Pet travel route
Taking a dog or cat from Australia → India
What the official rules ask for on this route, for a family pet travelling with its owner. Enter your travel date and your pet’s details to turn it into a dated checklist.
Limited official guidance. The authority for entering India publishes little for this route. Everything it does say is here, with its wording. AQCS's pages describe the Advance NOC timing in more than one way and don't mention a rabies blood test. Confirm the current rules and the Advance NOC deadline with your AQCS station before you apply.
How early to start
4 weeks
if your pet has no microchip or rabies vaccination yet (the least time the official waiting periods allow)
4 weeks
if it is already microchipped and vaccinated
Counted only from the officially fixed waiting periods. Vet, lab and paperwork appointment times are on top, so start earlier.
Headlines for India
- Import permit needed
- Quarantine
- Designated entry point
- Some origins not allowed
What your dog or cat needs
Paperwork
Qualify under the baggage rule
Show proof of at least two years' stay abroad and of transferring your residence to India (for example a visa copy), plus the owner's ticket. Sign a declaration that the pet is a bona fide pet with no commercial, gift or breeding purpose. If your pet comes as unaccompanied baggage, send a copy of your passport with the immigration stamp within one month of your arrival.
Details and the official words
“Proof of two years of stay abroad.”
“Proof of transferring residence to India”
“The declaration from the owner that the dog/cat is bonafide pet with no commercial interest, gift and breeding purpose.”
Vaccination
Rabies vaccination
Cats, and dogs three months old or older, must be vaccinated against rabies more than one month, but within 12 months, before embarkation. The details must be officially certified or written in the official health certificate, together with the other vaccinations.
Details and the official words
“must be vaccinated against Rabies more than one month, but within 12 months prior to actual embarkation”
Paperwork
Official health certificate from the country of origin
An official health certificate from the country of origin certifying that your pet shows no clinical signs of infectious and contagious diseases, including rabies, distemper, parvovirus and leptospirosis for a dog (distemper, feline enteritis, panleukopenia and leptospirosis for a cat). The owner's name on it must match the owner's ticket, and it must give the owner's name and address in the country of origin and in India.
Details and the official words
The page gives no deadline for how recent the certificate must be.
DAFF pre-export appointment: export permit and health certificate: At your pre-export appointment with DAFF's certifying veterinary officer (a pet transport company can go for you; some countries need DAFF to see your pet, in which case you bring it), DAFF checks all your documents and issues the export permit and health certificate. You pay at or before the appointment. Your pet must then leave Australia within 72 hours of the permit being issued.
“The official health certificate from the country of origin certifying that the dog is free from clinical sign and symptoms of all infectious and contagious diseases including Rabies, Canine Distemper, Parvo virus infection, Leptospirosis etc.”
“The name of owner in the official health certificate must match with the name as mentioned in the ticket of owner to establish ownership.”
“This appointment must be before your appointment with our certifying veterinary officer.”
“Your animal must be exported from Australia within 72 hours after the permit is issued. This is a condition of the export permit.”
“Your export permit and health certificate will be issued when we are satisfied the:”
Permit
Advance NOC from AQCS
Send AQCS the advance copies of your pet's health documents. AQCS issues an Advance NOC, which the airline needs before it lifts your pet: without it the pet is not allowed to board. The processing charge is INR 1,000 per application. AQCS's page says the Advance NOC can be issued within 7 days before arrival.
The official wording is ambiguous. Confirm this point with the authority.
Details and the official words
AQCS publishes more than one description of the Advance NOC timing (a '7 days before arrival' wording here, other guidance elsewhere). Confirm the current deadline with your AQCS station.
If this is missed: Without the Advance NOC the pet will not be allowed to board the flight.
“Advance NOC can be issued within 7 days before arrival based on the self certified advance copies of all above documents.”
“Advance NOC if not presented to the airlines, the pet will not be allowed to board the flight.”
“The processing charges for an Advance NOC application for import of pets is Rs.1000 per application”
Route
Enter through one of six ports
Pets can enter India through Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Bangalore or Hyderabad. After arrival you bring your pet and the original health documents to the quarantine station.
