Importing your pet to Girona

Spain welcomes your pet. Spanish bureaucracy welcomes the opportunity to require seven specific documents, a microchip registered before a specific date, and a vet visit within ten days of travel.

If you are relocating to Girona from the UK, the process is manageable — but only if you start early and get the sequence exactly right. The wrong order of microchip and vaccination means starting again. A missing endorsement means your dog or cat does not cross the border. These are not edge cases; they are the most common reasons UK pet owners hit delays at the point of entry.

This guide covers what the import process actually looks like when you are arriving in Girona specifically — where to register your pet locally, what the Catalan regional requirements add to the national baseline, and how the city's cost of living affects what you will spend on the process. It is written for UK owners bringing dogs or cats.

What this actually involves in Girona

Girona is in Catalonia, and that changes a few things

The national rules — microchip, rabies vaccination, Animal Health Certificate — apply everywhere in Spain. But Catalonia runs its own animal registration system alongside the national one, and Girona's Ajuntament has its own local registration requirement on top of that. You are not dealing with one system. You are dealing with three that partially overlap and do not always talk to each other.

Once you arrive, your pet needs to be registered with the Registre d'Animals de Companyia de Catalunya (RACC), the Catalan regional database, within three months. You then register separately at the Ajuntament de Girona — the town hall on Plaça del Vi — to comply with local municipal rules. Bring your microchip documentation, proof of rabies vaccination, and your NIE. The town hall process is conducted in Catalan, with Spanish available if you ask. Do not assume English will be offered (Source: RelocateIQ research).

What the UK-to-Girona paperwork chain actually looks like

As a UK resident post-Brexit, your old EU pet passport is not valid for entry into Spain. You need an Animal Health Certificate (AHC) issued by an Official Veterinarian in the UK, no more than ten days before your arrival in Girona (myspainvisa.com). That ten-day window is tight if you are also managing a house move, so book your OV appointment before you book your flights.

The AHC is a single-use document. It gets you into Spain once. After that, take your pet to a local Girona vet — Clínica Veterinària Güell on Carrer de Santa Eugènia is well-regarded among the expat community — to get a Spanish EU pet passport issued, which makes future travel across Europe significantly simpler (idealista.com).

You must enter Spain through a designated EU point of entry. Girona-Costa Brava Airport handles this, but its international connections from the UK are limited to certain carriers and routes. Many UK arrivals fly into Barcelona El Prat instead, which is a fully equipped EU entry point with established Guardia Civil customs checks for pets, and then travel the 37 kilometres to Girona by train or car. Declare your pet at customs on arrival and have all paperwork accessible, not in a checked bag.

What it costs

Estimated costs for importing a pet to Girona from the UK

(Source: filmogaz.com; idealista.com)

A full relocation including transport runs around €3,500 in total for a typical case, though this figure varies significantly by pet size and route (Source: idealista.com).

Once you are in Girona, ongoing costs are noticeably lower than in the UK. Standard vet consultations run €30–60, and annual boosters cost approximately €40–70 (Source: filmogaz.com). Girona's cost of living is around 40% cheaper than London across the board (Source: Numbeo, early 2026), and veterinary care broadly reflects that differential. Pet insurance runs approximately €15–40 per month depending on cover level — budget toward the upper end for a dog, lower for a cat.

The Catalan regional registration and Ajuntament registration carry no significant fees, but factor in a vet visit to get your Spanish EU pet passport issued after arrival, which typically costs €40–80 at a Girona clinic (Source: RelocateIQ research).

Step by step — how to do it in Girona

Step 1: Get your pet microchipped first — before anything else

Book a vet appointment in the UK specifically to confirm your pet has an ISO 11784/11785 compliant 15-digit microchip. If they do not, get one implanted. This must happen before the rabies vaccination — if your vet administers the vaccine first, the sequence is invalid and you will need to revaccinate and wait another 21 days before travel (myspainvisa.com). Do this three to four months before your planned move date.

