Relocating Pets Between Taiwan and France

Here is the good news, and it is genuinely good: Taiwan sits on the EU's list of approved third countries, so no rabies blood test stands between your pet and Paris. The bad news is specific to France — it is the one European destination on this site that can refuse your dog on the basis of what it looks like and what paperwork proves its breeding.

Updated on , verified by 886JetPet

One corridor, two rulebooks

Westbound, France applies the common EU entry rules: microchip, rabies vaccination, a twenty-one-day wait and an animal health certificate valid ten days to the border. Layered on top is French domestic law, which sorts certain dogs into two regulated categories and bars one of them from entering the country at all. Eastbound, Taiwan's APHIA runs its rabies-infected-origin protocol, because France is not on Taiwan's short designated list.

DirectionClassificationWhat it means in practice
Taiwan → France France applies EU entry rules — and Taiwan is a listed third country ISO microchip before vaccination, rabies vaccination with a 21-day wait, an EU animal health certificate issued within 10 days of arrival, entry through a designated travellers' point of entry — and no rabies antibody test. French category 1 dogs may not be imported at all.
France → Taiwan Taiwan (APHIA) does not list France as a designated rabies-free area Titer of at least 0.5 IU/mL sampled 90 days to 1 year before arrival, an e-permit filed at least 20 days ahead, and 7 days of post-entry quarantine unless the 180-day and 120-day waiver conditions are both met.

Quick compliance checklist: Taiwan ⇄ France

Corridor-specific requirements only — the universal basics (ISO chip before vaccine, IATA crate, live-animal flight space) are covered once on the Pet Travel Hub.

RequirementWho rules itCritical window
TPE → CDG: no rabies antibody test EU animal health rules Taiwan is a listed third country, so the serological test and its three-month wait do not apply — the single biggest time saver on this route
TPE → CDG: ISO microchip, then rabies vaccination EU animal health rules Chip first; the pet must be at least 12 weeks old at vaccination, and at least 21 days must pass after the primary course
TPE → CDG: EU animal health certificate Issued and endorsed by Taiwan APHIA Valid 10 days to the border check, then 6 months for onward travel inside the EU or until the vaccination expires
TPE → CDG: category 1 dogs are barred French domestic law Pit-bull type, Boerbull and Tosa dogs without recognised pedigree registration are category 1 and may not be imported into France — a dog with no pedigree proof is classed here by default
TPE → CDG: category 2 dogs are admitted but regulated French domestic law Pedigree-registered Staffordshire, Rottweiler and Tosa dogs may enter, subject to muzzling, leashing, insurance and permit requirements once in France
TPE → CDG: designated point of entry and the 5-day rule EU border authorities Arrive at a travellers' point of entry; travelling more than 5 days apart from your pet moves it to the commercial track with TRACES pre-notification
CDG → TPE: titer, e-permit and quarantine Taiwan APHIA Titer sampled 90 days to 1 year ahead, e-permit at least 20 days ahead, 7-day facility stay unless waived at 180/120 days

Taiwan's APHIA runs dog and cat imports through its online e-permit portal, with document uploads validated against the microchip record. We re-verify the current protocol on both sides of this corridor for every booking.

The chronological timeline

Read this top to bottom: each step's validity depends on the one before it, which is why a late fix costs months rather than days.

  1. Check your dog's category before anything else T−4 months

    • If your dog is or resembles a pit-bull type, Boerbull or Tosa, establish now whether it has recognised pedigree registration. Without it, French law treats it as category 1 and it cannot be imported.
    • Category 2 dogs can move, but arrive into a permit, insurance and muzzling regime — worth understanding before the flight, not after.
    • Cats and every other breed: skip straight to the standard EU sequence.
  2. Chip, vaccinate, wait 21 days T−2 months

    • Microchip before the rabies vaccination — a vaccine given first is void and must be repeated, restarting the 21-day clock.
    • No titer is required, which is why a France-bound move takes weeks rather than the months an unlisted origin would need.
    • Taipei-bound instead? This is where your six-month clock starts, with the titer blood draw.
  3. Classify the move: non-commercial or commercial T−6 weeks