Details and the official words
“Pet animals can enter India through the ports of Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Bangalore and Hyderabad.”
On arrival
Examination at the quarantine station
AQCS examines your pet and the original health certificate and issues a Provisional Quarantine Clearance Certificate. The original health certificate is kept by AQCS.
Details and the official words
“The animal(s) will be examined at the Quarantine Station for issuing a Provisional Quarantine Clearance Certificate.”
Quarantine
Quarantine observation if there is doubt
Pets under the baggage rule are not routinely quarantined, but AQCS can keep a pet under quarantine observation if in doubt. AQCS's page says final clearance will be issued after 30 days.
The official wording is ambiguous. Confirm this point with the authority.
Details and the official words
The page does not say whether the 30 days apply to every pet or only to those kept under observation.
“Pets under baggage can also be quarantined in case of doubt.”
“In case of doubt animal may be kept under Quarantine Observation. Final clearance will be issued after 30 days.”
Notice
Submit a Notice of Intention (NOI) to Export
Complete the NOI to Export Live Animals (other than Livestock) form with your supporting documents and email it to DAFF's regional office in your state or territory, at least 10 working days before departure (or before any pre-export isolation starts). Use the same form to book your pre-export appointment, and book the final vet exam at the same time. If the destination needs an import permit, send it with the NOI.
Details and the official words
If your destination requires pre-export isolation, the 10 working days run to the start of isolation, not to departure. Check the importing country's requirements for the isolation dates.
NOI approval doesn't guarantee DAFF will issue the export permit and health certificate.
“Email the NOI and documents to the regional office in the state or territory of departure. Do this at least 10 working days before the departure date or start of isolation.”
Vet exam
Final health and welfare exam with your registered vet
Your registered vet examines your pet and you both sign the pre-export veterinary health and welfare declaration. It must be within 72 hours of departure (or the period the importing country sets), and before your DAFF appointment.
Details and the official words
If the importing country sets a shorter or longer period, that period applies instead; check its requirements.
“This must be within 72 hours of departure, or a period set by the importing country.”
Good to know
- These steps are for owners who move their residence to India with their pet under the baggage rule. A short visit, research, defence or police use, and anything else outside the baggage rule need a licence from DGFT (Directorate General of Foreign Trade), which we don't cover. A pet that has left India before is treated as a re-import.
- No additional feed or bedding is allowed during the journey.
- AQCS says all notifications, rules, orders and procedures can change at any time and decisions follow the rules in force on the day you apply. Its pages also describe the Advance NOC process differently in places: check the current AQCS notice before you apply.
- AQCS's entry pages don't list a microchip requirement. It does advise microchipping for identification when pets leave India.
- DAFF says each country has its own health requirements, which can be complex and can change without notice. Get the importing country's requirements in writing (and an import permit if it needs one) and give them to your registered vet.
- Planning to bring your pet back to Australia? Contact DAFF's imports team before you export. Within 6 months of export, extra pre-export requirements may apply, and some animals can't be imported or returned under any circumstances.
- Your pet's crate must meet IATA standards, and your registered vet must inspect it before it is used. Some countries (including Fiji and Singapore) require the crate to be sealed; DAFF provides the seal.
- DAFF charges a fee to assess the Notice of Intention, a time-based fee to prepare the health certificate and a fee for the export permit. We don't show these amounts yet; see DAFF's charging guidelines.
Government fees we know of
- AQCS Advance NOC processing charge (per application)1000 INR
Vet, lab and courier costs are not included. The final amount can depend on how many tests or pets are on the certificate.
Common questions
Does my dog or cat need a rabies blood test to go from Australia to India?
No. The official rules we have verified for this route don't ask for a rabies blood test.
Do I need an import permit to bring my dog or cat into India?
Yes: Send AQCS the advance copies of your pet's health documents.
Will my dog or cat be quarantined in India?
It can be: Pets under the baggage rule are not routinely quarantined, but AQCS can keep a pet under quarantine observation if in doubt.
Does my dog or cat need a microchip?
The official rules we have verified for this route don't list a microchip requirement.