Pet travel route
Taking a dog or cat from Austria → Qatar
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 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 Qatar publishes little for this route. Everything it does say is here, with its wording. Qatar's pets page is a short summary dated 2020, and the general Veterinary Quarantine Law adds only broad rules. Neither mentions a rabies blood test, a quarantine period or which origin countries are allowed, and the veterinary authority may require tests or vaccinations, so ask the Department of Animal Resources what applies to your route before you travel.
How early to start
4 weeks
if your pet has no microchip or rabies vaccination yet (the least time the official waiting periods allow)
3 days
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 Qatar
- Import permit needed
- Advance notice to authority
- Designated entry point
What your dog needs
Dogs
Age rule
More than four months old
To get approval your pet must be older than four months.
Details and the official words
“the age of pets must be above four months”
Vaccination
Rabies vaccination
A rabies certificate is required, and vaccinations must have been given at least 30 days before the travel date.
Details and the official words
The page says 'its vaccinations' without naming which ones; only the rabies certificate is named as required.
“A copy of the animal's current vaccination record (rabies certificate is required).”
“has been given its vaccinations at least 30 days before the date of travel”
Paperwork
Official veterinary health certificate from the country of origin
The law says animals arriving in Qatar must come with an official veterinary health certificate from the country of origin. It must show the official stamps, the animal's origin, its testing immediately before shipping, and that it is free of the epidemic and infectious diseases the Qatari veterinary authority specifies. You present the documents on arrival, before the animal is unloaded.
Details and the official words
The law covers 'animal consignments' and lists cats and dogs among domestic animals. The government pets page doesn't mention a certificate, so ask the Department of Animal Resources what it wants for a pet. The law gives no number of days for 'immediately before shipping'.
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.
“Official veterinary health certificate certified as valid by the country of origin and showing the official stamps of the consignment, its origin, its testing immediately before shipping, and that it is free of epidemic and infectious diseases specified by the competent veterinary authority.”
“The documents shall be presented to the appointee of the quarantine upon the arrival, and before the unloading, of the animal consignment.”
“means animals used for the purpose of domestic keeping, such as cats and dogs”
“Für Reisen notwendige veterinärbehördliche Zertifikate stellt die Amtstierärztin bzw. der Amtstierarzt Ihres Bezirks bzw. Magistrats aus.”
Permit
Import permit from the Department of Animal Resources
Visit a Department of Animal Resources veterinary clinic (Al Matar Street in Al Rayyan, or Al Shamal), fill in the import request form and bring a copy of your ID card and your pet's current vaccination record. The permit is valid for one month, so it must be used within a month of issue. The law says importing animals is prohibited unless the permit was obtained beforehand.
Details and the official words
“To obtain an import license, visit one of the Department of Animal Resources' veterinary clinics on Al Matar Street in Al Rayyan area or Al Shamal to fill out an import request form”
“The import permit is valid for one month.”
“shall be prohibited unless the necessary permit has been previously obtained from the competent veterinary authority.”
Notice
Tell the veterinary authority at least 72 hours before arrival
The law requires the owner of an animal to inform the competent veterinary authority at least seventy-two hours before the date of arrival.
Details and the official words
“The owners of the animal consignments shall inform the competent veterinary authority at least seventy-two hours before the date of arrival or exit from the country.”
Route
Enter through a designated port
The law names Doha Sea Port, Doha International Airport and Abou Samara land port as the ports animals may enter through (the minister may add others). The government's pets page describes pets arriving at Hamad International Airport, where they are kept in a special facility until customs clearance is complete.
Details and the official words
“except through the following ports: 1- Doha Sea Port; 2- Doha International Airport; 3- Abou Samara land port;”
Only in some cases
Official stamp · only in some cases
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 veterinary authority can run tests on animals before it lets them enter or leave Qatar. The government pages don't say which tests apply to a pet, so ask the Department of Animal Resources.
- The general rules below come from an English translation of Qatar's Veterinary Quarantine Law (the copy on FAO's FAOLEX database), not from the official Arabic text, and the law still names the old ministry (Municipal Affairs and Agriculture): check the current requirements with the Department of Animal Resources.
- The health certificate must be written in Arabic or English, or translated into one of them by a certified translation attested by the embassy of the country of export.
- Banned in Qatar: American Staffordshire Terrier, Boerboel, Boston Terrier, Boxer, Bull Terrier, Bulldog, Chinese Shar-Pei, Doberman, Great Dane, Japanese Akita, Neapolitan Mastiff, Afghan Hound, Rottweiler and Staffordshire Bull Terrier.
