Pets in Turkey

Bring your best friend

If you have a cat, dog or other pet at home, you’re likely to want to take them with you when you move and you may be worrying about whether that’s going to be possible.

There’s no need to worry, we have 25 years experience of helping people move with any number of weird and wonderful pets. If you are concerned, just call us on 0800 955 5266 and we’ll do our best to help.

Rules for dogs and cats

Here are some things you have to do, but remember that once Turkey becomes a member of the EU, things will most certainly change:

At the moment you are only allowed to bring one cat, one dog, one bird or 10 aquarium fish into Turkey. To bring more animals, you need to get legal advice
Dogs must have: rabies, parva, distemper, hepatitis and leptospiroz vaccinations and cats must be vaccinated against rabies. This must be done more than 6 months and no less than 15 days before you travel.
To get an essential official certificate, you must have:
- A “Certificate of Origin” giving your pet’s health record
- A Veterinary Health Certicate issued no more than 10 days before departure
Give these certificates to the official vet on duty once you’ve landed in Turkey

Please note: You must get all the vet’s papers stamped by your home country’s agriculture department before you travel.

Taking your pets back to the UK or Ireland

If for any reason you have to return to your home country and want to take your pet with you, at the moment this is what you must do:

Apply to the Mayor’s Office for a “Mense Belgesi” (Certificate of Origin) which should state that there is no rabies or epidemic disease where you’ve been living.
Check with your home country’s embassy for the most current regulations - at this moment in time pets are subject to quarantine laws on return to the UK or Ireland.

Quick Facts

The rabies jab has to be given in two doses, two to four weeks apart and a blood sample sent for testing a month later to make sure it has worked
Rabies is rare in Turkey but not unheard of, you must seek medical attention if bitten
Turkish dogs are usually working animals used to guard sheep from predators and not normally allowed in the house