Pet travel route
Dog or cat from Bahrain to Japan: official requirements
Possible. With nothing done yet, start at least about 7 months ahead for a dog. The main steps: ISO microchip, rabies vaccination #1 and rabies vaccination #2 and 4 more.
Rules checked up to 13 October 2026From 5 official pages
In short
- Dogs and cats differ on this route: choose Dog or Cat to see just yours.
- Japan puts Bahrain in the group “Non-designated region”, which decides part of the rules.
- On this route: rabies blood test needed and tell the authority in advance.
- No import permit or quarantine on this route for a pet that meets the rules.
Limited official guidance. The authority for leaving Bahrain publishes little for this route. Everything it does say is here, with its wording. Bahrain describes the export health certificate for dogs and cats in a few lines of the ministry's 2024 services guide (in Arabic). It doesn't say how long before departure to apply or how long the certificate is valid. The destination decides what the certificate must say, so ask the Veterinary Quarantine Section early.
At a glance
How early to start (dogs)
about 7 months
if your pet has no microchip or rabies vaccination yet
Set by: 180-day waiting period (180 days after the blood sample)
about 6 months
if it is already microchipped and vaccinated
Set by: 180-day waiting period (180 days after the blood sample)
The least time the official waiting periods allow. Vet, lab and paperwork appointments come on top.
On this route (dogs)
- Rabies blood test needed
- No import permit
- No quarantine
- Tell the authority in advance
How early to start (cats)
about 7 months
if your pet has no microchip or rabies vaccination yet
Set by: 180-day waiting period (180 days after the blood sample)
about 6 months
if it is already microchipped and vaccinated
Set by: 180-day waiting period (180 days after the blood sample)
The least time the official waiting periods allow. Vet, lab and paperwork appointments come on top.
On this route (cats)
- Rabies blood test needed
- No import permit
- No quarantine
- Tell the authority in advance
Which rules apply to you
Japan puts Bahrain in the group “Non-designated region”. See every group
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Rule change for pets travelling from Bahrain to Japan
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Bahrain → Japan
What your pet needs
In the order you do them. Each step says whether Bahrain (leaving) or Japan (entering) asks for it.
Dogs
Get ready
IdentificationEntering Japan
ISO microchip
Your pet needs an ISO 11784/11785 microchip (15 digits). From non-designated regions it must be implanted before the first rabies vaccination (same day is fine).
Details and the official words
Microchip numbers starting with "900 202" are currently not accepted.
Some microchip numbers have been found on more than one animal (Japan's examples start with 900). Once you know when your pet will arrive, notify the Animal Quarantine Service at your arrival airport promptly: a duplicate chip can mean re-chipping and redoing the steps.
“Dogs and cats must be identified by a microchip before the first rabies vaccination.”
VaccinationEntering Japan
Rabies vaccination #1
First rabies vaccination (inactivated or recombinant) after microchipping, when your pet is at least 91 days old — Japan does not accept vaccinations given before 91 days.
Details and the official words
“At least 91 days old at the time of vaccination”
VaccinationEntering Japan
Rabies vaccination #2
Second rabies vaccination at least 30 days after the first, and before the first one's immunity runs out.
Details and the official words
“30 days or more apart from the first vaccination (the date of the first one is counted as day 0)”
Blood testEntering Japan
Rabies antibody test at a designated lab
Blood sample after the second vaccination (same day allowed), tested at a Japan-designated laboratory: at least 0.5 IU/ml. The result is valid for 2 years.
Details and the official words
“A blood sample for the test must be drawn after the second rabies vaccination.”
Waiting periodEntering Japan
180-day waiting period
Your pet must arrive at least 180 days after the blood sample date, and while both the rabies vaccination and the antibody test (2 years) are still valid.
Details and the official words
If this is missed: Pets arriving before 180 days are held in detention quarantine for the days still missing.
“Dogs and cats are required to arrive in Japan after 180 days have passed from the date of blood sampling for the rabies antibody test.”
In the days before you travel
Vet examEntering Japan
Pre-export clinical inspection
A vet examines your pet within 10 days before boarding (no signs of rabies; for dogs also leptospirosis) and checks the microchip.
Details and the official words
“Before leaving the exporting country (within 10 days before boarding), dogs and cats must undergo a clinical inspection by a veterinarian.”