    • Flying within five days of your pet keeps it non-commercial. Sending it ahead or following later moves it to the commercial track, with different paperwork and a Border Control Post.
    • The certificate is issued for the first EU country your pet enters — a connection through Frankfurt into Paris is a German entry.
  4. Book uplift T−4 to T−6 weeks

    • Direct TPE–CDG capacity is good, and staying direct keeps the entry country and the certificate aligned.
    • Summer departures from Taipei run into heat embargoes; the European end rarely constrains, the Taiwanese end frequently does.
  5. The ten-day window T−10 days

    • The certificate must be issued within 10 days of the border check, and Taiwan's own APHIA export inspection has to fall inside the same stretch.
    • Two appointments, one flight, no slack — this is the week that needs owning.
  6. Fly and clear T−0

    • Arriving France: identity and document check at the travellers' point of entry; compliant pets continue with you.
    • Arriving Taiwan: APHIA reconciles e-permit, certificate, titer report and chip.
France is where a perfectly compliant file meets an incompatible dog. Category 1 status does not depend on temperament or history — it depends on morphology and on whether you can produce pedigree registration. A dog that has lived peacefully in Taipei for eight years can be classified on sight at the border, and the consequences run from refusal to seizure. Establish the category months out. Everything else on this route is a paperwork problem; this one is not.

What 886JetPet handles on this corridor

Full-inclusive service

Your Taiwan ⇄ France move, fully handled

We check breed classification and pedigree documentation before a single vet appointment is made, keep the entry country aligned with the certificate, and manage the ten-day window at both ends — plus the titer calendar whenever Taipei is the destination.

Every permit and portal filing
Vet and lab sequencing
Flights, crate and cargo space
Quarantine and arrival clearance
Door-to-door care
One calendar, one team

Track your pet's entire relocation in one live dashboard, unique to 886JetPet

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Taiwan ⇄ France: common questions

Does my pet need a rabies blood test to enter France from Taiwan?

No. Taiwan is on the EU's list of approved third countries, so the rabies antibody titration test and its three-month waiting period do not apply. You need a microchip, a rabies vaccination given at least 21 days before travel and an EU animal health certificate.

Which dogs cannot be brought into France?

Category 1 dogs — pit-bull type dogs, Boerbulls and Tosas that are not registered in a recognised pedigree book — may not be imported. Because the classification turns on the absence of pedigree registration, a dog of that morphology with no papers is treated as category 1 by default. Category 2 dogs, which are the pedigree-registered equivalents plus Rottweilers, may enter but are regulated once in France.

How long is the EU animal health certificate valid?

Ten days from issue to the border check when entering the EU, and then six months for onward travel within the EU, or until the rabies vaccination expires — whichever comes first.

What changed in the EU rules in April 2026?

From 21 April 2026, non-commercial pet movement into the EU is governed by the Animal Health Law framework, Regulation (EU) 2016/429 and its implementing acts, which replaced Regulation (EU) 576/2013. The practical requirements for a pet arriving from Taiwan — microchip, vaccination, 21-day wait, certificate, designated entry point — remain in the same shape, but any guide still citing only the 2013 regulation is describing a superseded framework.

What is needed to bring a pet from France back to Taiwan?

France is not on Taiwan's designated rabies-free list, so APHIA requires a passing rabies titer of at least 0.5 IU/mL with blood sampled 90 days to one year before arrival, an import permit at least 20 days ahead, and 7 days of facility quarantine — waived if the sample was taken 180 days to a year out and the permit filed at least 120 days ahead.

The easiest EU paperwork, and one hard question first

For most pets, Taipei to Paris is a six-week, no-blood-test move — one of the friendliest long-hauls we run. For some dogs it is not possible at all, and you deserve to know which you are before you book anything. Send us a photo, the pedigree papers if there are any, and your month.

— The 886JetPet corridor team, Taipei