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Pet travel route

Dog or cat from Austria to the Dominican Republic: the rules

Possible. With nothing done yet, start at least 4 weeks ahead. The main steps: rabies vaccination (inactivated vaccine) from 90 days old, at least 30 days before departure, rabies vaccination within the 12 months before departure and vet examination within 72 hours before departure and 2 more.

Rules checked up to 12 October 2026From 5 official pages

In short

Limited official guidance. The authority for leaving Austria publishes little for this route. Everything it does say is here, with its wording. The health ministry's page gives no deadline, fee or application route for the certificate. Vienna's city page adds a 10-day rule and online booking for Vienna only; other districts may differ, so ask your district's official vet.

Limited official guidance. The authority for entering the Dominican Republic publishes little for this route. Everything it does say is here, with its wording. DIGEGA's page lists what the health certificate must state, but it doesn't say what happens when your pet arrives (inspection, fees), whether a pet travelling as cargo or without its owner needs anything more, or which vaccinations other than rabies are expected. Ask DIGEGA (809-535-9689) before you travel if any of these apply to you.

At a glance

The rules on this route are the same for dogs and cats.

How early to start

4 weeks

if your pet has no microchip or rabies vaccination yet

Set by: Rabies vaccination (inactivated vaccine) from 90 days old, at least 30 days before departure (at least 30 days before the departure date)

No official wait

if it is already microchipped and vaccinated

The least time the official waiting periods allow. Vet, lab and paperwork appointments come on top.

On this route

  • No rabies blood test
  • No import permit
  • No quarantine
  • Parasite treatment before travel

Prefer a feed reader? Austria rule changes · Dominican Republic rule changes

Austria → Dominican Republic

What your pet needs

In the order you do them. Each step says whether Austria (leaving) or the Dominican Republic (entering) asks for it.

  1. Get ready

    1. VaccinationEntering the Dominican Republic

      Rabies vaccination (inactivated vaccine) from 90 days old, at least 30 days before departure

      Your pet is vaccinated against rabies with an inactivated-virus vaccine, given at least 90 days after birth. After a first vaccination, wait 30 days before travelling: the vaccination must be at least 30 days before the departure date.

      Details and the official words

      “La vacuna debe ser de virus inactivado y administrada no más de 12 meses ni menos de 30 días antes de la fecha de salida.”

      “Los cachorros deben haber recibido la vacuna contra la rabia al menos 90 días después del nacimiento (3 meses o 12 semanas) y esperar 30 días después de la vacunación antes de viajar.”

    2. VaccinationEntering the Dominican Republic

      Rabies vaccination within the 12 months before departure

      The rabies vaccination on the certificate must be no more than 12 months before the departure date, even if your pet's vaccine is valid for longer. If your pet's last shot will be older, give a booster before you travel. An adult dog with a history of rabies vaccination and boosters doesn't need to wait 30 days after the booster; a cat does.

      Details and the official words

      Add the date of your pet's most recent rabies shot to check this.

      DIGEGA's exemption from the 30-day wait names adult dogs only, so we apply the 30 days to every cat's vaccination.

      “La vacuna debe ser de virus inactivado y administrada no más de 12 meses ni menos de 30 días antes de la fecha de salida.”

      “Los perros adultos con antecedentes de vacunación contra la rabia y dosis de refuerzo no necesitan esperar 30 días después de la vacunación.”

  2. In the days before you travel

    1. Vet examEntering the Dominican Republic

      Vet examination within 72 hours before departure

      A vet examines your pet within the 72 hours before the departure date and finds it free of infectious or contagious diseases. By then it must already have been treated against internal and external parasites.

      Details and the official words

      “El animal fue examinado dentro de las 72 horas previas a la fecha de salida. Se determinó que no padecía enfermedades infecciosas o contagiosas y que había recibido tratamiento contra parásitos externos e internos.”

    2. TreatmentEntering the Dominican Republic

      Internal and external parasite treatment before the vet examination

      Your pet is treated against internal and external parasites before the vet examines it. The certificate names the dewormers with their manufacturer and active ingredients. DIGEGA gives no time window: ask your vet.

      Details and the official words

      “El animal fue examinado dentro de las 72 horas previas a la fecha de salida. Se determinó que no padecía enfermedades infecciosas o contagiosas y que había recibido tratamiento contra parásitos externos e internos.”

      “El certificado debe especificar: las vacunas administradas y el control de parásitos internos y externos (los desparasitantes deben especificar el fabricante y los principios activos).”

    3. PaperworkAustria and the Dominican Republic

      Vet's health certificate, endorsed by an official vet at the port of embarkation

      A vet issues and signs a health certificate after the examination, and an official vet at the port of embarkation endorses and stamps it. It gives the name and address in the Dominican Republic of the person accompanying the pet, the pet's full identification (name, breed, sex, colour, date of birth, microchip and/or tattoo), the vaccinations given and the parasite treatments. Attach the vaccination record with the vaccine labels (batch number, manufacture and expiry dates).

      Details and the official words

      DIGEGA's page places the official endorsement at the port of embarkation. In many countries the official vet endorses certificates before you go to the airport (in the US, USDA APHIS): ask your country's official veterinary service how it endorses a certificate for the Dominican Republic.

      Certificate from your district's official vet (Amtstierarzt): The veterinary certificates you need for the trip are issued by the official vet of your district or city (Bezirk or Magistrat). Book the appointment early and take your pet, its EU pet passport and any form the destination requires.

