Bringing a dog or cat from Europe to the United States is, on paper, one of the easier international pet moves there is. Western and Northern Europe are not on the CDC list of high-risk countries for dog rabies, so the US-side paperwork for most European dogs comes down to one online form. The hard part is not the rules. It is the flights. US airlines have pulled back sharply from carrying pets in the hold, which means most European pet moves now run through a European carrier and a European hub, and the routing you choose decides almost everything else: cost, how big a pet can fly, and whether your dog travels with you or as freight.
This guide is the hub for our inbound-to-the-US series. It covers continental Europe in depth, with country sections for Germany, France, the Netherlands and the Nordics, plus a section for US military and government families coming home from Germany. Separate guides cover the UK to the US, Japan to the US, South Korea to the US, the Philippines to the US, India to the US and Puerto Rico to the mainland.
The US side in one paragraph
For a dog that has only been in low-risk or rabies-free countries during the six months before arrival, the CDC requires the dog to be at least six months old, to carry a microchip a universal scanner can read, to look healthy on arrival, and to travel with a receipt from the online CDC Dog Import Form. For low-risk origins, that receipt can cover multiple entries from the same country within six months. Cats are federally light: there is no CDC form and no federal rabies certificate for a cat. We explain the full federal picture, including what changes for high-risk countries, in our guide to importing a dog into the US, so we will not repeat it in every country section below.
The one European trap: where the dog has been, not where it flies from
The CDC test looks back six months. A dog flying out of Frankfurt or Amsterdam that spent time in Ukraine, Moldova, Belarus, Russia, Turkey or Georgia within that window is treated as coming from a high-risk country, because all of those appear on the CDC high-risk list. That changes the paperwork completely: a rabies titer from an approved lab, a government-endorsed vaccination form, and a reservation at a CDC-registered animal care facility at one of a small number of US airports. This catches families who adopted a dog in Eastern Europe and relocated west before moving to the US. If your dog's last six months were spent entirely in the EU, Switzerland, Norway or the UK, the simple path applies.
Leaving the EU: what Europe asks for on the way out
There is no EU exit permit for a privately owned dog or cat heading to the US. What you carry is driven by the US rules and by your airline. In practice, most European vets will prepare a recent health certificate or fit-to-fly letter, and most owners bring the EU pet passport as a tidy record of the microchip and rabies vaccinations, even though the US does not require it. The EU pet passport is also worth keeping current if there is any chance you will travel back, because it is the document that makes re-entry into the EU straightforward. Airlines carrying pets in the hold commonly want a health certificate issued within a short window before departure, often around 10 days, so time the vet visit to your flight rather than to your move-out date.
Why the routing has changed: fewer nonstop options for pets
A decade ago, many owners simply booked their dog onto the same nonstop as themselves on a US airline. That option has largely disappeared. Delta and United now carry pets as cargo only for active-duty military and State Department personnel on orders. American Airlines runs its PetEmbark cargo program for the public, but it does not take pets in the cabin across the Atlantic, and its cargo service has seasonal heat embargoes, refusing animals when temperatures anywhere on the route exceed 85F, as set out on American Airlines Cargo's animal page. For most families, that leaves the European flag carriers and their hubs: Lufthansa through Frankfurt and Munich, Air France through Paris Charles de Gaulle, KLM through Amsterdam Schiphol, and Finnair through Helsinki. All four take small pets in the cabin and larger pets in the hold.
Germany: Lufthansa and the Frankfurt Animal Lounge
Germany is the most common European origin for US-bound pets, partly because of the large US military presence and partly because Frankfurt is the best-equipped pet transit airport in Europe. Lufthansa accepts small dogs and cats in the cabin when pet and carrier together weigh up to 8 kg, and larger animals in the hold or through Lufthansa Cargo. The standout feature is the Frankfurt Animal Lounge, a 24-hour facility run for animals in import, export and transit, where trained staff check, water and walk animals between flights. If your dog is connecting in Frankfurt on a long layover, this is a genuine welfare advantage over smaller hubs.
The German gotcha is breed policy. Lufthansa refuses a list of snub-nosed breeds, including English and French bulldogs, pugs, Boston terriers, boxers and shih tzus, on all routes all year. If you own one of those breeds in Germany, start with a specialist shipper and assume you will need a different carrier entirely. Our Lufthansa pet policy guide covers the carrier rules in detail, and our US to Germany guide covers the reverse trip.
France: Air France, Paris CDG and the summer breed window
Air France takes small pets in the cabin under the same 8 kg combined weight ceiling and larger pets in the hold, routed through Paris Charles de Gaulle. The practical difference from Lufthansa is timing: Air France restricts snub-nosed breeds seasonally, generally between May and September, rather than year-round. That makes France a viable origin for a pug or French bulldog in the cooler months, and close to impossible in summer. Owners moving two medium or large dogs out of Paris, a situation we see regularly, should plan for two hold kennels on the same flight and confirm both bookings in writing, because hold space for animals is limited per aircraft and is allocated first come, first served. See our Air France pet policy guide for kennel sizes and booking steps, and our US to France guide if you will ever move back.
The Netherlands: KLM and Schiphol
KLM shares its pet rules broadly with Air France, since the two airlines are part of the same group, and it carries larger pets in the hold up to roughly 75 kg including the crate, with the largest or restricted animals moving through Air France KLM Cargo. Booking matters more than people expect: KLM asks you to reserve the pet place in advance, and the request is not confirmed until the airline accepts it. Schiphol is a straightforward transit airport for a pet booked through on one ticket, which is why Amsterdam also serves as the workaround hub for UK owners who cannot fly a pet in the cabin on direct UK to US flights. Our KLM pet policy guide and US to Netherlands guide cover the rest.
