Practical Geneva

Dogs from abroad must be presented within 10 days after importation to a veterinarian in Switzerland. The announcement of these dogs is mandatory for registration in the AMICUS database and must then be made within 10 days by the veterinarian (with the microchip or foreign tattoo number). Any data already stored abroad is not automatically transmitted to Switzerland.

• Find all the information on the rules applicable to dog owners for members of permanent missions and international civil servants.
• The FSVO’s Border Veterinary Service (SVF) checks at the airports of Zurich and Geneva whether live animals from third countries comply with the legal requirements at the time of their import or transit.

As a general rule, animals must be accompanied by a veterinary certificate and a declaration of ownership. Only the original document, stamped and signed, is accepted. The veterinary certificate and the declaration of ownership must be drawn up in German, French, Italian or English or be accompanied by a certified translation into one of these languages.

Consult the online tool to find out the regulations according to the type of animal and your country of origin.

Brexit : new rules for entering Switzerland with animals and animal products from the United Kingdom.

Control mark for dogs : all dogs must carry the official control mark of the current year fixed visibly to the collar. The owner must obtain this control mark from his municipality and, for Geneva, from a municipal police station (see also the information notice on tax on dogs).

Check the dog breeds prohibited in Geneva and other regulations.

Vaccination of dogs : it is compulsory against rabies in the Canton of Geneva.

Useful information, responsibilities and obligations when owning a dog on the City of Geneva website :

• Own a dog.
• Keep pets other than dogs and cats.
• Keep exotic animals (NAC).

For dogs, it is the cantonal pound which has the task of collecting lost dogs on the public highway and looking for their owner. If the latter were to remain untraceable, the animal would be entrusted to the Society for the Protection of Animals (SPA) in order to be replaced.

For cats, in case of lack of identification, they are entrusted to SOS-Chats .

There are various online platforms for reporting the disappearance of an animal:

• PetAlert Geneva .
• Swiss call center for animals (stmz).
• ANIS, database for pets , EXCEPT dogs.