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Dog or cat from Costa Rica to Vietnam: official requirements

Possible. There is no official waiting period, but you still need: ISO microchip (15 digits), declared on the certificate and quarantine (health) certificate from the exporting country.

Rules checked up to 13 October 2026From 7 official pages

Make my dated plan Reverse: Vietnam → Costa Rica

In short

Limited official guidance. The authority for entering Vietnam publishes little for this route. Everything it does say is here, with its wording. Viet Nam's 2026 circular on animal quarantine sets out what happens at the border for a pet carried by a traveller, but it doesn't list what the exporting country's quarantine certificate must state (for example a rabies vaccination or its timing), and we found no official English page for pet owners. Ask the animal quarantine office at your arrival airport and your airline what the certificate must show before you travel.

At a glance

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

How early to start

No official wait

whether or not your pet is already microchipped and vaccinated

No official wait still means appointments: ISO microchip (15 digits), declared on the certificate and quarantine (health) certificate from the exporting country. Book them early; lab and paperwork times are not counted.

On this route

  • No rabies blood test
  • No import permit
  • No quarantine

Prefer a feed reader? Costa Rica rule changes · Vietnam rule changes

Costa Rica → Vietnam

What your pet needs

In the order you do them. Each step says whether Costa Rica (leaving) or Vietnam (entering) asks for it.

  1. Get ready

    1. IdentificationLeaving Costa Rica

      ISO microchip (15 digits), declared on the certificate

      SENASA's resolution of January 2025 makes individual identification with a 15-digit ISO microchip compulsory for dogs and cats imported, exported or in transit, with the number declared on the health certificate.

      The official wording is ambiguous. Confirm this point with the authority.

      Details and the official words

      The resolution takes effect six months after its publication in the official gazette La Gaceta, which we couldn't date. We show the microchip to be safe: ask SENASA if your pet has none.

      “Se ordena como medida sanitaria implementar un sistema de identificación y rastreabilidad individual obligatorio para la importación, exportación o tránsito por el país para los animales de compañía (perros y gatos)”

      “El código de identificación asignado al animal debe declararse en el certificado sanitario correspondiente.”

      “Rige seis meses posteriores a su publicación en el Diario Oficial La Gaceta.”

  2. In the days before you travel

    1. PaperworkCosta Rica and Vietnam

      Quarantine (health) certificate from the exporting country

      Your pet travels with the quarantine certificate issued by the exporting country's authority. The border quarantine office in Viet Nam checks it. The circular doesn't say how recent it must be or what it must state: ask the quarantine office at your arrival airport.

      Details and the official words

      Export certificate from a private vet, signed by SENASA: An authorised private vet examines your pet, checks it meets the destination's requirements and issues the national export certificate (on the Costa Rican veterinary college's form). Take it to SENASA with your pet's vaccination card, any document the destination asks for (if it has its own certificate model, you need both) and proof of payment (tariff code C.16, ₡17,322 in 2026). SENASA's official vet reviews the certificates and signs them; once signed, your pet can leave. Certificates that don't need SENASA to authenticate the vet's signature can be signed at any SENASA office.

      “Cơ quan kiểm dịch động vật cửa khẩu thực hiện: Kiểm tra Giấy chứng nhận kiểm dịch của nước xuất khẩu; kiểm tra lâm sàng động vật;”

      “Para iniciar el trámite, el propietario debe acudir a un médico veterinario privado autorizado para que realice la valoración clínica.”

      “El profesional verificará el cumplimiento de los requisitos solicitados por el país de destino y emitirá el certificado de exportación que presentará ante SENASA.”

      “El médico veterinario oficial de SENASA revisa el o los certificados presentados por el veterinario privado y confirmará el cumplimiento de los requisitos.”

      “Una vez firmado el certificado, la mascota puede salir del país.”

      “En el caso de que el país de destino requiera un modelo de certificado adicional, el usuario deberá gestionar ambos documentos.”

      “Asimismo, SENASA recuerda que los usuarios deben presentar la cartilla de vacunas y cualquier documento exigido por el país de destino.”

      “Cancelar el monto correspondiente, según el decreto tarifario código C.16”

      “CERTIFICADO EXPORTAC. ANIMALES, PRODUCTOS Y SUBPRODUCTOS NO COMESTIBLES (Resolución DG-R0014-2021)”

      “Certificado de exportación nacional (papelería del CMV) emitido por un médico veterinario privado;”

      “Los demás certificados que no requieran autenticación de firma por parte del país de destino pueden ser firmados en cualquier oficina del SENASA.”

  3. Travel day and arrival

    1. On arrivalEntering Vietnam

      Declare your pet at the border animal quarantine office

      For up to 2 animals you bring as pets or on a trip (not on the banned list), declare them for import quarantine directly at the animal quarantine office at the border. It checks the certificate and examines your pet, and issues Viet Nam's import quarantine certificate within 1 working day if everything is in order.

      Details and the official words

      “Kiểm dịch đối với trường hợp mang theo người không quá 02 con động vật với mục đích để nuôi làm cảnh, sinh hoạt trong gia đình hoặc mang theo đi du lịch, công tác, quá cảnh và không thuộc Danh mục động vật cấm xuất khẩu, nhập khẩu theo quy định”

      “Chủ hàng khai báo kiểm dịch nhập khẩu trực tiếp tại Cơ quan kiểm dịch động vật cửa khẩu;”

      “Trong thời hạn 01 ngày làm việc kể từ ngày thực hiện kiểm dịch, Cơ quan kiểm dịch động vật cửa khẩu cấp Giấy chứng nhận kiểm dịch động vật nhập khẩu”

Good to know

  • The circular doesn't list the vaccinations a pet must have. At the border, the quarantine office vaccinates an animal that hasn't been vaccinated against dangerous infectious diseases, and takes samples from an animal suspected of an infectious disease (the certificate then comes within 1 working day of the test result).
  • An animal with a dangerous infectious disease is destroyed near the border crossing, and an animal whose foreign quarantine certificate isn't valid is held.
  • SENASA lets your pet leave only if it meets the destination's requirements, which differ from country to country: look them up well in advance. Airlines and transport companies set their own rules too.

Money

What it costs

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

Government fees on this route

Government fees in total: 17,322 CRC (each currency separately)

What vets and labs charge Not official figures

We have no published vet or lab prices for Costa Rica 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 Costa Rica

Nothing for the trip back has to happen before your pet leaves Costa Rica (dogs).

The trip back asks for 8 steps: ISO microchip (15 digits), declared on the certificate, vet examination within two weeks before travel, international veterinary certificate from the official authority and internal and external parasite treatment within 15 days before travel and more.

Nothing for the trip back has to happen before your pet leaves Costa Rica (cats).

The trip back asks for 8 steps: ISO microchip (15 digits), declared on the certificate, vet examination within two weeks before travel, international veterinary certificate from the official authority and internal and external parasite treatment within 15 days before travel and more.

Every step from Vietnam to Costa Rica

Nearby routes

Other routes

Where this comes from

Official sources

Last checked against the official pages: 2026-10-13.

Entering VietnamLeaving Costa RicaReport a mistakeGet rule-change alerts

Questions owners ask

Does my dog or cat need a rabies blood test to go from Costa Rica to Vietnam?

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 Vietnam?

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 Vietnam?

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 Costa Rica to Vietnam?

There is no official waiting period, but you still need: ISO microchip (15 digits), declared on the certificate and quarantine (health) certificate from the exporting country.

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

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