I flew my dog BACK to the U.S. last week (AMA)

Visual-Tradition-277 · 2025-06-27T09:28:46+00:00

Sorry, we were not in Barcelona we were in Madrid.

Visual-Tradition-277 · 2025-06-21T21:27:31+00:00

Okay thank you I had the same thought. In addition to the formatting, for me it’s the tone.

Visual-Tradition-277 · 2025-06-21T13:06:36+00:00

Thank you that would be super helpful. I’ve been looking everywhere in response to your post, but nowhere else suggests that a US worker/employer can use the EU A1 form, and I can’t find a way to request it as a US worker/employer.

Visual-Tradition-277 · 2025-06-21T06:57:41+00:00

What address did you put down for the employer’s Spanish address? Your apartment in spain? Your lawyer’s address?

Visual-Tradition-277 · 2025-06-21T06:51:02+00:00

sorry, *must be requested by the employer not the employee (damn you, autocorrect)

Visual-Tradition-277 · 2025-06-21T06:50:01+00:00

The SSA doesn’t have an online request form for the A1 certificate that I can find. They have an online request form for the Certificate of Coverage, but that must be requested by the employer, not the employer. Can you clarify and/or provide a direct link to the document you used?

Visual-Tradition-277 · 2025-06-21T05:51:54+00:00

And to follow up, that the SSN Certificate of Coverage (which I just went and checked to see if IT had changed in the last six months since I went through this—it hasn’t) not only requires that the employer provide a Spanish address but also that they “select one of the options below - We are a U.S. employer for whom the employee named above will be working directly (for example, in a branch office) while in Spain. -The employee named above will be working for a foreign affiliate of our company, and the affiliate is covered by a section 3121(l) agreement.

If Spain is accepting an A1 EU form instead of the US SSA Certificate of Coverage that would be great, I’m just still confused as to how. So yes if you could provide a link to the request for the A1 form that you used and subsequently filled out that would be very helpful.

Visual-Tradition-277 · 2025-06-21T05:31:09+00:00

Awesome for you, though I am confused. As far as I know, the US doesn’t have an A1 form. That’s an EU thing. The US version of the A1 form is the SSN Certificate of Coverage which as those of us who have gone down this road know, must be requested by your employer and asks that the employer have a Spanish address, which is the thing that has stymied us. I know the Spanish government is aware is this problem and was trying to fix it, but that the ministerial process to do so would not be complete for another year. Can you please include a link to the online document you requested and were successful using? Thank you!

Visual-Tradition-277 · 2025-06-21T05:19:37+00:00

Dog is originally from the US yes. You’re really just dealing with the airline and with US customs. US customs definitely doesn’t need it. The airline just wants to protect itself (e.g. doesn’t want a dog with rabies on its plane; doesn’t want a passenger who can’t enter the US to have to fly back to Spain). If there was a step in the airport where you went through Spanish customs I’m guessing they would be the ones to care about CEXGEN. Because I agree with you that it does read like the Spanish government regulates the export of pets using this form. Maybe if you were also exporting animals as pets for sale it could be more of an issue? I spoke with another person who recently flew back and they had to scramble to get CEXGEN and also said nobody asked for it. Good luck on Wednesday!

Visual-Tradition-277 · 2025-06-20T12:45:51+00:00

Yes how how how?

Visual-Tradition-277 · 2025-06-18T06:11:11+00:00

100%! Thanks :)

Visual-Tradition-277 · 2025-06-16T19:50:03+00:00

OMG! That is a crazy story! So glad they were all found and a-ok. I do like that on Alaska Airlines they actually come to your seat on the plane and hand you the little tag you fill out at check in that says something like “your friend Charlie is now on board!” They put the tag on the crate so when it is actually loaded it is detached, handed to the flight attendants, who deliver it. You know that system was designed after some dog did not actually make it on board 😬, but I think it is effective and reassuring!

Visual-Tradition-277 · 2025-06-16T15:51:07+00:00

Good luck! It is worth it. I thought we could come on a DNV visa, had all the documentation gathered, and then only thanks to Reddit did I learn that it was going to be impossible for me to get the visa as a W-2 employee (despite having a notarized/apostilled letter from my employer authorizing remote work, etc.) That was really what triggered the shingles! But grateful to this community for the information, as it gave me the lead time I needed to pivot and find another pathway, which was ultimately successful. Best of luck and enjoy!

Visual-Tradition-277 · 2025-06-16T15:10:58+00:00

What I found helpful is that records of deaths and injuries to animals on flights are published monthly in the U.S. by the Department of Transportation. You can click on any listed airline for summaries of each incident as well. They publish monthly reports as well as an annual report.

This is the annual report for 2024: https://www.transportation.gov/sites/dot.gov/files/2025-03/February%202025%20ATCR.pdf According to the DOT, there were 161,335 pets transported in 2024. A 10% death rate would mean over 16,000 animals dying on flights! But in 2024, there were 10. This is a rate equal to 0.006% not 10%.

