Bringing a pet to Morocco: the chip must come before the vaccination

Yes, your dog or cat can come to Morocco, and more cheaply than to most destinations outside Europe. The cost indication works with € 180 to € 600 for chip, vaccination, certificate and possibly a titre test (a blood test showing that the rabies vaccination has taken). That is because here the animal can simply ride along in the car.

The find in the document of ONSSA, the Moroccan food safety authority, is not an amount but an order. The chip must have been placed before the rabies vaccination. Otherwise the certificate cannot link the vaccination to the chip number, and the file isn't right. That is where it goes wrong with animals that have been vaccinated for years.

The lead time itself is manageable:

• Twenty-one days after the first jab.
• A certificate within twenty-four hours before loading.

So the pitfall is not the lead time, but the dates in the pet passport you already have.

Which mistake is made most often?

The chip must be placed before the rabies vaccination.

That sounds like a formality and it isn't. The certificate links the vaccination to the chip number. If the vaccination is registered before the chip, that link cannot be made, and then the file isn't right. At the border that is not a discussion but a refusal.

The annoying thing is that this happens with animals that have been vaccinated for years: the jab came before the chip obligation. In that case the animal must be vaccinated again after chipping, and the waiting period starts all over again.

The NVWA says it itself: if your animal is not chipped at the time of the rabies vaccination, that vaccination is not valid. So first of all check the dates in your animal's pet passport. Not the validity, but the order. And start well in time: according to the NVWA the preparation can take weeks to well over half a year.

Which clocks are running?

Twenty-one days. The Moroccan certificate asks for a correct rabies vaccination, but names no waiting period itself. Follow the EU rule: after a first jab, wait at least twenty-one days before you travel with the animal.

Twenty-four hours. The health certificate is issued by an official vet within twenty-four hours before loading. That means an appointment tied to your travel date, and so an appointment you make as soon as you have that date.

The titre test. Is the animal not staying in Morocco permanently, because you want to travel back and forth with it? Then a blood test is needed showing that the vaccination has taken, at least thirty days after the vaccination. After a good result you wait, under the EU rules, three months from the blood sample before the animal may re-enter the EU. Have the test done in the Netherlands before departure. Arranging it afterwards is considerably harder, and without that test you don't get back into the EU with the animal.

Step	When	Why
Chip	first — before the rabies vaccination	the certificate links the vaccination to the chip number
Rabies vaccination	after the chip; for a first jab at least 21 days before departure (EU rule)	the waiting period only starts after a validly given jab
Titre test (only if travelling back and forth)	at least 30 days after the vaccination, in the Netherlands; then 3 months' wait from the blood sample	without the test you don't get back into the EU with the animal
Health certificate	within 24 hours before loading, by an official vet	the appointment is tied to your travel date
Flying: book a place	well in advance	limited number of animals per flight; full in summer