Pet Entry Rules for Georgia: Documents and Vaccinations

Before traveling to sunny Georgia with pets, it is best to prepare in advance for the move and active travel. It is worth carefully reading the rules for bringing pets into the country, which indicates what documents and vaccinations are required for the pets to cross the border.

Documents for transportation of animals

List of documents for entering Georgia with pets:

• International Veterinary Passport in English with current and reliable information on vaccinations, deworming and other data.
• Veterinary certificate form #1A, which is exchanged for certificate form #5A a couple of days before the trip.

The veterinary passport is a special medical card of the pet, which contains information about the pet, including records of vaccination for a specific period of time and the dehelminthization procedure. Worming treatment must be passed at least 5 days before the trip, and a sticker about dehelminthization is allowed to be pasted into the document by the pet's owner himself, with an indication "the preparation was given by the owner.

International passport is issued at the time of the initial clinical examination by a veterinarian, it is also issued by private breeders and shelters. Please note that it is not allowed to take more than 5 animals out of Russia, the exception is for business activity.

Chips are not necessary for legal crossing of the Russian-Georgian land border through the Upper Lars checkpoint. However, to enter Georgia through Turkey and other countries, the pet must be chipped in accordance with animal transportation requirements, according to which rabies vaccination must be administered later than the chipping.

How to get a veterinary certificate?

Initially, a veterinary certificate according to Form No. 1A should be issued. This can be done at the district animal disease control station with the presence of the pet in person. The following documents must be prepared:

• International veterinary passport with data on vaccination in due time and deworming the day before the visit.
• Certificate with the results of biomaterial examination for egg parasite, issued within 30 days by the date of the clinical examination.

The veterinary certificate is valid for no more than 5 days from the date of receipt, so it is better to provide time in advance for veterinary procedures. If the date of crossing the border does not coincide with the start date of the trip, the document is valid until the end of the trip with the pet.

The international veterinary certificate form № 5A is issued on the basis of a valid certificate form № 1A only with the personal appearance of the pet. Registration is done in the district department of Rosselkhoznadzor in the Upper Lars checkpoint region or in the regional department at the place of residence of the owner of the pet.

It is allowed to indicate in the document not only the owner of the pet, but also the third person responsible for transportation. Most often, the issuance of a veterinary certificate takes no more than 15 minutes. To avoid standing in line for a long time, it is better to contact the 24-hour service at the airport, even if you plan to travel by car.

Vaccinations and rabies testing

A rabies antibody titer test certificate is not required to enter Georgia with animals, but is required in other countries. This test is done only in clinics with a state-accredited anti-rabies laboratory.

List of vaccinations:

• Rabies vaccination, with vaccination to be given between 30 days and 11 months before crossing the border.
• Comprehensive vaccination, including vaccinations against hepatitis, leptospirosis, flesh-eating plague, parvovirus and adenovirus infections.

It is worth noting that for cats it is necessary to additionally vaccinate against panleukopenia; for ferrets - against viral enteritis and pseudomonas; for rabbits - against myxomatosis and viral hemorrhagic disease.