Pets & Vehicle Relocation to Greece

Families moving from India to Greece regularly raise two questions that sit outside the household shipment: what happens to the dog, and is it worth bringing the car. The answer to both is yes, with specific conditions. Both require planning that starts at the India end, and both become considerably harder when left to the final weeks before departure. The pet timeline alone — with the EU’s rabies antibody wait of three months for animals travelling from non-listed third countries — can stretch to six months or more, while the vehicle path needs the transfer-of-residence customs treatment, a Greek technical inspection through the KTEO system and registration before the car can lawfully run on Greek roads. Seemleius coordinates pets and vehicles from India to Greece as a managed part of your relocation.

Relocating your pet from India to Greece

Greece applies the EU pet entry rules under Regulation (EU) 576/2013. For animals travelling from India — treated as a non-EU, non-listed third country for rabies purposes — the requirements are detailed and the order is fixed. The animal must first be implanted with an ISO 11784/11785-compliant microchip; the rabies vaccination must follow the microchip, since any vaccination given beforehand is invalid for EU entry; a rabies antibody titration test must then be carried out at an EU-approved laboratory at least 30 days after the vaccination, demonstrating an antibody level of at least 0.5 IU/ml; and a three-month waiting period must elapse from the date the blood sample was drawn before the animal can enter the EU.

Once those steps are complete, an EU animal health certificate must be issued by an official Indian veterinary authority within ten days of travel. The certificate is pre-notified to the Greek authorities through TRACES NT, the EU’s electronic certification platform, and the animal must enter through a designated travellers’ point of entry — in practice Athens International Airport for most India-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, and a No Objection Certificate from the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau is required for certain species and for any CITES-listed animal. The pet must be examined by an authorised veterinary officer and the microchip details verified before the Indian certificate is issued. These India-side steps run in parallel with the EU entry preparation, and both must be complete before the animal travels.

• Indian export health certificate via AQCS, with Wildlife Crime Control Bureau No Objection Certificate coordination where applicable
• EU entry sequence — ISO microchip, rabies vaccination, antibody titration test at an EU-approved laboratory, the three-month wait, and the EU animal health certificate issued within ten days of travel
• TRACES NT pre-notification and entry through Athens International Airport as the travellers’ point of entry
• Pet-appropriate air travel from BOM or DEL into ATH, arranged with carriers that operate dedicated live-animal handling
• Liaison with accredited Indian pet-relocation handlers familiar with both the AQCS export process and EU animal-welfare standards

Shipping a vehicle from India to Greece

Moving a car or motorcycle from India to Greece involves Indian export documentation — the RC book, an NOC from the RTO, the AD code and an ICEGATE shipping bill for the vehicle — sea freight from Nhava Sheva or Mundra to Piraeus, and a Greek registration process that, for a non-EU vehicle, centres on a technical inspection and a roadworthiness assessment. The vehicle must be shown to meet EU and Greek standards for type-approval items such as lighting, emissions, brakes, glazing and mirrors; where an Indian-specification vehicle does not map directly to those requirements, modifications may be needed before approval and registration can proceed, and the inspection outcome determines whether the vehicle can be registered at all.

On the customs side, the transfer-of-residence relief is the principal route to avoid the EU import duty and import VAT that otherwise apply to a non-EU vehicle — available where the vehicle has been owned and used at the India address for a qualifying period before the move, where the owner is genuinely transferring their normal residence to Greece, and where the vehicle is kept for a defined period after import. Greece also levies a registration tax on vehicles, and eligibility for relief and the basis of any tax should be confirmed before the car is shipped rather than after it lands. Once the inspection is passed and registration completed, the vehicle is issued Greek plates and entered for the annual road-tax cycle.

• 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 Piraeus — container or Roll-on Roll-off, depending on the vehicle and your preference
• Transfer-of-residence relief application to AADE, where eligibility is supported by qualifying Indian ownership and use and a genuine change of residence
• KTEO technical inspection scheduling and modification advice where the vehicle’s Indian specification does not directly meet Greek requirements
• Greek registration, number plates and the annual road-tax registration once the vehicle is approved
• Delivery to your Greek address, to a storage facility, or to an inspection point ahead of registration

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 and specification — along with your anticipated departure from India.
2. Map both sides. We set out the India export requirements and the EU and Greek entry requirements for each, with all fixed waiting periods, titration-test lead times, transfer-of-residence eligibility windows and inspection scheduling identified.
3. Coordinate the journeys. Pet air travel and vehicle sea freight via Piraeus are booked and timed to align with your household shipment and your Greece arrival date.
4. Keep you informed. Your coordinator updates you on both the pet and the vehicle through transit, TRACES NT notification, customs clearance and inspection scheduling — so you always know where each one stands.

India’s pet export requirements and the EU’s pet entry rules together create a timeline that is often longer than families expect — six months or more in most cases, because of the three-month rabies antibody wait. The vehicle path is shorter on the calendar but heavier on documentation. Start both conversations early, alongside the wider household plan set out on our moving to Greece overview. Get in touch as soon as you have a Greece move in view and we will map the full timeline from the India end.