Step 2: Administer the rabies vaccination and wait 21 days

Once the microchip is confirmed, your vet administers the rabies vaccine. If this is a primary vaccination — meaning your pet has never had one before, or their previous vaccination lapsed — you cannot travel for 21 days after the jab (idealista.com). Build this waiting period into your move timeline. Do not book flights before this date is confirmed.

Step 3: Book your Official Veterinarian appointment for the AHC

Six to eight weeks before travel, identify an Official Veterinarian in your area of the UK who can issue the Animal Health Certificate. Not all vets are OVs — check the RCVS register. The AHC must be issued no more than ten days before your arrival in Girona, so time the appointment precisely. The certificate is bilingual English/Spanish and is valid for a single EU entry only (myspainvisa.com).

Step 4: Choose your entry point and book travel accordingly

Decide whether you are flying into Girona-Costa Brava Airport or Barcelona El Prat. Barcelona El Prat is the more reliable choice for UK arrivals with pets, given its established customs infrastructure and broader airline options. Book an IATA-approved carrier if your pet travels in the hold. Check your airline's specific summer embargo policy — many carriers suspend hold transport between May and September when temperatures exceed 29°C (filmogaz.com).

Step 5: Declare your pet at customs on arrival

On landing, go to the Guardia Civil customs desk and declare your pet. Have your AHC, microchip documentation, and proof of rabies vaccination immediately accessible. Customs officers will scan the microchip and check the paperwork. If you are arriving via Barcelona and travelling onward to Girona by train, this process happens at El Prat before you board the AVE or regional service (Source: RelocateIQ research).

Step 6: Register with the Catalan system and Girona's Ajuntament

Within three months of arrival, register your pet with the RACC — the Catalan regional animal database. Then register separately at the Ajuntament de Girona on Plaça del Vi. Bring your NIE, microchip certificate, and vaccination records. Visit a local vet to have a Spanish EU pet passport issued, which replaces the single-use AHC for all future travel (Source: RelocateIQ research).

What people get wrong

Assuming the AHC timing is flexible

The ten-day window between AHC issue and arrival in Spain is absolute, not approximate. UK owners frequently book their OV appointment too early — sometimes two or three weeks before travel — because they are managing multiple moving parts simultaneously and want to tick the vet visit off the list. The certificate issued at that appointment is then invalid by the time they land in Girona. Book the OV appointment to fall within ten days of your actual arrival date, and do not move that arrival date after the appointment is made (myspainvisa.com).

Thinking Girona-Costa Brava Airport is the obvious choice

It seems logical to fly directly into Girona if you are relocating there. In practice, Girona-Costa Brava Airport has limited UK routes, and not all of them operate year-round. More importantly, the customs infrastructure for pet entry at smaller airports can be less predictable than at Barcelona El Prat, where the process is well-established and Guardia Civil staff are accustomed to handling pet declarations from UK arrivals. Many experienced relocators choose Barcelona El Prat specifically for the pet entry process and travel the final leg to Girona by train (Source: RelocateIQ research).

Stopping at the national registration and missing the Catalan layer

Most generic Spain relocation guides cover the national pet import requirements and stop there. In Girona, you also need to register with the RACC — the Catalan regional system — and then again at the Ajuntament. Missing the RACC registration does not trigger immediate consequences, but it creates a gap in your pet's official record that can cause problems if your animal is ever lost, if you need to use certain veterinary services, or if you apply for future residency documents that require a complete local registration history (Source: RelocateIQ research).

Who can help

For the UK-side paperwork — finding an Official Veterinarian, sequencing the microchip and vaccination correctly, and getting the AHC issued — your starting point is the RCVS register of Official Veterinarians. Your regular vet may be an OV, but confirm this explicitly rather than assuming.

Once you are in Girona, Clínica Veterinària Güell on Carrer de Santa Eugènia has experience with expat pet registrations and can guide you through the RACC and Ajuntament process. They can also issue your Spanish EU pet passport after arrival. A second well-regarded option is Centre Veterinari Girona on Avinguda de França, which has English-speaking staff available on certain days — worth confirming when you book (Source: RelocateIQ research).

