Pet Relocation to 🇳🇱 Netherlands

Yes, you can bring a pet bird to the Netherlands. As an EU member state it follows the harmonized pet-bird rules: up to five pet birds per owner with an EU identification document/health certificate and a non-commercial declaration, meeting one of three avian-influenza options (30-day pre-export isolation, vaccination, or 14-day isolation plus H5/H7 testing). CITES permits apply to parrots and other listed species.

• EU pet-bird identification document/health certificate based on Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/1938, signed by an official veterinarian (APHIS-endorsed for US origin), valid 10 days from issue
• Meet one of three EU avian-influenza options under Delegated Regulation (EU) 2021/1933: at least 30-day pre-export isolation in a listed country; complete vaccination within 6 months and not later than 60 days before dispatch; or at least 14-day isolation plus H5/H7 antigen/genome test on a sample taken no earlier than the seventh day
• Owner's written non-commercial companion-animal declaration (limit five birds)
• Clinical inspection within 48 hours before departure with no contact with other birds afterward; individual identification (leg-ring or microchip) where applicable
• CITES export and import permits for protected species such as most parrots
• Enter the EU at a designated traveller point of entry; pet inspected by Customs or an official vet at the first point of entry

The Dutch competent authority is the NVWA (Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority). The current harmonized AI rules list three options; a post-arrival quarantine pathway existed under the older Decision 2007/25/EC. The planned Dutch positive list does not currently cover birds, so existing import rules apply. Exact quarantine costs and approved-facility lists are not published as flat figures; confirm the chosen AI option with NVWA/APHIS before booking.

Yes, you can import a horse to the Netherlands. As an EU member state it accepts equines from listed third countries on the model EQUI-X health certificate, requiring negative disease testing (including equine infectious anaemia), a pre-dispatch residency period, and no contact with diseased equines before departure. The APHIS-endorsed certificate is cleared through an EU border control post via TRACES.

• Model EQUI-X animal health certificate, completed by an accredited vet and endorsed by USDA APHIS; the third country must be listed in Annex IV to Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/404
• Negative test for Equine Infectious Anaemia (EIA/Coggins) before export, plus any additional disease tests required for the country's sanitary group
• Residency in the country of dispatch for at least 40 days before dispatch (or since birth, or since entry from the EU)
• No contact with equines suffering transmissible diseases during the 15 days before departure
• Equine Viral Arteritis (EVA) testing for uncastrated males as required by the certificate/sanitary group
• Clearance at an EU Border Control Post via TRACES; horse microchipped/identified per the certificate

Specific tests and conditions vary by the third country's sanitary group and the horse's category (registered, breeding, slaughter); further residence, quarantine, test or vaccination requirements may apply. The official EU rule sets a 40-day residency and a 15-day no-contact window before departure; transport, inspection and any quarantine fees are not fixed flat amounts. Confirm with APHIS and the NVWA before shipping.

Yes, you can bring a reptile to the Netherlands, subject to conditions. The NVWA requires a general veterinary health certificate issued within 10 days of departure and a written non-commercial declaration. For CITES-listed species (many tortoises, turtles, snakes and lizards) valid CITES permits are also needed. The Dutch positive list does not currently cover reptiles, so they can still be kept and imported.

• General veterinary health certificate issued within 10 days of departure, in English, Dutch, German or French, certifying the animal is clinically healthy and fit to travel, with full identification (species, sex, colour, age, distinguishing features)
• Written declaration confirming the animal is a companion and the movement is non-commercial (NVWA provides a standard form)
• CITES export permit (origin) and import permit/document for any CITES- or EU Annex-listed species
• Enter the EU at a designated traveller point of entry for Customs/official-vet inspection
• Confirm the species is not banned under EU Invasive Alien Species rules
• Check current CITES/protected-species status via NVWA and the CITES authority before travel

Marked 'allowed' because reptiles are not banned outright, but admissibility is species-dependent: CITES Appendix I species are effectively non-importable as pets. The Netherlands' positive list (which restricts which species may be kept as pets) currently applies to mammals; lists for other species are planned but not yet in force for reptiles, so reptiles may still be kept and imported. Reptiles for commercial purposes follow different border-inspection-post procedures. No standardized fee schedule exists; verify each species with NVWA.