Dog or cat to Bermuda: an import permit, two rabies shots, and no blood test

Your dog or cat may come to Bermuda. You need an import permit in advance, and your pet needs a chip and two rabies vaccinations: the second 6 to 12 months after the first. So an animal younger than 10 months cannot enter. A titre test, a blood test for rabies, is not required. The health certificate is at most 10 days old on arrival. Bermuda has no quarantine: if something is not right, your pet goes straight back, at your expense.

What does Bermuda require?

The rules come from Veterinary Services, part of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).

Requirement	What applies	Timing
Import Permit	apply in advance with the form and the vet's papers	answer usually within 2 business days; valid 10 days from the date of the certificate
Chip	ISO, FECAVA, European/international or AVID-USA	before departure
Rabies, first shot	at or after the age of 3 months
Rabies, second shot	6 to 12 months after the first, without a significant lapse	the latest shot at least 30 days and at most 12 months before arrival
Age	at least 10 months; an animal with only one shot cannot enter
Health certificate	from a licensed vet in the Netherlands: free of communicable disease and external parasites	at most 10 days before arrival
Tick treatment	given by the vet during the examination, with a product from the list	at the examination
Rabies statement	the animal has not been exposed to rabies or been in a rabies area in the last 6 months	6 months
Foot-and-mouth disease	not within 30 miles of foot-and-mouth disease	the last 30 days
Titre test	not required
Quarantine	does not exist

Why two rabies shots?

Bermuda wants to see the two most recent vaccinations. The first was given at or after the age of three months. The second follows 6 to 12 months after the first. There must be no significant lapse. On arrival the latest shot is at least 30 days and at most 12 months old. Bring the original vaccination certificates: the vet may only sign for shots they gave themselves, or for which they see the original certificate.

Does your pet get a rabies vaccine that lasts three years? Then the last two shots are often too far apart, and the latest is soon more than a year old. For a three-year vaccine, Bermuda asks you to contact them first. So email animals@gov.bm early. If you have to start again, you need two shots 6 to 12 months apart, and the latest at least 30 days before arrival. In that case, allow at least seven months.

What do you arrange in the Netherlands?

Start with your vet. They check the chip and the vaccinations, and plan the last appointment within ten days before your arrival. At that appointment:

• The examination and the certificate. With your pet's name, date of birth, breed, description and chip number, the current owner, and your name and address in Bermuda.
• The tick treatment. The vet gives it themselves, during the examination. Bravecto, Simparica, NexGard and Frontline are on the list. Advantage, Advocate, Revolution, Capstar, Comfortis, shampoos and collars are not accepted.
• The signature. A handwritten ink signature with practice stamp, or a digital one. With a digital signature, the practice emails the papers to Bermuda itself.

You then send the application form with the papers to animals@gov.bm (441-236-4201). The office is closed at weekends and on public holidays. The permit is valid for 10 days from the date of the certificate. So the examination, the application and your arrival all fall within ten days.

Bermuda asks for a certificate from a licensed vet, not a government stamp. Whether the NVWA must still sign anything, we could not check in the NVWA Export Assistant. Look it up yourself, or email dpp@nvwa.nl. The NVWA aims to reply within two working days.