      In Vienna the certificate usually has to be issued within 10 days before travel (see the warning). The ministry's page gives no general deadline: the destination's own rule decides how recent the certificate must be.

      “Los animales deben ir acompañados de un certificado sanitario expedido y firmado por un veterinario. Este certificado debe ser refrendado y sellado por un veterinario oficial en el puerto de embarque.”

      “El certificado debe contener el nombre y la dirección de la persona que acompaña al animal en la República Dominicana y la identificación completa del animal (nombre, raza, sexo, color, fecha de nacimiento, microchip y/o tatuaje).”

      “Debe ir acompañado de un registro de vacunación con las etiquetas de las vacunas, incluyendo el número de lote, la fecha de fabricación y la fecha de caducidad.”

      “Für Reisen notwendige veterinärbehördliche Zertifikate stellt die Amtstierärztin bzw. der Amtstierarzt Ihres Bezirks bzw. Magistrats aus.”

Only in some cases

  1. Official stamp · only in some casesLeaving Austria

    Authentication of the official vet's signature (Vidierung), if the destination asks

    Some non-EU countries also want the central veterinary authorities to confirm that the official vet's signature is genuine. Only do this if your destination's rules ask for it.

    Details and the official words

    “Manche Drittstaaten verlangen zusätzlich eine Vidierung, das ist eine Bestätigung bzw. Beglaubigung der Echtheit der Unterschrift des Amtstierarztes bzw. der Amtstierärztin durch die zentralen Veterinärbehörden.”

Good to know

  • The conditions for entering a non-EU country differ and change often. Find them early from the destination's embassy (its trade department) or its veterinary authority.
  • Austria itself sets no extra conditions for leaving with a pet, for example no export quarantine. The destination's rules are what count.
  • In Vienna the vet's health certificate usually has to be issued within 10 days before you travel, and only after you book an appointment online. Appointments sell out in the holiday season.
  • Vaccinations, parasite treatments (for example against echinococcus) and titer tests must be done by your own vet before the official vet issues the certificate. Bring any form the destination requires, filled in as far as possible.
  • To bring your pet back from most non-EU countries a rabies titer test is required. Austria says it is best done before you leave.
  • Planning to bring your pet back to the EU? After a short stay in a non-EU country you can skip the 3-month wait after the rabies blood test, but only if, before you leave the EU, your pet was vaccinated against rabies, passed a successful titer test, and your vet recorded both in its EU pet passport. So do the blood test before you go.

Money

What it costs

Government fees exactly as the official pages state them, and what vets and labs in Austria publish for the steps above. The two are never added together.

Government fees on this route

No fee applies to every trip; these may, depending on your case

  • Official health certificate in Vienna: administrative feeLeaving Austria9.80 EUR

    Per certificate, plus EUR 21 stamp duty per 4 A4 pages. Published by the City of Vienna.

    “Hund, Katze: Die Kosten variieren nach Anzahl der zu beglaubigenden Seiten (21 Euro Bundesstempelmarke pro 4 A4-Blätter eines Zeugnisses und zusätzlich 9,80 Euro Bundesverwaltungsabgabe pro Zeugnis).”

    Amtstierärztliches Gesundheitszeugnis - Ausstellung · as of 2026-02-02

  • Official health certificate in Vienna: stamp duty per 4 A4 pagesLeaving Austria21 EUR

    The total depends on how many pages the certificate has.

    “Hund, Katze: Die Kosten variieren nach Anzahl der zu beglaubigenden Seiten (21 Euro Bundesstempelmarke pro 4 A4-Blätter eines Zeugnisses und zusätzlich 9,80 Euro Bundesverwaltungsabgabe pro Zeugnis).”

    Amtstierärztliches Gesundheitszeugnis - Ausstellung · as of 2026-02-02

What vets and labs charge Not official figures

We have no published vet or lab prices for Austria yet.

Prices that businesses publish on their own pages, quoted as we read them; yours can differ. Ranges are the lowest to highest of these examples, never our estimate. How we collect prices

Airline fees aren’t included: check your airline’s pet page.

Round trip

Coming back to Austria

Do before your pet leaves Austria

  • Microchip
  • Rabies vaccination
  • Rabies antibody blood test (titer)

Their timing rules put them before the outbound trip, for a three-month stay.

The trip back asks for 7 steps: microchip, rabies vaccination, rabies antibody blood test (titer) and EU animal health certificate and more.

Every step from the Dominican Republic to Austria

Nearby routes

Other routes

Where this comes from

Official sources

Questions owners ask

Does my dog or cat need a rabies blood test to go from Austria to the Dominican Republic?

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 the Dominican Republic?

No. The official rules we have verified for this route don't ask for an import permit.

Will my dog or cat be quarantined in the Dominican Republic?

Not on the routes we have verified: the official rules list no quarantine for a pet that meets the requirements.

How early should I start preparing my pet for Austria to the Dominican Republic?

With nothing done yet, start at least 4 weeks ahead. The main steps: rabies vaccination (inactivated vaccine) from 90 days old, at least 30 days before departure, rabies vaccination within the 12 months before departure and vet examination within 72 hours before departure and 2 more.

Every rule here is quoted from the official page and checked word for word; not legal advice. How we verify · Report a mistake

Read next

Turn this into dates for your pet

Where from, where to, when. You get every step with its deadline and the official page it comes from.

Make a dated plan