Pet travel route
Taking a dog or cat from Chile → 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 follows the Bureau of Animal Industry's pet page as rewritten in October 2026 (13 questions and answers) and its Citizen's Charter. The page no longer says which veterinary certificate must travel with your pet, what you show and pay on arrival, or what the antibody titer test required from 1 January 2027 involves, and the circular behind the rules (BAI Memorandum Circular 43 of 2020) is on a site that returns an error. Ask BAI (nvqsd@bai.gov.ph) 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)
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
- Some origins not allowed
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.
Identification
Microchip (the number is part of the SPSIC application)
Your pet's microchip number is part of the import clearance (SPSIC) application.
Details and the official words
“Information of the dog/cat such as vaccination and antiparasitic records, microchip number, actual photo of the dog/cat, and pet passport if applicable.”
“Proof of Microchip Numbers”
Vaccination
Rabies vaccination by a licensed vet, at 12 weeks or older
A licensed vet in your pet's country vaccinates it against rabies when it is at least 12 weeks old (a pet vaccinated younger needs a booster before you apply for the SPSIC). Rabies is the only vaccination the Philippines requires. After a first vaccination you wait 14 days before applying for the SPSIC; BAI accepts a vaccine with 3-year validity.
Details and the official words
“The rabies vaccination should be administered by a licensed veterinarian of the source country.”
“The dog or cat should be at least 12 weeks of age at the time of rabies vaccination; or the dog or cat vaccinated against rabies earlier than 12 weeks of age shall be given a booster shot with owner’s consent before applying for SPSIC.”
“No, the Philippines only requires the dog or cat to be vaccinated against Rabies.”
Treatment
Internal and external parasite treatment still valid on arrival
Your pet's internal and external parasite treatment must still be valid when it arrives in the Philippines. BAI says no 'updated' treatment is needed and there's no wait before applying for the SPSIC; how long a treatment stays valid depends on the product, so ask your vet.
The official wording is ambiguous. Confirm this point with the authority.
Details and the official words
BAI's answer starts 'No, your dog/cat does not need an updated parasite treatment' and then says the treatment 'should be valid until the arrival'. We show the treatment so that it is valid on arrival; ask BAI if you're unsure what that means for your pet.
“No, your dog/cat does not need an updated parasite treatment and you do not need to wait to apply for SPSIC.”
“However, the internal and external parasite treatment should be valid until the arrival in the Philippines.”
Permit
SPS Import Clearance (SPSIC) from BAI, applied for online
Every dog and cat needs an approved SPSIC from BAI before it enters the Philippines. Apply online through the DA Trade System (intercommerce.com.ph) once your pet is at least 4 months old, and at least 14 days after a first rabies vaccination. You give the vaccination and parasite-treatment records, the microchip number, a photo of the pet and the pet passport if it has one; the Citizen's Charter also lists a BIR-issued ID with a tax number and a notarized affidavit of undertaking (Annex A for Filipinos, Annex C for foreigners). BAI processes it in 11 working days.
Details and the official words
BAI's page doesn't say how long an approved SPSIC stays valid: check the dates on yours.
“Yes, all dogs and cats need an approved and valid SPSIC issued by BAI before entering the Philippines.”
“The SPSIC can be secured online through DA Trade System”
“The application takes 11 working days to be processed from the date of submission, evaluation, endorsement, and approval.”
“The dog or cat should be at least 4 months of age at the time of the SPSIC application.”
“If the dog or cat will receive its first or initial Rabies vaccination, the importer should wait 14 days after the date of initial vaccination before they can apply for SPS Import clearance to ensure that the dog or cat did not have any adverse reaction from the vaccine.”
“Acquiring SPS Import Permit is a requirement before any dog or cat can enter into the Philippines.”
Vet exam
Health certificate from a licensed vet
A licensed vet examines your pet and issues a health certificate within the 10 days before you travel (SAG publishes a model you can give your vet). You also need the vaccination certificates with the vaccine labels, a deworming certificate showing the date and product, and anything the destination adds, such as an import permit or extra tests.
