanese Tosa, Rhodesian Ridgeback, Rottweiler, Staffordshire Bull Terrier, Ban Dog (Bandog), Any strain or cross of the above verified 2026-10-01

Ports of entry (6)

  • Cork Airport
  • Dublin Airport
  • Dublin Port
  • Shannon Airport
  • Port of Cork at Ringaskiddy
  • Rosslare Europort

verified 2026-10-01

The microchip must be inserted before the rabies vaccination is administered, and it must be readable by a device compatible with the ISO standard. A dose given to an unchipped animal does not count and has to be repeated after implantation. Have the chip scanned at the vaccination appointment so an unreadable implant is found then rather than at the border.
Ireland does not bar the restricted breeds from entry — it regulates them in public. A dog to which the article applies must be securely muzzled and kept on a lead in any public place. Establish whether the breed falls under that article before arrival, because the obligation starts the moment the dog leaves the airport building.
The health certificate must be signed and endorsed by an Official State Veterinarian of the country of departure within 10 days of the pet's arrival into the EU. Two things follow: it is a state vet rather than any vet, and the 10 days run to arrival rather than to departure. Book the state vet appointment before buying the ticket.
So Ireland: chip, then rabies, then a state-vet certificate inside 10 days of arrival, and no permit or quarantine at all. The restricted breeds are a muzzle-and-lead rule in public, not an import ban — worth knowing before you cancel a plan over it. Cooper has done this one twice. Build a personalized plan with your dates and the sequence comes out in order.
Get YOUR personalized plan for Ireland →

Glossary

ISO chip
ISO 11784/11785 — the universal microchip standard.
FAVN
Fluorescent Antibody Virus Neutralization — a rabies serology test required by rabies-free destinations.
Brachycephalic
Snub-nosed breeds (French Bulldogs, Pugs, Persians, Himalayans) with restricted airline acceptance due to heat-stress risk.
AVIH
Animal Vehicle In Hold — IATA's term for cargo pet shipment, with fees that vary by carrier and route.