PaperworkBahrain and Japan
Government certificate from the exporting country
Get the certificate (Japan's recommended Form AC, or Form AB from designated regions) completed and endorsed by your country's government veterinary authority, after the clinical inspection.
Details and the official words
Bring the original certificates. Electronic certificates are accepted from the USA, Brazil and Spain, and from Hawaii and Guam, when they carry the required information and are confirmed as issued by the government authority.
Export health certificate from the Veterinary Quarantine Section: Go in person to the ministry's Veterinary Quarantine Section with your dog or cat and say which country it is going to. Bring the destination country's import permit and your pet's original vaccination booklet. A vet examines your pet and issues the health certificate once satisfied that it is healthy for export. The fee is 5 Bahraini dinars for a personal export.
The guide lists the destination's import permit as a required document. If your destination doesn't issue import permits, ask the section what to bring instead.
If this is missed: Deficient certificates mean detention quarantine for up to 180 days or being shipped back.
“Applicants must obtain certificates issued by the government authorities of the exporting country (corresponding to Animal Quarantine Service in Japan).”
“شهادة صحية للتصدير (طيور /كلاب/ قطط)”
“يجب الحضور الشخصي أو حضور ممثل عن الشركة لتقديم الطلب لشهادة صحية للتصدير مع إحضار الكلاب والقطط والطيور المراد تصدريها وتحديد الدولة المراد التصدير لها”
“يجب إحضار تصريح الإستيراد”
“معاينة الكلاب والقطط وفحص الطيور”
“يتم إصدار الشهادة الصحية بعد التأكد من صحة الحيوانات لتصديرها من قبل الطبيب البيطري وتحصيل الرسوم المطلوبة على ذلك”
“تصريح الإستيراد من الدولة المستوردة”
“دفتر التطعيمات الأصلي للقط أو الكلب”
“5 دينار للشخصي”
NoticeEntering Japan
Advance notification to Animal Quarantine Service
Notify the Animal Quarantine Service at your port of arrival at least 40 days before you arrive (online via NACCS or by email). They issue an 'Approval of Import Inspection'.
Details and the official words
If this is missed: In principle, a notification submitted less than 40 days before arrival is not accepted.
“Applicants must notify Animal Quarantine Service at the expected port of entry not less than 40 days before arrival in Japan.”
Good to know
- Dogs can only enter Japan through 19 designated ports: the airports New Chitose, Narita, Haneda, Chubu, Kansai, Itami, Kobe, Kitakyushu, Fukuoka, Kagoshima and Naha, and the seaports Tomakomai, Keihin, Nagoya, Hanshin, Kanmon, Hakata, Kagoshima and Naha. For cats or a registered assistance dog arriving elsewhere, contact the Animal Quarantine Service first.
- Japan does not accept live-virus or RNA rabies vaccines — check the vaccine type with your vet.
Cats
Get ready
IdentificationEntering Japan
ISO microchip
Your pet needs an ISO 11784/11785 microchip (15 digits). From non-designated regions it must be implanted before the first rabies vaccination (same day is fine).
Details and the official words
Microchip numbers starting with "900 202" are currently not accepted.
Some microchip numbers have been found on more than one animal (Japan's examples start with 900). Once you know when your pet will arrive, notify the Animal Quarantine Service at your arrival airport promptly: a duplicate chip can mean re-chipping and redoing the steps.
“Dogs and cats must be identified by a microchip before the first rabies vaccination.”
VaccinationEntering Japan
Rabies vaccination #1
First rabies vaccination (inactivated or recombinant) after microchipping, when your pet is at least 91 days old — Japan does not accept vaccinations given before 91 days.
Details and the official words
“At least 91 days old at the time of vaccination”
VaccinationEntering Japan
Rabies vaccination #2
Second rabies vaccination at least 30 days after the first, and before the first one's immunity runs out.
Details and the official words
“30 days or more apart from the first vaccination (the date of the first one is counted as day 0)”
Blood testEntering Japan
Rabies antibody test at a designated lab
Blood sample after the second vaccination (same day allowed), tested at a Japan-designated laboratory: at least 0.5 IU/ml. The result is valid for 2 years.
Details and the official words
“A blood sample for the test must be drawn after the second rabies vaccination.”
