Procedure for traveling to the EU with a dog shortened from tomorrow – Charm

Thousands of dogs from third countries on the list are adopted in EU member states every year (illustration), Photo: Private archive

18.06.2026. 18:07h

European legislation allowing the movement of pets without a rabies test comes into force tomorrow, June 19, so in the future, to cross the border with a dog from Montenegro to the countries of the European Union and vice versa, only a proper pet passport and a certificate signed by a veterinary inspector will be required. In practice, as explained by the Directorate for Food Safety, Veterinary and Phytosanitary Affairs (UBHVFP), this means that instead of several months, as was the case due to the rabies test, the procedure is now reduced to a maximum of three days.

“The procedure for moving pets to EU countries and from EU countries to Montenegro has been simplified, meaning the time period required to meet all requirements has now been shortened from a minimum of four months of waiting (until a valid report is received and the prescribed deadlines are met) and has been reduced to a procedure that can be completed in a few days,” she told “Vijesti”. Mevlida Hrapovic, Head of the Department of Animal Health and Welfare at the UBHVFP.

With the exception of the results of the rabies antibody titer test, she says, all the documentation that was necessary until now – a passport and a certificate certified by an inspector – will remain for the movement of pets to EU countries in the future.

“This means that the pet must be accompanied on the trip by a duly completed passport and a certificate signed by a veterinary inspector. The abolition of the titer test shortens the procedure from a four-month wait (blood was taken one month after vaccination, and the results became valid three months after sampling), to a procedure that lasts one to three days, and involves submitting a request to the Administration with the proper documentation (passport, health certificate, completed application form), after which the veterinary inspector issues a signed and completed certificate for the movement of pets within three days at the latest, and it is possible to immediately set off on a trip,” explains the interlocutor of “Vijesti”.

The titer test is a test for rabies antibodies and is also performed when the animal has received a vaccine against this infectious disease. The tests can only be performed in laboratories that are authorized by the EU and are performed 30 days after the pet has been vaccinated against rabies. The test result is obtained within ten days from the date of receipt of the serum, but travel abroad is only possible three months after the test – provided that the test is satisfactory. From Montenegro, samples are most often sent for testing to Novi Sad, to the Pasteur Institute, where the analysis costs about 50 euros. The price is additionally increased by the costs paid to the clinic in Montenegro, which takes and prepares the sample, then sends it to Novi Sad for analysis.

Hrapović points out that the abolition of the rabies test is also significant from a financial perspective, and that this is not only the case for pet owners, but also for animal protection activists who cooperate with individuals and organizations abroad, where dogs from Montenegro are adopted.

“This is a very significant step for activists, considering that the antibody titer implies a minimum four-month wait, as well as the financial burden of testing costs, housing animals that are put up for adoption during that four-month period, and therefore more difficult adoptions, because puppies often grow up, the socialization period is mostly behind them… Now all these procedures will be carried out in a period of one to three working days, which will significantly relieve activists financially, and additionally organizationally in terms of housing these individuals, arranging documentation, monitoring the procedure…”, she said.

According to Hrapović, the benefits of abolishing the rabies antibody titer test, in terms of adopting dogs into EU countries, have already been felt by some countries in the region:

“This practice has proven to be a significant contribution to controlling the population of abandoned dogs, and as a result, thousands of dogs from third countries on the list are adopted annually in EU member states, which we hope will be the case with Montenegro,” she said, adding that it must be kept in mind that adoption in EU countries is not the solution to the entire problem of controlling the dog population in Montenegro:

“It is a type of contribution that does not last forever, and the chain of responsibility and taking steps in accordance with legal responsibilities and obligations must certainly begin to be implemented with full force, and the system must become sustainable in itself,” she said.

In order to combat and eradicate rabies, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management, or UBHVFP, with the support of the European Delegation, Montenegro has been continuously implementing oral vaccination of wild animals against this infectious disease since 2011. The last case of rabies, as UBHVFP has repeatedly announced, was recorded in 2012.