Details and the official words
“Emitido por médico veterinario/a titulado, dentro de los 10 días previos al viaje.”
Official stamp
SAG export certificate (CZE)
Request the CZE from SAG within the 10 days before travel, once you have all the documents the destination needs. Online (with ClaveÚnica): mascotas.sag.gob.cl in the Metropolitan and Antofagasta regions, cerofilas.sag.gob.cl elsewhere; or in person at a SAG sectoral office (the only way without a Chilean RUN). It takes about 3 working days after 24 hours from receipt, and an online request only counts once it is paid.
Details and the official words
Delivery is not immediate. For exports to Argentina the CZE is digital and can be downloaded with ClaveÚnica; for other destinations you collect it in person at the SAG office the email names.
If this is missed: Without the CZE your pet cannot leave Chile with the destination's certification.
“debes solicitar el CZE dentro de los 10 días previos al viaje”
“Si toda la documentación presentada está correcta, el trámite demora aproximadamente 3 días hábiles, contados a partir de las 24 horas siguientes a la recepción de la solicitud.”
“La solicitud será recibida oficialmente por el SAG solo después de que el usuario/a haya completado el proceso de pago.”
“El costo para la emisión del Certificado Zoosanitario de Exportación (CZE) es de 0,41 UTM por una mascota.”
Good to know
- An importer may bring at most 3 animals a year, or the same 3 animals (identified by their microchip numbers) more than once a year.
- From 1 January 2027 every SPSIC application must meet antibody titer (rabies blood test) requirements. BAI hasn't published what they are (laboratory, minimum result, waiting time). If you will apply on or after 1 January 2027, ask BAI now: blood tests can take weeks or months to plan.
- BAI's rewritten pet page no longer says which veterinary certificate must travel with your pet, or what you show and pay on arrival. Until 12 October 2026 it asked for the original export permit / international veterinary health certificate (EP/IVHC) from the exporting country's veterinary authority, shown with printed copies of the approved SPSIC to the BAI quarantine officer at the airport, and listed the fees. Ask BAI (nvqsd@bai.gov.ph) and your own country's export authority what is needed now.
- A dog or cat that is pregnant when you apply for the SPSIC is not allowed, and one that has given birth must have done so at least 12 weeks before travel.
- After an annual booster BAI applies no waiting period if the booster was given 'within 7 days of the validity of the vaccine'; otherwise the 14-day wait applies. The wording is unclear (before or after the old vaccination expired?), so if your pet's booster wasn't on time, ask BAI.
- BAI may waive the rabies vaccination for pets from countries with an official self-declaration of freedom from rabies, or where rabies has never been reported, in their official report to the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH). We don't hold that list, so the plan always shows the vaccination: ask BAI if this applies to your pet's country.
- BAI accepts a rabies vaccine with 3-year validity from the pet's home country. Once the pet has spent a total of 1 year in the Philippines it needs a booster from a licensed vet there, then the local annual (12-month) vaccination for as long as it stays.
- Each country sets its own requirements: some need tests or procedures months before travel. SAG points you to its export requirements system (select the country, 'live animals', dog or cat, 'pet') and to its chatbot, and says to plan ahead.
- Most countries that require a microchip also require it to be implanted BEFORE the rabies vaccination and before any blood test or treatment.
- If you leave Chile only for a while, your pet can come back with the same CZE if it re-enters within 60 days of the date the certificate was issued, its rabies vaccination is still valid, and the CZE records its individual and permanent identification. Otherwise you need a certificate from the country you come from that meets Chile's entry rules.
- The SAG office at Bulnes 140 (Santiago Centro) does not process pet exit applications.
Government fees we know of
- SAG Certificado Zoosanitario de Exportación (CZE), one pet (UTM = Chile's monthly tax unit; +0.22 UTM per additional pet on the same certificate)0.41 UTM (+0.22 per extra pet)
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 Chile 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: Every dog and cat needs an approved SPSIC from BAI before it enters the Philippines.
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 import clearance (SPSIC) application.