Your pet to Turkey: the double titre clock
Turkey requires a rabies titre test with three months' waiting time after the blood sample — and because Turkey is a high-risk country for the EU, the same titre requirement will later apply on every visit back to the Netherlands. Whoever has the test done in the Netherlands before departure solves both clocks in one go; whoever postpones it ties their animal down for months.
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Written and checked by Auke on , against the sources at the bottom. Is something no longer right? Report it below and I'll fix it.
Yes, your dog or cat can come with you to Turkey, but not at short notice. Turkey requires a rabies titre test: a blood test showing that the rabies vaccination works. Your animal may only enter the country three months after the blood sample.
The Turkish Ministry of Agriculture itself gives the calculation:
- rabies vaccination on 1 April;
- blood sample at the earliest on 1 May;
- entry at the earliest on 1 August.
Anyone wanting to move in August therefore starts in the spring.
The pitfall is the way back. For the EU, Turkey is a country with a high rabies risk. So the same blood test applies on every trip back to the Netherlands, with a waiting time of ninety days if you only have it done in Turkey.
What does Turkey require?
| Requirement | Rule |
|---|---|
| Identification | a readable microchip to ISO 11784 and 11785, or a readable tattoo |
| Rabies vaccination | an approved vaccine, not before the date of the chip; a booster outside the validity period counts as a first vaccination |
| Titre test | blood taken at least 30 days after the last vaccination, in an EU-approved laboratory, result at least 0.5 IU/ml |
| Waiting time | entry at the earliest three months after the blood sample |
| Documents | pet passport, the original titre test result, and a health certificate from the veterinary service of the country of origin |
| Number | at most two animals per traveller, with documents per animal |
| After arrival | registration of your cat or dog in the Turkish PETVET system |
The day of vaccination counts as day zero. And a detail from the Turkish list: at the inspection, the person responsible for the animal must be able to provide a chip reader.
How does the titre clock work?
The vet vaccinates against rabies. At least thirty days later an authorised vet takes blood, which goes to a laboratory the EU has approved for rabies. If the result is 0.5 IU/ml (international units per millilitre) or higher, your animal is sufficiently protected. Three months after the blood sample it may enter Turkey.
If you then keep the vaccinations up to date, the test does not need to be repeated. If you let a booster lapse, the next jab counts as a first vaccination, and the counting starts again.
The return-journey rule that decides everything
Turkey is not on the EU list of countries with a low rabies risk. Anyone travelling from there to the Netherlands with their animal must therefore be able to show a valid blood test. If you have that test done outside the EU, you may only leave for the Netherlands or another EU country ninety days after a good result.
Have the titre test done in the Netherlands, before you leave. Then one test covers both clocks. Turkey asks for the result on entry. The NVWA, the Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority, literally gives the example of a dog that goes to Turkey with a Dutch blood test and can come back without a waiting time. The test stays valid for the animal's whole life, as long as you have the rabies vaccination repeated before the previous one expires.
What do you arrange in the Netherlands?
Start well in advance. According to the NVWA, preparing for a country outside the EU can take from weeks to over half a year, depending on that country's requirements. You need an EU pet passport, a chip and a valid rabies vaccination. For the health certificate you check in the NVWA's Export Assistant whether the Netherlands has agreements with Turkey on dogs and cats. If there is a binding certificate with instructions, you follow those. Often an NVWA vet then visits you to check the animal and issue the certificate.
What do you arrange in Turkey?
The registration. Under the Turkish animal protection law, owners of cats and dogs must have their animals registered digitally, in PETVET, the pet registration system. It records, among other things, your animal's name, passport number, breed and date of birth, your own name and place of residence, and later also the vaccinations. If your animal goes missing, you report it within seven days to the provincial or district directorate of the ministry, so that it is listed as missing in PETVET.
How the rest of the move goes is in your household goods to Turkey.
In Vertrekklaar this is phase 4 of 5 of the journey, step 4.3: the same steps, but for your situation — in your order, tickable, and with the deadlines watched. See the whole journey to Turkey or go straight to step 4.3 in the open plan.
What is due when?
Enter your departure date and see day by day what your dog or cat needs for Turkey, from microchip to certificate.
What this rests on
The facts in this article come from these official pages. Rules change. When in doubt, go by the source, not this article.
- Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry — the conditions for bringing a cat or dog into Turkey — vskn.tarimorman.gov.tr
- Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry — frequently asked questions on compulsory registration in PETVET — tarimorman.gov.tr
- NVWA — blood test (titre determination) on return from a high-risk country — nvwa.nl
- NVWA — with your pet to a country outside the EU — nvwa.nl
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