For the administrative side — particularly if you are navigating the Ajuntament registration at the same time as your own NIE and TIE applications — Girona Relocation is a local service that assists newcomers with exactly this kind of overlapping bureaucracy. They work in Catalan, Spanish, and English, which matters when you are dealing with a town hall that defaults to Catalan.

Pet relocation specialists such as those listed via the IPATA directory can manage the full logistics chain from the UK if you want the process handled end-to-end, though this adds cost on top of the figures in the table above.

Frequently asked questions

What documents do I need to bring my dog or cat to Girona?

As a UK resident, you need an Animal Health Certificate issued by an Official Veterinarian in the UK, no more than ten days before your arrival in Girona. You also need proof of a valid ISO-compliant microchip and a current rabies vaccination administered after the microchip was implanted (myspainvisa.com).

Your old UK-issued EU pet passport is no longer valid for entry into Spain post-Brexit. The AHC replaces it for the purpose of entry, but it is a single-use document — once you are in Girona, visit a local vet to get a Spanish EU pet passport issued for future travel (idealista.com).

After arrival, you will also need your NIE and proof of address to complete the local Catalan regional registration (RACC) and the Ajuntament de Girona registration. These are not entry documents, but they are required within three months of settling in the city (Source: RelocateIQ research).

Does my pet need to be microchipped to enter Spain?

Yes, and the microchip must be an ISO 11784/11785 compliant 15-digit chip. This is non-negotiable at the EU border. If your pet has an older or non-compliant chip, you will need to have a new one implanted before travel (filmogaz.com).

The sequence matters as much as the chip itself. The microchip must be implanted before or on the same day as the rabies vaccination. If the vaccination was administered first, the entire sequence is invalid and you will need to revaccinate and restart the 21-day waiting period (myspainvisa.com).

When you arrive at your entry point — whether Barcelona El Prat or Girona-Costa Brava Airport — the Guardia Civil customs officer will scan the microchip and verify it matches the documentation. Have your microchip certificate separate from your other paperwork so it can be produced immediately (Source: RelocateIQ research).

Do I need a pet passport to bring my pet to Girona?

Not in the traditional sense. UK-issued EU pet passports are no longer valid for entry into Spain following Brexit. What you need instead is an Animal Health Certificate issued by a UK Official Veterinarian within ten days of your arrival (youroverseashome.com).

Once you are in Girona and have completed the local registration process, you can obtain a Spanish EU pet passport from a local vet — Clínica Veterinària Güell or Centre Veterinari Girona are both equipped to issue these. This passport is then valid for travel within the EU and for future trips back to the UK, subject to UK re-entry rules.

Think of the AHC as your one-time entry document and the Spanish EU pet passport as the long-term travel document you build toward once you are settled. Do not conflate the two — they serve different purposes at different stages of the process (Source: RelocateIQ research).

What vaccinations does my pet need to enter Spain?

Rabies vaccination is mandatory and must be administered after the microchip is implanted. If it is a primary vaccination, or if your pet's previous vaccination has lapsed, you must wait 21 days after the jab before travelling to Spain (idealista.com).

For UK arrivals, a rabies titre blood test is not currently required, as the UK is classified appropriately under EU rules. However, this classification can change, so confirm the current status with your Official Veterinarian when you book the AHC appointment (myspainvisa.com).

Once in Girona, your pet will need annual rabies boosters to maintain valid vaccination status. Vets in Girona also recommend standard boosters for dogs covering distemper, parvovirus, and hepatitis, and for cats, feline gastroenteritis and typhus (youroverseashome.com). Annual booster costs in Girona run approximately €40–70, reflecting the city's generally lower veterinary pricing compared to the UK (Source: filmogaz.com).

How much does it cost to import a pet to Girona?

