Preparing for International Pet Travel

International pet travel is highly regulated and requires advanced planning. If you want to take your pet abroad, you must first research the requirements for each country on your itinerary. Give yourself plenty of time to complete all paperwork and get all necessary vaccinations. Remember that different agencies may take a considerable amount of time to processed your request. Failure to complete preparations can result in problems at the airport and possibly denial of entry for you pet.

Contact Consulate of the Country 

This is the most basic requirement of all. You must contact the local consulate for each country you plan to visit and have them provide you with a list of all the requirements and documents you need. These vary per country, and it's safer for you to follow the specific stipulations of each country. Don’t assume that are standard international regulations that apply to all countries. Contact the consulate to be sure.

Pet Passport, Immigration Papers

Just as with people, pets are also required to have a passport for international travel. Basic passport packages will include in-cargo instructions, as well as airline or ferry cruise ship veterinary certificates, and instructions for the facilities of the transport carrier.

Pet Health Certificate

Many countries require an International Health Certificate for pets. You must first contact the consulate of the country you are planning to visit if they have their own form to be accomplished. The veterinarian should issue the health certificate, not more than 14 days before date of travel. You should also declare in the health certificate all the vaccinations that your pet had. Your pet should also be given rabies vaccination, not more than 12 months prior to travel.

Pet Essentials

You will be required to put your pet in a kennel. If you are buying your pet a kennel for the first time, buy it ahead of time to give your pet some time to get used to the space. Do not feed your pet a lot before your trip. You don’t want to end up cleaning a dirty kennel.

Quarantine

While there are countries allows pet to enter their country after providing health certificate, other countries require that your pet be quarantined for a certain period of time. This will ensure that your pet is safe from pests and/or viruses that it may be carrying. To avoid such instances, quarantine officials will screen your pet for common viruses carried by animals such as rabies, leptospirosis, and common infesting pests.

Pet Friendly Hotels

When you are traveling for vacation, it’s for your own convenience that you are able to locate a pet friendly hotel in the country that you are visiting. These hotels have facilities and services to assure your pet's needs are met.