Pets & Vehicle Relocation to Germany

Families moving from India to Germany frequently ask two questions that sit outside the household shipment: what happens to the dog, and is it worth bringing the car? The answers are yes to both, with specific conditions. Both require planning that starts at the India end, and both become significantly more complicated when left until the final weeks before the move. The pet timeline alone — with the EU’s rabies titre wait of three months for non-listed third countries — can stretch to six months or more, while the vehicle path needs the Übersiedlungsgut transfer-of-residence relief on Form 0350, an Einzelabnahme TÜV (single-vehicle approval inspection) and a KFZ registration at the Zulassungsstelle before it can lawfully run on German roads. Seemleius coordinates pets and vehicles from India to Germany as a managed part of your relocation.

Relocating your pet from India to Germany

Germany applies EU pet entry rules under Regulation (EU) 576/2013. For animals travelling from India — a non-EU, non-listed third country for rabies purposes — the entry requirements are detailed and the sequence is fixed. The animal must first be implanted with an ISO 11784/11785-compliant microchip; the rabies vaccination must follow the microchip (any earlier vaccination is invalid for EU entry); a FAVN (Fluorescent Antibody Virus Neutralisation) rabies titre test must be performed at an EU-approved laboratory at least 30 days after the rabies vaccination and must demonstrate an antibody level of at least 0.5 IU/ml; and a three-month waiting period must elapse from the date the blood sample for the titre test was drawn before the animal can enter the EU.

Once those steps are complete, the EU Animal Health Certificate (formerly known as the third-country veterinary certificate) must be issued by an official Indian veterinary authority within ten days of the travel date. The certificate is pre-notified to German authorities through TRACES NT (the EU’s electronic certification platform), and the animal must enter the EU at a designated Traveller’s Point of Entry — in practice Frankfurt (FRA) or Munich (MUC) for most Indian-origin pets. None of these steps can be reordered or compressed.

India adds its own export requirements. The Animal Quarantine and Certification Service (AQCS) issues the Indian export health certificate; a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB) is required for certain species and for any CITES-listed animal. The pet must be examined by an authorised veterinary officer and microchip details verified before the certificate is issued. These India-side steps run in parallel with the EU entry preparation and must both be complete before the animal travels.

• India export health certificate via AQCS and WCCB NOC coordination (where applicable)
• EU entry sequence — ISO microchip, rabies vaccination, FAVN titre test at an EU-approved laboratory, three-month wait, and EU Animal Health Certificate issued within ten days of travel
• TRACES NT pre-notification and entry through Frankfurt or Munich as the Traveller’s Point of Entry
• Pet-appropriate travel on Lufthansa Cargo’s pet-friendly handling from BOM or DEL into FRA or MUC — Lufthansa runs purpose-built animal handling at its Frankfurt Animal Lounge
• Liaison with accredited Indian handlers who understand both the AQCS export side and EU animal welfare standards under the Tierschutzgesetz

Shipping a vehicle from India to Germany

Moving a car or motorcycle from India to Germany involves Indian export documentation (RC book, NOC from the RTO, AD code, ICEGATE shipping bill for the vehicle), sea freight from Nhava Sheva or Mundra to Bremerhaven or Hamburg, and a German registration process that — for a non-EU vehicle — centres on the Einzelabnahme TÜV inspection. The Einzelabnahme assesses whether the Indian-specification vehicle meets German and EU type-approval standards under the Straßenverkehrs-Zulassungs-Ordnung (StVZO), and it covers lighting, emissions, brakes, glazing, mirrors and structural items. Modifications are often required before approval is granted, and the inspection result determines whether the vehicle can be registered at all.

On the customs side, Übersiedlungsgut transfer-of-residence relief on Form 0350 is the principal route to avoid the 10% EU import duty and 19% MwSt VAT that otherwise apply to a non-EU vehicle import — available where the vehicle has been owned and used at the India address for at least twelve months before the move and remains in your ownership for twelve months after import. Once Einzelabnahme is passed, the vehicle is registered at the local Zulassungsstelle, KFZ-Steuer (annual vehicle tax) is set up, and the Umweltplakette (environmental zone sticker, typically green) is issued for access to the Umweltzonen low-emission zones in central Frankfurt, Munich, Berlin, Stuttgart, Hamburg and most German cities.

• India-side documentation: RC book, RTO NOC, AD code, ICEGATE shipping bill and export customs clearance for the vehicle
• Sea freight from Nhava Sheva or Mundra into Bremerhaven (the principal RoRo and vehicle gateway) or Hamburg — container or Roll-on Roll-off depending on the vehicle and your preference
• Übersiedlungsgut Form 0350 transfer-of-residence relief application to Zoll, where eligibility is supported by twelve months of Indian ownership and use
• Einzelabnahme TÜV inspection scheduling and modification advice where the vehicle’s Indian Type-Approval does not directly map to German requirements
• KFZ registration at the Zulassungsstelle, KFZ-Steuer set-up and Umweltplakette issuance for city Umweltzonen access
• Delivery to your German address, to a bonded storage facility, or to a TÜV pre-inspection point

How the planning works

1. Tell us what is moving. Pet details (species, breed, size, microchip and vaccination status) and / or vehicle details (make, model, year, current registration, Indian Type-Approval status), plus your anticipated departure from India.
2. Map both sides. We lay out the India export requirements and the EU/Germany entry requirements for each, with all fixed waiting periods, FAVN titre lead times, Übersiedlungsgut eligibility windows and TÜV scheduling identified.
3. Coordinate the journeys. Pet travel on Lufthansa Cargo and vehicle freight via Bremerhaven are booked and timed to align with your household shipment and your Germany arrival date.
4. Keep you informed. Your coordinator provides updates on both the pet and the vehicle through transit, TRACES NT notification, Zoll clearance and TÜV scheduling — so you know exactly where they are at every stage.

India’s pet export requirements and the EU’s pet entry requirements together create a timeline that is often longer than families expect — six months or more in most cases because of the three-month rabies titre wait. The vehicle path is shorter calendar-wise but heavier on documentation. Start both conversations early. Get in touch as soon as you have a Germany move in view and we will map the full timeline from the India end.