The total cost for a UK-to-Girona pet move typically runs around €3,500 when you include transport, though this varies significantly by pet size and whether your animal travels in-cabin or in the hold (Source: idealista.com). The Animal Health Certificate from a UK Official Veterinarian costs €120–300, and in-hold air transport adds €300–900 depending on the carrier and crate size (Source: filmogaz.com).

The good news is that ongoing costs in Girona are substantially lower than in the UK. Standard vet consultations run €30–60, annual boosters approximately €40–70, and pet insurance €15–40 per month — all reflecting Girona's cost of living, which runs around 40% cheaper than London (Source: Numbeo, early 2026; filmogaz.com).

Budget separately for the post-arrival costs: a vet visit to issue your Spanish EU pet passport (approximately €40–80), and any fees associated with the RACC and Ajuntament registrations. These are modest but worth accounting for in your first-month budget alongside your own NIE and TIE costs (Source: RelocateIQ research).

Can I bring my pet on a plane to Girona?

Yes, but the route and logistics require planning. Small pets — typically under 8kg including carrier — can travel in-cabin on many European carriers. Larger animals travel in the temperature-controlled hold in an IATA-approved rigid crate (filmogaz.com).

Direct UK flights to Girona-Costa Brava Airport are limited and seasonal. For reliability, many UK pet owners fly into Barcelona El Prat — a designated EU point of entry with established pet customs procedures — and travel the final 37 kilometres to Girona by train or car. This adds a step but removes the uncertainty of relying on Girona's more limited international schedule (Source: RelocateIQ research).

Check your airline's summer embargo policy before booking. Many carriers suspend hold transport for animals between May and September when temperatures at Spanish airports regularly exceed the safe threshold. If you are relocating in summer, in-cabin travel for a small pet or a spring/autumn move for a larger dog is worth building into your planning (filmogaz.com).

Are there breed restrictions for dogs in Girona?

Spain maintains a list of Potentially Dangerous Dogs (Perros Potencialmente Peligrosos — PPP), which includes breeds such as Pit Bull Terriers, Rottweilers, Dogo Argentinos, and Staffordshire Bull Terriers. These breeds are permitted in Girona but subject to strict local rules (myspainvisa.com).

If your dog is classified as PPP, you must register for a PPP licence at the Ajuntament de Girona on Plaça del Vi within one month of arrival. You will also need a third-party liability insurance policy with a minimum coverage of €120,000, and your dog must be muzzled and kept on a lead no longer than two metres in all public spaces (Source: myspainvisa.com).

Girona's public spaces — the Parc de la Devesa, the Onyar riverside paths, and the old town streets — are well used by dog owners, and enforcement of PPP rules is active rather than theoretical. If your dog falls into this category, get the licence and insurance sorted before you start walking them publicly. The Ajuntament process is conducted in Catalan; bring a Spanish-speaking friend or use Girona Relocation's administrative support service if you need help navigating it (Source: RelocateIQ research).

What is the best pet insurance for expats in Girona?

There is no single best option, and the right policy depends on your pet's age, breed, and your own risk tolerance. What matters in Girona specifically is finding a policy that covers treatment at local Catalan vets and is underwritten by a company that processes claims in English — because your vet's invoices will arrive in Catalan or Spanish, and you do not want to be translating documents mid-claim (Source: RelocateIQ research).

UK-based providers including Agria and Petplan offer international policies that extend to Spain and are used by expats in Girona. Spanish insurers such as Mapfre and Allianz España also offer pet policies, and their local presence can simplify claims processing once you are registered with a Girona vet. Monthly premiums run approximately €15–40 depending on cover level, with dogs at the upper end of that range (Source: filmogaz.com).

Note that under Spain's Ley de Bienestar Animal, civil liability insurance is mandatory for dog owners in many circumstances — check whether your chosen pet insurance policy includes this cover or whether you need a separate liability policy. PPP breed owners require a minimum €120,000 liability policy regardless of general pet insurance status (myspainvisa.com). Sort this before your first walk in the Parc de la Devesa.