Waiting periodEntering Japan
180-day waiting period
Your pet must arrive at least 180 days after the blood sample date, and while both the rabies vaccination and the antibody test (2 years) are still valid.
Details and the official words
If this is missed: Pets arriving before 180 days are held in detention quarantine for the days still missing.
“Dogs and cats are required to arrive in Japan after 180 days have passed from the date of blood sampling for the rabies antibody test.”
In the days before you travel
Vet examEntering Japan
Pre-export clinical inspection
A vet examines your pet within 10 days before boarding (no signs of rabies; for dogs also leptospirosis) and checks the microchip.
Details and the official words
“Before leaving the exporting country (within 10 days before boarding), dogs and cats must undergo a clinical inspection by a veterinarian.”
PaperworkBahrain and Japan
Government certificate from the exporting country
Get the certificate (Japan's recommended Form AC, or Form AB from designated regions) completed and endorsed by your country's government veterinary authority, after the clinical inspection.
Details and the official words
Bring the original certificates. Electronic certificates are accepted from the USA, Brazil and Spain, and from Hawaii and Guam, when they carry the required information and are confirmed as issued by the government authority.
Export health certificate from the Veterinary Quarantine Section: Go in person to the ministry's Veterinary Quarantine Section with your dog or cat and say which country it is going to. Bring the destination country's import permit and your pet's original vaccination booklet. A vet examines your pet and issues the health certificate once satisfied that it is healthy for export. The fee is 5 Bahraini dinars for a personal export.
The guide lists the destination's import permit as a required document. If your destination doesn't issue import permits, ask the section what to bring instead.
If this is missed: Deficient certificates mean detention quarantine for up to 180 days or being shipped back.
“Applicants must obtain certificates issued by the government authorities of the exporting country (corresponding to Animal Quarantine Service in Japan).”
“شهادة صحية للتصدير (طيور /كلاب/ قطط)”
“يجب الحضور الشخصي أو حضور ممثل عن الشركة لتقديم الطلب لشهادة صحية للتصدير مع إحضار الكلاب والقطط والطيور المراد تصدريها وتحديد الدولة المراد التصدير لها”
“يجب إحضار تصريح الإستيراد”
“معاينة الكلاب والقطط وفحص الطيور”
“يتم إصدار الشهادة الصحية بعد التأكد من صحة الحيوانات لتصديرها من قبل الطبيب البيطري وتحصيل الرسوم المطلوبة على ذلك”
“تصريح الإستيراد من الدولة المستوردة”
“دفتر التطعيمات الأصلي للقط أو الكلب”
“5 دينار للشخصي”
NoticeEntering Japan
Advance notification to Animal Quarantine Service
Notify the Animal Quarantine Service at your port of arrival at least 40 days before you arrive (online via NACCS or by email). They issue an 'Approval of Import Inspection'.
Details and the official words
If this is missed: In principle, a notification submitted less than 40 days before arrival is not accepted.
“Applicants must notify Animal Quarantine Service at the expected port of entry not less than 40 days before arrival in Japan.”
Good to know
- Japan does not accept live-virus or RNA rabies vaccines — check the vaccine type with your vet.
Money
What it costs
Government fees exactly as the official pages state them, and what vets and labs in Bahrain publish for the steps above. The two are never added together.
Government fees on this route
Export health certificate for a dog or cat, personalLeaving Bahrain5 BHD
Animal Quarantine Service import inspectionEntering JapanFree
Transport to a detention facility and care there, if needed, are paid by you.
