Bringing Your Pet to the Canary Islands: Entry, Vet, Dog Beaches — the Relocate Guide

Notice: This article is a journalistic overview. The EU pet regulation is currently being revised (see section below). We recommend consulting your own vet at least four months before the planned move.

Anyone moving to the Canaries from Britain or Ireland wants to bring their animal along. Brexit changed the rules — UK pets now travel under EU import rules, and Ireland still uses the EU pet passport.

Spain is rabies-free, the Canaries even with special status. But three pitfalls cost time, nerves and, in the worst case, the transport: wrong order between chip and vaccination, dangerous-breed rules in the Canaries, and the new EU rules from April 2026.

Step 1: Microchip — and BEFORE the rabies vaccination

Every pet must have an ISO-compliant microchip according to standards 11784 and 11785 — a 15-digit numeric number at 134.2 kHz. Chips at 125 or 128 kHz are not recognised at borders.

Order is everything: the chip must be placed before the rabies vaccination. Anyone doing it the other way around has an invalid vaccination — and must start the entire process over. Tattoos are only accepted if they were applied before 3 July 2011 and are still legible.

Costs: chip 30-50 euros plus implantation under 10 euros at typical UK and Irish vet rates.

Step 2: Rabies vaccination — and wait 21 days

After the microchip implantation the rabies vaccination can take place. Minimum age of the animal: 12 weeks. After the first vaccination you must wait 21 days before the animal can travel — the time the immune protection needs.

For booster vaccinations the waiting period does not apply, as long as the previous vaccination was still valid. If the booster is given only after the validity has expired, it counts as a first vaccination — so 21 days waiting again.

Costs: rabies vaccination about 50 euros.

Step 3: Get the EU pet passport

The EU pet passport (yellow-blue booklet) is issued by an authorised vet in Ireland or any other EU country. It contains owner details, microchip number, vaccinations and is bilingual (issuing-country language and English).

Valid for life as long as the rabies vaccination is up to date. UK owners cannot get an EU pet passport since Brexit and instead need an Animal Health Certificate (AHC) from an Official Veterinarian, valid for one entry into the EU within 10 days of issue.

Costs: about 10 euros for the document itself, plus the one-off costs for chip and vaccination.

What must be in the passport: microchip number with date and position of implantation, rabies vaccination with batch and validity, owner details, vet details. Puppies can travel earliest at 15 weeks (12 weeks minimum age for vaccination plus 21 days waiting).

Step 4: Arrival in the Canaries

Travel within the EU is possible without a separate health certificate — the pet passport is enough. Most airlines accept small animals up to 8 kg in the cabin, larger ones in the cargo hold.

Iberia, Vueling, Lufthansa and Eurowings have different box specifications — booking usually has to be done by phone or form, not online.

Per person, a maximum of five pets may travel. More only for competitions or shows with corresponding documentation. Since 22 April 2026 the quantity limits are part of the revised EU pet regulation.

Direct flights to Tenerife (TFN/TFS), Gran Canaria (LPA), Lanzarote (ACE) and Fuerteventura (FUE) are available daily from London, Manchester, Birmingham, Dublin and other UK and Irish hubs.

To La Palma (SPC) weekly from a few UK airports. To La Gomera (GMZ) and El Hierro (VDE) there are no direct flights — access only via Tenerife by inter-island flight or ferry.

Attention: new EU rules since 22 April 2026

On 22 April 2026, a transition period in EU animal health law expired. The consequences are now being implemented:

• From 1 October 2026 new animal health certificates will be required.
• Updated pet passports and new ID requirements will come according to ADAC in several stages.

Central requirements — microchip, valid rabies vaccination, EU pet passport — remain unchanged. Anyone with an up-to-date pet passport is on the safe side.

False claims about a supposed obligation for online pre-registration with QR code for every EU trip have already been debunked by Mimikama (Mimikama) — such obligations only apply to entries from third countries.

Dangerous-breed dogs in the Canaries

Spain and the Canaries regulate dangerous breeds more strictly than the UK and Ireland. Note in particular that Staffordshire Bull Terriers — common family dogs in Britain — fall under the Spanish PPP regime.