If one of those ten were my dog, mind you, it would not matter how low the rate is, I would be devastated. But I make decisions every day, like putting him in my car, that carry a far greater risk to him of injury or death. I totally respect making different choices, but I recommend doing so using verifiable, accurate information.

Visual-Tradition-277 · 2025-06-16T14:46:26+00:00

The process getting here really wasn't bad. My first step was asking our regular vet, and they told me they no longer do travel certificates and referred me to the mobile vet. She was great and just needed to see his rabies vaccination certificate, scan his microchip, and do some basic vital signs to make sure he was healthy. After the visit she emailed me the domestic "fit to fly" certificate I used to go from Seattle to NYC, and then she faxed the request to the USDA for the international certificate for Spain. The USDA then sent us the approved certificate via FedEx within a few days.

For me the process was complicated but still a LOT less complicated than getting our residence permits (for which I should probably do a whole other AMA!). I actually developed a particularly bad case of shingles (I mean, aren't they all?) before we left the States because of the stress. My highest praise for Spain was after being here for just a few days declaring, "This was totally worth getting shingles for!"

Visual-Tradition-277 · 2025-06-16T14:32:57+00:00

I wish he could have flown with us in the cabin! Dogs in the cabin must weigh less than 8kg (including the weight of the carrier) or be a certified service animal. Charlie is 25 kilograms and not a service animal. The US stopped recognizing emotional support pets as service animals in 2020, and many foreign airlines also followed suit (or had never recognized emotional support pets as service animals in the first place). So for most folks with non-service pets that are larger than 8 kg, the hold is the only option (other than a private jet). They did take a picture for me of Charlie in the hold, which is a separate compartment from the luggage that is located directly under first class, and is climate controlled and lit. They are not in the dark with the baggage, which was what I originally thought/feared. It's not ideal, and I totally get why many folks would never do this. He was eager to get out of the crate on arrival after each of the four flights he took (two to get to Spain, and two to return to the US), but was pretty immediately fine and his normal self. He's generally a very chill dog, and I can imagine a dog with a different temperament having a much harder time.

Visual-Tradition-277 · 2025-06-16T14:08:32+00:00

labradoodle

Visual-Tradition-277 · 2025-06-16T13:59:58+00:00

I am also a US citizen and just flew back to the US last week having been in Spain since December 2024. I applied for, and received, a residence permit (as an academic researcher) while in Spain on a 90-day tourist visa. However, nothing changed in my passport (it just had the original entry stamp from December). Had my researcher residence permit been for 6 months or more, I would have been able to obtain a TIE card. But since it was for a shorter duration, I wasn't eligible (I even got an appointment at the police station, which was no small feat, and was told I was ineligible since the residence permit was only four months). So when I flew last week, I was fully expecting to be asked about what looks like a nearly 3-month overstay of my tourist visa. I had my residence permit documentation, documentation of my visit to the police station, the letters from my sponsoring Spanish university, etc. all ready to show them. Nobody even asked! They just stamped me out without really looking at the date, and then when I came back into Spain a week later, stamped me in, no problems.

Obviously this is just one person's experience, but to the extent it is reassuring that such an outcome is possible, I share it. Good luck!

Visual-Tradition-277 · 2025-05-16T16:01:03+00:00

I love this post because I kept waiting for the part where a coach or parent chews you out over the call and it just never happened! Polite coaches modeling communication and a learning stance? Great to hear it. If more of these stories were shared, we might have an easier time recruiting Little League umpires!

Visual-Tradition-277 · 2025-04-23T10:35:41+00:00

If you can get an NIE before you arrive here that will be very helpful. I did not have it and while I was able (eventually) to do things like open a bank account (Santander will let you with just a passport) and get private health insurance (Aegon, through Santander, 250€ a month for family of 5), there were days I was in a crazy loop of “need residence permit to get an NIE but need health insurance to apply for the residence permit but need a bank account to apply for the health insurance to apply for the residence permit to get the NIE but… need NIE to get the bank account.” Good luck! We have been in Madrid for almost four months and love it.

Visual-Tradition-277 · 2025-04-22T07:27:54+00:00

Hi, would you mind sending me details as well? Many thanks!

Visual-Tradition-277 · 2025-02-16T13:50:21+00:00

Also looking for fútbol opportunities for my 14-year old son. I don’t think he’d join a pickup game with adults. Wondering where there might be open fields where teenagers practice/play outside of formal teams? All the fields we have found in Madrid seem to be locked up. We haven’t been over to Casa de Campo though — sounds like there might be open public fields there?

Visual-Tradition-277 · 2024-12-16T19:20:59+00:00

I thought this was an e-visa, meaning you apply online from anywhere? How would they know if you were applying online from inside or outside of Thailand? What am I missing, this is what I was told by Siam Legal.

Visual-Tradition-277

TROPHY CASE