- Incoming pets are kept at a special facility at Hamad International Airport until customs clearance is complete. Approved pets may come as cargo or excess baggage.
- 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.
What your cat needs
Cats
Age rule
More than four months old
To get approval your pet must be older than four months.
Details and the official words
“the age of pets must be above four months”
Vaccination
Rabies vaccination
A rabies certificate is required, and vaccinations must have been given at least 30 days before the travel date.
Details and the official words
The page says 'its vaccinations' without naming which ones; only the rabies certificate is named as required.
“A copy of the animal's current vaccination record (rabies certificate is required).”
“has been given its vaccinations at least 30 days before the date of travel”
Paperwork
Official veterinary health certificate from the country of origin
The law says animals arriving in Qatar must come with an official veterinary health certificate from the country of origin. It must show the official stamps, the animal's origin, its testing immediately before shipping, and that it is free of the epidemic and infectious diseases the Qatari veterinary authority specifies. You present the documents on arrival, before the animal is unloaded.
Details and the official words
The law covers 'animal consignments' and lists cats and dogs among domestic animals. The government pets page doesn't mention a certificate, so ask the Department of Animal Resources what it wants for a pet. The law gives no number of days for 'immediately before shipping'.
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.
“Official veterinary health certificate certified as valid by the country of origin and showing the official stamps of the consignment, its origin, its testing immediately before shipping, and that it is free of epidemic and infectious diseases specified by the competent veterinary authority.”
“The documents shall be presented to the appointee of the quarantine upon the arrival, and before the unloading, of the animal consignment.”
“means animals used for the purpose of domestic keeping, such as cats and dogs”
“Für Reisen notwendige veterinärbehördliche Zertifikate stellt die Amtstierärztin bzw. der Amtstierarzt Ihres Bezirks bzw. Magistrats aus.”
Permit
Import permit from the Department of Animal Resources
Visit a Department of Animal Resources veterinary clinic (Al Matar Street in Al Rayyan, or Al Shamal), fill in the import request form and bring a copy of your ID card and your pet's current vaccination record. The permit is valid for one month, so it must be used within a month of issue. The law says importing animals is prohibited unless the permit was obtained beforehand.
Details and the official words
“To obtain an import license, visit one of the Department of Animal Resources' veterinary clinics on Al Matar Street in Al Rayyan area or Al Shamal to fill out an import request form”
“The import permit is valid for one month.”
“shall be prohibited unless the necessary permit has been previously obtained from the competent veterinary authority.”
Notice
Tell the veterinary authority at least 72 hours before arrival
The law requires the owner of an animal to inform the competent veterinary authority at least seventy-two hours before the date of arrival.
Details and the official words
“The owners of the animal consignments shall inform the competent veterinary authority at least seventy-two hours before the date of arrival or exit from the country.”
Route
Enter through a designated port
The law names Doha Sea Port, Doha International Airport and Abou Samara land port as the ports animals may enter through (the minister may add others). The government's pets page describes pets arriving at Hamad International Airport, where they are kept in a special facility until customs clearance is complete.
Details and the official words
“except through the following ports: 1- Doha Sea Port; 2- Doha International Airport; 3- Abou Samara land port;”
Only in some cases
Official stamp · only in some cases
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 veterinary authority can run tests on animals before it lets them enter or leave Qatar. The government pages don't say which tests apply to a pet, so ask the Department of Animal Resources.
- The general rules below come from an English translation of Qatar's Veterinary Quarantine Law (the copy on FAO's FAOLEX database), not from the official Arabic text, and the law still names the old ministry (Municipal Affairs and Agriculture): check the current requirements with the Department of Animal Resources.
- The health certificate must be written in Arabic or English, or translated into one of them by a certified translation attested by the embassy of the country of export.
- Incoming pets are kept at a special facility at Hamad International Airport until customs clearance is complete. Approved pets may come as cargo or excess baggage.
- 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.
Common questions
Does my dog need a rabies blood test to go from Austria to Qatar?
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 into Qatar?
Yes: Visit a Department of Animal Resources veterinary clinic (Al Matar Street in Al Rayyan, or Al Shamal), fill in the import request form and bring a copy of your ID card and your pet's current vaccination record.
Will my dog be quarantined in Qatar?
Not on the routes we have verified: the official rules list no quarantine for a pet that meets the requirements.
Does my dog need a microchip?
The official rules we have verified for this route don't list a microchip requirement.