As "Perro Potencialmente Peligroso" (PPP) are considered, among others: Pit Bull Terrier, Staffordshire Bull Terrier, American Staffordshire Terrier, Rottweiler, Dogo Argentino, Fila Brasileiro, Tosa Inu, Akita Inu — as well as crossbreeds of these breeds.

What owners need:

The licence is applied for at the respective municipality — in Tenerife for example at the Ayuntamiento of Santa Cruz or La Laguna, in Gran Canaria at Las Palmas, San Bartolomé de Tirajana, Telde or the place of residence, on the other islands likewise at the relevant island capital administration.

Vets and emergencies in the Canaries

The island group has a dense vet network — over 200 practices are registered in total, of which more than 50 alone in Gran Canaria and similarly many in Tenerife. On the smaller islands (Lanzarote, Fuerteventura, La Palma) there are 10-25 practices each, on La Gomera and El Hierro only a few.

Most vets speak Spanish, many in the international expat zones (Las Palmas, Maspalomas, Puerto de la Cruz, La Orotava, Costa Teguise, Puerto del Carmen, Corralejo, Playa del Inglés) also English.

Pet health insurance is not mandatory in Spain (unlike liability insurance — see below), but advisable. Providers like Mapfre, Catalana Occidente and Allianz offer packages from 15-25 euros per month. Treatment at the vet without insurance typically costs 30-50 euros for a consultation, 80-200 euros for an operation.

Dog liability insurance has been mandatory throughout Spain since the reform of the Animal Protection Law (Ley 7/2023) — also for non-PPP dogs. The insurance costs around 50-80 euros per year.

Dog beaches in the Canaries — and what really applies

Here lies probably the most surprising detail of the whole topic. In the Canaries, dogs are generally PROHIBITED on beaches, except at specially designated dog beaches. Anyone who simply takes their dog to a normal beach risks fines between 100 and 750 euros depending on the municipality.

Complete list of all official dog beaches in the Canaries (as of April 2026):

The Mogán initiative of 2025 (Infos GC) opened popular tourist beaches — not remote rocky coasts — to dogs for the first time. Councillor Willy García has made clear, however, that the project will only continue if owners stick to the rules: leash obligation, immediate clean-up of waste, muzzle for PPP dogs.

Practical tips for dog owners in the Canaries

Heat and asphalt. In summer, asphalt temperatures can rise to 50-60 degrees. Paws burn quickly. Rule of thumb: if your palm cannot stand five seconds on the ground, it's too hot for the dog. Walks are best before 10 a.m. or after 6 p.m.

Water. The Canaries are dry. A water bottle with drinking bowl belongs in every walking kit. Vets regularly report heatstroke cases in dogs that didn't drink in time.

Calima days. When the Sahara sand comes, the air gets heavy. Sensitive dogs (pugs, bulldogs, seniors) should not go out on calima days.

Ticks and sand fleas. Frequent in the Canaries. An effective spot-on product (Frontline, Advantix, Bravecto) is mandatory. Leishmaniasis is less widespread in the island group than on the Spanish mainland but present — the local vet check is standard.

Empadronamiento. Anyone becoming a resident must also register their dog with the municipality — this often goes directly with the empadronamiento at the ayuntamiento. The fee is minimal or zero, but required.

Inter-island transport. Anyone travelling with the dog between the Canaries (ferry Naviera Armas/Trasmediterránea, inter-island flight Binter/Canaryfly) needs the pet passport and sometimes an additional transport-box booking. Ferry costs: 30-50 euros per trip. Inter-island flight: 60-120 euros depending on animal size.

Cost overview: what bringing the dog along costs in total

Before the trip (one-off):

On the island per year:

That's about 600-1,200 euros in the first year including the trip depending on the dog category, then 250-500 euros per year without health insurance.

What goes wrong most often

The three most frequent mistakes that vets report from British and Irish owners arriving in the Canaries:

Anyone who plans in time — four months before the move — is on the safe side. Anyone who goes to the vet at the last minute risks the entire trip.

Lucía Medina Reyes writes for CITA News about society, culture and everyday life in the Canary Islands. More about the author