Amsterdam Schiphol Airport Imports And Exports

Import and Export Regulations

As an airport within the European Union, Amsterdam Schiphol requires that you declare certain items upon your arrival. Click here to see a full list of these items, permissible amounts of these items which fall under personal allowance, and rules regarding travelling between EU states and between EU and non-EU states.

If you wish to enter Schiphol with more than your personal allowance of any of these items, you must declare this and pay any relevant import duty. If you fail to do so, you may be caught out and subject to heavy penalties.

Pets

If you intend to travel with a pet, you should be aware that all airlines have strict rules for this.

There are three ways to transport a pet from Schiphol: in the cabin, in the hold or on a separate flight. If you would like to travel with your pet, you should contact your airline to arrange this. They can also advise of their own regulations and costs. All pets must hold a valid health certificate, signed by a recognised veterinary surgeon, as well as a rabies certificate signed by an inspector of local veterinary surgeons or other official. This will state that your pet has been vaccinated at least 28 days before departure.

These documents and dates can vary between any of the countries you are travelling. For more information about the import regulations that apply to your pet, please contact the embassy of the country to which you are travelling, or click here.

If you travel with your pet, it could be helpful to consider the following:

• Be prepared; allow as much time as possible to gain relevant documents and vaccinations.
• If your pet requires specific feeding instructions, attach these to the side of the kennel. Also, it may help relax your pet if airline staff know its name.
• Allow time for your animal to become accustomed to the kennel before the flight; five days would be a good amount of time.
• To help your pet avoid airsickness, you should consider withholding water for 4 hours and food for 12 hours prior to departure.
• It is not recommended that you sedate your pet for the journey; this will reduce your pet’s ability to adjust to the atmospheric conditions of the plane and could result in your pet becoming undercooled.

Excess Baggage

All airlines allow a certain amount of baggage for passengers to carry both as hand baggage and hold baggage. If you exceed these limitations, either in size or weight, you will be required to pay an excess charge. Both limitations and charges vary from airline to airline, so you should check with your airline before you leave.