Pet travel route
Taking a dog or cat from Australia → the Philippines
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 the Philippines publishes little for this route. Everything it does say is here, with its wording. This is a short summary of what the Bureau of Animal Industry publishes on its pet page and in its Citizen's Charter. The circular that sets the rules themselves (BAI Memorandum Circular 43 of 2020: the pet's minimum age, which vaccinations, parasite treatment timing, and how recent the veterinary certificate must be) is on a site that returns an error, so none of those deadlines are shown. Ask BAI (nvqsd@bai.gov.ph) before you travel.
How early to start
2 weeks
if your pet has no microchip or rabies vaccination yet (the least time the official waiting periods allow)
2 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 the Philippines
- Import permit needed
What your dog or cat needs
Bringing a dog or cat into the Philippines: we summarised this from a short or older official page and it is still under review, so it may be incomplete.
Permit
SPS Import Clearance (SPSIC) from BAI
A dog or cat cannot enter the Philippines without an SPS import permit (SPSIC) from BAI's National Veterinary Quarantine Services Division. You apply with a letter of intent and your documents: proof of the microchip numbers, vaccination and deworming records, a photograph of the pet, the pet passport if any, a BIR-issued ID with a tax number, and a notarized affidavit of undertaking (Annex A for Filipinos, Annex C for foreigners).
Details and the official words
BAI's pages we could read give no processing time or deadline for applying.
“Acquiring SPS Import Permit is a requirement before any dog or cat can enter into the Philippines.”
“Proof of Microchip Numbers”
“Vaccination and Deworming Records”
“Photograph of the Dog and/or Cat”
Identification
Microchip (the number goes on every document)
Your pet's microchip number is part of the SPSIC application.
Details and the official words
“Proof of Microchip Numbers”
Paperwork
Export permit / international veterinary health certificate (EP/IVHC) from the exporting country
The veterinary authority of the exporting country issues the export permit / international veterinary health certificate (EP/IVHC). You present the original to the BAI quarantine officer when the pet arrives.
Details and the official words
The BAI page used to list what the certificate must state (breed, species, age, microchip number, vaccinations and parasite treatment, in English or with a translation). It no longer shows that list (checked 2026-10-12), so ask BAI what the certificate must contain.
How recent the certificate must be is not given on the pages we could read.
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.
“Original copy of the EP/IVHC issued by the veterinary authority of the exporting country”
“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:”
On arrival
Present the SPSIC and the original EP/IVHC to the BAI quarantine officer on arrival
At the international port of entry you present printed copies of the approved SPSIC and the original EP/IVHC to the BAI Veterinary Quarantine Officer (for a pet released from the cargo terminal, also the airway bill stamped by the airline). You pay the fees at the airport's veterinary quarantine office; with complete documents the pet can be released the same day.
Details and the official words
“Upon arrival of the dog/cat at any international port of entry, the consignor/consignee shall present to the BAI Veterinary Quarantine Officer (VQO) at the airport/port of entry the following documents:”
“Printed copies of the approved SPSIC;”
“Provided you have all the required documents, the animal/s can be released the same day.”
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
- A pet owner counts as a 'one-time importer' with a maximum of 3 animals once a year (or more than once a year only for the same animals, identified by microchip number).
- Fees (paid at the airport's veterinary quarantine office on arrival): SPS import clearance Php 100, lodgement Php 55, inspection Php 250 per head for the first 2 pets and Php 300 for each further pet.
- 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.
Common questions
Does my dog or cat need a rabies blood test to go from Australia to the Philippines?
We couldn't find this in our summary of the rules, but that summary is short and still under review. Ask the official authority before you rely on it.
Do I need an import permit to bring my dog or cat into the Philippines?
Yes: A dog or cat cannot enter the Philippines without an SPS import permit (SPSIC) from BAI's National Veterinary Quarantine Services Division.
Will my dog or cat be quarantined in the Philippines?
We couldn't find this in our summary of the rules, but that summary is short and still under review. Ask the official authority before you rely on it.
Does my dog or cat need a microchip?
Yes: Your pet's microchip number is part of the SPSIC application.