Pet entry requirements: Dog → Sint Maarten
These are the requirements for entering Sint Maarten with a dog, based on a departure from Germany/the EU. Requirements can change — always confirm with the relevant authority before you travel.
🔴 Required
Import permit Required
Required: import permit (Animal Movement Permit) from the Government of Sint Maarten (Dutch part), applied for online; application at least 5 business days before arrival, free of charge. With the application: passport copy, travel itinerary, international veterinary health certificate, proof of rabies vaccination. Valid for entry within 30 days of issue. No exemption for service or emotional support dogs.
Microchip Required
Required: electronic ISO microchip (or a readable tattoo applied before July 2011). The number must be stated on the International Health Certificate.
Rabies vaccination Required
Required: rabies vaccination at least 21 days before departure and no longer than 1 or 3 years before departure (per vaccine validity); to be stated on the health certificate. Dogs must also be immunised against distemper, hepatitis, leptospirosis, Bordetella and parvovirus. For the application, pages of the EU pet passport (microchip, description, latest rabies entry) serve as proof of vaccination.
Minimum age / young animals Required
Minimum age 15 weeks; younger dogs are not granted entry permission. Numeric field left empty (two-source rule not met).
Why 15 weeks? The rabies vaccination can only be given from 12 weeks of age, and it becomes valid 21 days later — so ~15 weeks is the earliest an animal can travel. This is the harmonised EU rule (Reg. 2016/429) and applies to travel within the EU too.
Parasite treatment Required
To be certified on the health certificate: free of internal parasites (negative fecal flotation; if positive, treatment 21 days before departure with a registered medication) and free of external parasites, particularly Amblyomma and Boophilus; parasiticide treatment 7-14 days before departure. State date, validity and product. Animal free from observable cutaneous diseases.
Health certificate Required
Required: valid International Health Certificate issued by an accredited veterinarian and endorsed by the Chief Veterinary Officer of the exporting country (in Germany the competent official authority). An EU pet passport does not replace the certificate. Certificate in Dutch or English, otherwise with official translation.
Official endorsement of the health certificate Required
The certificate must be officially endorsed (signature and stamp or seal of the government agency responsible for veterinary public health in the exporting country).
🐾 Local rules (in-country)
These apply on the ground in the destination country — to everyone, not as an entry condition — and depend on the breed and situation (e.g. public transport, listed breeds).
Breed restrictions On site
Pit-bull terrier type: import permitted, but only neutered/spayed; this must be indicated on the health certificate. The source names no further breed lists.
⚠️ Notes & grey zone
Notes
Sint Maarten's own law (Dutch part of the island), NOT the EU/Dutch regime: explicitly "not part of the European Union". Import from South and Central America (excluding Suriname) is prohibited - irrelevant for DE origin. The source covers dogs, cats and ferrets; cats fall under the same points (age, certificate, rabies, parasites, chip) but with different required vaccines (feline leukemia, rhinotracheitis, calicivirus, panleukopenia, pneumonitis) - capture the cat export separately. Documents must be in English. Not Saint-Martin (France).
Related destinations in the Americas
Argentina · Aruba · Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba · Brazil · Canada
Authority: Government of Sint Maarten, Ministry TEATT, Inspectorate TEATT (Unit LVV)
Read at the responsible authority on 30/09/2026.
Check your specific route & airlines →For informational purposes only. Regulations change frequently — verify with the relevant authorities before travel.