The Nordics: Finnair, SAS and rabies-free origins
Finland, Sweden, Norway and Denmark are all off the CDC high-risk list, and Norway and Sweden in particular have strict rabies controls of their own, so the US-side paperwork for a Nordic dog is the simple version. The flying is where the Nordics differ. Finnair takes cats and dogs in the cabin up to 8 kg combined and in the hold up to 75 kg, aims to confirm pet bookings on US flights at least two weeks before departure, and requires a minimum three-hour connection when a pet is in the hold. It publishes its intercontinental fees openly, at around 120 euros for a cabin pet and 650 euros for a pet in the hold each way. SAS also takes small cats and dogs in the cabin. Because Nordic nonstops to the US are limited, many Nordic moves connect through Helsinki, Copenhagen or a larger hub, which makes that three-hour connection rule worth building into your itinerary from the start.
Cats from Europe: light on federal paperwork, heavy on airline rules
A cat flying from anywhere in Europe needs no CDC form and no federal rabies certificate. That does not mean no paperwork. Airlines still want a health certificate, many US states require rabies vaccination for cats once they arrive, and some landlords and condo boards ask for proof. A cat that fits under the seat is the easiest European pet move of all, and a cabin booking on any of the four carriers above is usually the best choice.
US military and government families returning from Germany
Families leaving Ramstein, Stuttgart, Wiesbaden or Grafenwoehr have options civilians do not. The Patriot Express, the government-procured flight serving many European duty stations, carries pets, but pet spaces are limited and fill quickly in peak summer moving season, so book the pet space the moment you have orders. Delta and United will still carry pets as cargo for service members and Foreign Service officers on official orders, which reopens nonstop options that civilians have lost. The Department of Defense reimburses pet relocation costs on an overseas permanent change of station, up to $2,000 per move in the standard case, with a higher ceiling available in limited circumstances under a 2024 Joint Travel Regulations change. Keep every receipt. Our guides to flying with a pet on military orders and military pet transport reimbursement go deeper.
Cabin, hold or cargo: choosing by size, not preference
For a European origin, the decision tree is short. If pet and carrier together are under about 8 kg, book the cabin on Lufthansa, Air France, KLM or Finnair. If the pet is larger, book it in the hold on the same flight as you, which European carriers still offer, so the dog travels as accompanied baggage and you collect it at the US arrival airport. If no seat on the same flight works, or the dog is very large, the carrier's cargo division moves it as freight, usually through a shipper, and it may travel on a different flight from you. Our cargo vs cabin guide walks through the welfare tradeoffs.
| Origin | Main carrier and hub | Cabin limit | Larger pets | Watch for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Germany | Lufthansa, Frankfurt or Munich | 8 kg pet plus carrier | Hold or Lufthansa Cargo | Snub-nosed breeds refused all year |
| France | Air France, Paris CDG | 8 kg pet plus carrier | Hold or Air France KLM Cargo | Snub-nosed breeds restricted May to September |
| Netherlands | KLM, Amsterdam Schiphol | 8 kg pet plus carrier | Hold up to about 75 kg with crate | Pet place must be reserved and confirmed |
| Finland | Finnair, Helsinki | 8 kg pet plus carrier | Hold up to 75 kg | 3-hour minimum connection with a pet in the hold |
| Sweden, Norway, Denmark | SAS or connection via a larger hub | 8 kg pet plus carrier | Hold on some routes, cargo otherwise | Limited nonstops to the US |
Arriving in the US: gateway airport and the last leg
Because low-risk dogs can arrive at any US airport, a European-origin move gives you real freedom over the gateway. The catch is the last leg. Once your dog is in the US, almost no domestic airline will carry it in the hold for the general public, so a dog that lands in New York but is moving to Colorado either needs a European carrier that flies to Colorado directly, a seat for you on the same through ticket, or ground transport from the gateway. For large dogs, that ground leg is often the most practical answer, and it is where most of our readers end up hiring a ground pet transporter. Check this before you book the transatlantic flight, not after.
One timing note: summer is peak moving season and the hardest time to fly a pet out of Europe, with Air France breed limits and US cargo heat embargoes both biting. Spring and autumn moves are easier to book and easier on the animal.
What it typically costs from Europe
For a small pet flying in the cabin, expect roughly 100 to 400 euros each way depending on carrier and route. A dog in the hold on the same flight as you commonly runs a few hundred to around 700 euros, plus an IATA-compliant crate and the vet visit. A full-service shipper handling a large dog door to door from Germany or France to a US city typically lands in the low thousands of dollars, and more for very large dogs or two-pet moves. Our international pet shipping cost guide breaks the line items down.
A sensible order of operations
- Confirm the dog has been only in low-risk countries for six months, and that it is at least six months old.
- Check the microchip reads on a universal scanner and that rabies vaccination is current.
- Pick the carrier and hub by your pet's size and breed, then reserve the pet place before buying your own ticket where possible.
- Book the vet health certificate to fall inside your airline's window, often around 10 days before departure.
- Complete the CDC Dog Import Form and keep the receipt on your phone and on paper.
- Plan the US last leg from your gateway to your new home.