“輸入検疫の費用はいくらかかりますか。 動物検疫所が行う検査の費用はかかりませんが、係留施設への輸送”
日本への犬、猫の持ち込みQ&A · as of 2026-10-13
Government fees in total: 5 BHD (each currency separately)
What vets and labs charge Not official figures
Rabies blood test: the lab’s own pricean approved laboratory; your vet adds the blood draw and the courier · for: rabies antibody test at a designated labPrices from 8 countries
Austria: 1 published price
- AGES (Austrian Agency for Health and Food Safety), Institute for Veterinary Investigations Mödling: Lab price for the rabies antibody titre test for pets (EU-recognised lab), samples sent from EU countries, 20% VAT included; transport to the lab paid by the sender97.26 EUR · per sample · read 2026-10-13
France: 2 published prices
- Laboratoire départemental de la Haute-Garonne (LD31 EVA): Lab price for the FAVN (WOAH/OMSA method) rabies antibody test, VAT included, price guaranteed until 31/12/2026 (from the lab's order form)99 EUR · per test · read 2026-10-13
- Inovalys (laboratory): Lab price only: rabies antibody titration (COFRAC accredited), ordered online by the owner; the page says the blood sample is taken by your vet and sending it to the lab is the owner's responsibility (no amounts given for those)99.18 EUR · per test · read 2026-10-13
the United Kingdom: 2 published prices
- Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA), Weybridge: Lab price for the FAVN rabies antibody test for dogs and cats for pet travel (test code TC0712), single sample, excluding VAT72.30 GBP · per test · read 2026-10-13
- Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA), Weybridge: Lab price for the FAVN rabies antibody test for dogs and cats, extended method (test code TC0570), single sample, excluding VAT106 GBP · per test · read 2026-10-13
Japan: 1 published price
- Research Institute for Animal Science in Biochemistry and Toxicology (RIAS, 一般財団法人生物科学安全研究所): Lab fee only: rabies antibody test at RIAS (a MAFF-designated lab), tax included, paid in advance by bank transfer; vet's blood draw and shipping not included15,000 JPY · per sample · read 2026-10-13
Poland: 1 published price
- National Veterinary Research Institute (PIWet-PIB), Puławy: Lab price for the FAVN rabies antibody test, standard service (max 21 calendar days), electronic report only, gross (VAT included)280 PLN · per test · read 2026-10-13
Sweden: 1 published price
- Swedish Veterinary Agency (SVA): Lab price for the FAVN rabies vaccination-check antibody test (article D142410), excluding VAT (exkl. moms)1,365 SEK · per test · read 2026-10-13
the United States: 1 published price
- University of Missouri Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory: Lab price for the FAVN rabies antibody test for pet travel/export (University of Missouri VMDL One Health-Rabies Laboratory); shipping not stated79 USD · per test · read 2026-10-13
South Africa: 1 published price
- Agricultural Research Council – Onderstepoort Veterinary Research (ARC-OVR): Lab price for the rabies neutralization (antibody) test per clear serum sample, VAT included; the price list does not name FAVN or RFFIT (ARC-Onderstepoort diagnostic price list, PDF created May 2026)2,030 ZAR · per clear serum sample · read 2026-10-13
No published prices yet for Bahrain: microchip, vet examination, health certificate (vet’s fee), rabies vaccination.
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 Bahrain
Nothing for the trip back has to happen before your pet leaves Bahrain (dogs).
The trip back asks for 6 steps: cat or dog import permit from the Veterinary Quarantine Section, vaccinations, including rabies, complete before the permit, rabies blood test (RANAT) certificate and original government health certificate and certificate of origin and more.
Nothing for the trip back has to happen before your pet leaves Bahrain (cats).
The trip back asks for 6 steps: cat or dog import permit from the Veterinary Quarantine Section, vaccinations, including rabies, complete before the permit, rabies blood test (RANAT) certificate and original government health certificate and certificate of origin and more.
Nearby routes
Other routes
Where this comes from
Official sources
- Import dogs and cats into Japan (from non-designated regions)
- Import dogs and cats into Japan (from the designated regions)
- Rabies Prevention Act (狂犬病予防法), its Enforcement Order and Regulation: revision IDs
- 日本への犬、猫の持ち込みQ&A
- دليل خدمات وزارة شؤون البلديات والزراعة (Ministry of Municipalities Affairs and Agriculture services guide, 2024): cat and dog import permits (services 112 and 113) and export health certificate (service 117)
Last checked against the official pages: 2026-10-13.
Questions owners ask
Does my dog or cat need a rabies blood test to go from Bahrain to Japan?
Yes: Blood sample after the second vaccination (same day allowed), tested at a Japan-designated laboratory: at least 0.5 IU/ml.
Do I need an import permit to bring my dog or cat into Japan?
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 Japan?
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 Bahrain to Japan?
With nothing done yet, start at least about 7 months ahead for a dog. The main steps: ISO microchip, rabies vaccination #1 and rabies vaccination #2 and 4 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
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Where from, where to, when. You get every step with its deadline and the official page it comes from.