Your pet to Austria: passport, one month for the dog, and the new course

Yes, your dog or cat can simply come along to Austria. What you need is the EU pet passport with a microchip and a valid rabies vaccination, given after the chip. The Austrian part comes after arrival: a dog must be in the national Heimtierdatenbank within a month of entry, since 1 July 2026 anyone keeping a dog for the first time has to take a compulsory course, and your municipality wants dog tax. The pitfall is with puppies: younger than fifteen weeks, they don't get into the country.

What do I arrange before the journey?

For dogs, cats and ferrets travelling within the EU, the EU pet passport is required. It records the chip and the vaccination, filled in by an authorised vet. Three rules of the Austrian Bundesamt für Verbrauchergesundheit set the order:

• the chip must be in place before the rabies vaccination; a vaccination given earlier does not count;
• the animal must be at least twelve weeks old at the first vaccination;
• the vaccination is only valid 21 days after the primary vaccination. If you keep up with the boosters, it stays valid.

A tapeworm treatment is not needed for Austria; the Bundesamt only requires it for dogs travelling to Malta, Finland, Ireland, the United Kingdom or Norway. The animal travels with you, or with someone you designate for it, and it may not be intended for sale.

A twelve-week-old puppy can't come along yet. Because the vaccination is only allowed after twelve weeks and then needs three weeks, puppies and kittens must be at least fifteen weeks old before they may enter Austria, according to the City of Vienna. Unvaccinated puppies, or puppies not yet validly vaccinated, have not been admitted since October 2022.

What do I arrange after arrival?

What	Deadline	Good to know
Registering the dog in the Heimtierdatenbank	within a month of entry	online with ID Austria; in Vienna free until the end of October 2026
Sachkundenachweis, theory	before you start keeping the dog, if it's your first dog	course of at least four hours
Sachkundenachweis, practice	within a year	two hours, together with the dog
Hundeabgabe in Vienna	register within 14 days	€ 72 first dog, € 105 each further dog
Liability insurance in Vienna	compulsory	cover of at least € 725,000

The Heimtierdatenbank. All dogs kept in Austria must have a chip and be in the national database. For puppies a chip applies by the twelfth week of life at the latest; a dog you bring with you is registered within a month of entry. Registration can be done online, with ID Austria as the digital key. The government advises checking yourself afterwards that your dog really is in it.

The Sachkundenachweis. Anyone who keeps a dog for the first time from 1 July 2026 first takes a theory course of at least four hours in their own state, and within a year a two-hour practical lesson with the dog. In Vienna you upload the proof in the Heimtierdatenbank. Whether a dog you have had for years and bring along also falls under this, the ministry's announcement doesn't say in so many words; ask the veterinary office of your state before you register.

What does a dog cost in Vienna?

Dog tax is a municipal levy, and Vienna is the clearest example. You register your dog within fourteen days after it has come into the city and is three months old. In 2026 you pay € 72 a year for the first dog and € 105 for each further one. From 1 January 2027 that becomes € 120 per dog, and € 240 for a Listenhund of which someone becomes the keeper from that date.

On top of that, Vienna requires liability insurance with cover of at least € 725,000, and in the city there is an obligation to use a lead or muzzle. For Listenhunde, the breeds on the Viennese list, a Hundeführschein is compulsory. Outside Vienna rates and rules differ per municipality; the government points out that most municipalities have rules on leads and muzzles.

And the cat?

For a cat the same travel rules apply as for a dog: passport, chip and vaccination. The Austrian government describes compulsory registration in the Heimtierdatenbank for dogs and, separately, for cats kept for breeding. If you want to travel with your cat, simply keep the vaccination up to date in the passport; after the first valid vaccination it stays valid as long as you have the booster given on time.

Bring your vet's file, so the new practice knows which vaccinations and treatments there have already been. How the rest of the move goes is in your household goods to Austria.

In Vertrekklaar this is phase 3 of 5 of the journey, step 3.3: the same steps, but for your situation — in your order, tickable, and with the deadlines watched. See the whole journey to Austria or go straight to step 3.3 in the open plan.