Pet travel route
Taking a dog or cat from Hong Kong SAR China → Colombia
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 Colombia publishes little for this route. Everything it does say is here, with its wording. This is Resolution 100164 of 2021, read from a stored copy of ICA's page captured on 26 April 2025, because ICA's site does not open from our network. ICA has published an updated version of its requirements that we could not read, so treat this as a short summary under review: confirm with ICA before you travel. The resolution gives no import permit (none is needed for dogs and cats), no blood test and no fixed quarantine except in the cases below.
How early to start
3 weeks
if your pet has no microchip or rabies vaccination yet (the least time the official waiting periods allow)
No fixed wait
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.
What your dog needs
Dogs
Bringing a dog or cat into Colombia: we summarised this from a short or older official page and it is still under review, so it may be incomplete.
Vaccination
Rabies vaccination (first-time vaccinated pets: at least 21 days before shipment)
Your pet needs a current rabies vaccination on its vaccination certificate. If it is vaccinated against rabies for the first time, the vaccine must be given at least 21 days before shipment.
Details and the official words
“Para animales vacunados por primera vez contra la rabia esta deberá haber sido aplicada con una antelación mínimo de 21 días a la fecha de embarque.”
Vaccination
Dogs: current vaccination certificate (distemper, hepatitis, leptospirosis, parvovirus, coronavirus, parainfluenza)
Bring the original and a copy of a current vaccination certificate with the product name, batch number, date given and revaccination or validity date, covering rabies, distemper (Carré), canine hepatitis, leptospirosis (canicola and icterohaemorrhagiae), parvovirus, coronavirus and parainfluenza. If the origin country doesn't give a vaccine, an official certificate saying so lets the pet in without home quarantine (except for rabies).
Details and the official words
“Enfermedad de Carré (Distemper), Hepatitis canina, Leptospirosis (canícola e icterohemorragiae), Parvovirus, Coronavirus y Parainfluenza.”
Treatment
Internal and external parasite treatment within 60 days before shipment
Your pet is treated against internal and external parasites in the 60 days before shipment, with a product authorised in the country of origin, and the certificate names the product, the active ingredient and the date.
Details and the official words
An older ICA article (2019) says no more than 30 days before the trip; the resolution says 60. We use the resolution: confirm with ICA.
“Que el o los animales haya(n) recibido un tratamiento antiparasitario interno y externo, dentro de los 60 días previos al embarque”
Paperwork
Original health certificate from the official authority, dated within 10 days of entry
Bring the original health certificate issued or endorsed by the official health authority of the country of origin, with stamp and signature, dated no more than 10 calendar days before the animals enter Colombia. It states the species, breed, sex, age, coat colour, microchip (if any), the parasite treatment, and that the animal is fit to travel.
Details and the official words
AFCD endorsement or certification of the health certificate: If the destination needs an official stamp: take the completed health certificate from a registered vet (normally issued within 10 days before departure, or as the destination specifies), vaccination records, dog licence (dogs only), any import permit and other original documents to AFCD in person. Endorsement or certification is ready the next working day (same session: morning applications the next morning, afternoon the next afternoon).
AFCD's certificate is valid for 10 days from issue in general, but the destination's rules decide.
“Presentar original del certificado sanitario, expedido o avalado por la entidad sanitaria oficial del país de origen con sello y firma original o electrónica para los países que cuenten con este sistema, con fecha de expedición no mayor a diez (10) días calendario previos al ingreso de los animales a Colombia”
“normally issued within 10 days prior to departure, or as specified by the destination country/place”
“Official Endorsement/Official Certification of Information on an Animal Health Certificate: one working day.”
On arrival
Inspection and Sanitary Inspection Certificate (CIS) at the entry point
At the port, airport or border post ICA checks your documents and inspects your pet; you pay ICA's fee for the inspection and the CIS in advance, and ICA issues the CIS if everything is in order.
Details and the official words
“Para realizar el proceso anterior, el interesado deberá pagar previamente la tarifa vigente establecida por el ICA por concepto de inspección y emisión del CIS”
Only in some cases
Vet exam · only in some cases
AFCD official veterinary examination (only if the destination requires it)
If the destination specifically requires an Official Veterinary Examination, apply for an Official Animal Health Certificate instead: bring your pet to AFCD, where a Government Veterinary Officer inspects it before issuing the certificate (ready in two working days). Book an appointment on 2150 7062 at least 10 working days before the inspection.
Details and the official words
“You must make an appointment at least 10 working days prior to the expected date of inspection.”
Good to know
- Dogs and cats do not need an import document (DZI) from ICA, but at the entry point they get a documents check, a physical inspection and an ICA Sanitary Inspection Certificate (CIS).
- A pet without a valid official health certificate (but with current vaccinations), or arriving from a country where rabies vaccination is not done, must spend at least 15 days in quarantine at home under ICA's follow-up, at your cost. If you refuse, it is sent back at your cost.
- Your pet must arrive without recent wounds or injuries in an acute phase.
- AFCD tells you to contact the destination's government authority and your airline or shipping company for the import requirements; you may also need an import permit or licence from the destination.
- Will your pet come back to Hong Kong? Certain steps must be completed before export, so check AFCD's guidance for returning pets first.
- AFCD applications are made in person at the Certification Desk (Counter No. 9), 5th Floor, Cheung Sha Wan Government Offices, Monday to Friday (closed weekends and public holidays). Fees are paid when you apply.
What your cat needs
Cats
Bringing a dog or cat into Colombia: we summarised this from a short or older official page and it is still under review, so it may be incomplete.
Vaccination
Rabies vaccination (first-time vaccinated pets: at least 21 days before shipment)
Your pet needs a current rabies vaccination on its vaccination certificate. If it is vaccinated against rabies for the first time, the vaccine must be given at least 21 days before shipment.
Details and the official words
“Para animales vacunados por primera vez contra la rabia esta deberá haber sido aplicada con una antelación mínimo de 21 días a la fecha de embarque.”
Vaccination
Cats: current vaccination certificate (panleukopenia, rhinotracheitis, calicivirus)
Bring the original and a copy of a current vaccination certificate with the product name, batch number, date given and revaccination or validity date, covering rabies, feline panleukopenia, feline viral rhinotracheitis and feline calicivirus.
Details and the official words
“Para Gatos: Rabia Panleucopenia felina, Rino-Traqueítis viral felina y Calicivirus felino.”
Treatment
Internal and external parasite treatment within 60 days before shipment
Your pet is treated against internal and external parasites in the 60 days before shipment, with a product authorised in the country of origin, and the certificate names the product, the active ingredient and the date.
Details and the official words
An older ICA article (2019) says no more than 30 days before the trip; the resolution says 60. We use the resolution: confirm with ICA.
“Que el o los animales haya(n) recibido un tratamiento antiparasitario interno y externo, dentro de los 60 días previos al embarque”
Paperwork
Original health certificate from the official authority, dated within 10 days of entry
Bring the original health certificate issued or endorsed by the official health authority of the country of origin, with stamp and signature, dated no more than 10 calendar days before the animals enter Colombia. It states the species, breed, sex, age, coat colour, microchip (if any), the parasite treatment, and that the animal is fit to travel.
Details and the official words
AFCD endorsement or certification of the health certificate: If the destination needs an official stamp: take the completed health certificate from a registered vet (normally issued within 10 days before departure, or as the destination specifies), vaccination records, dog licence (dogs only), any import permit and other original documents to AFCD in person. Endorsement or certification is ready the next working day (same session: morning applications the next morning, afternoon the next afternoon).
AFCD's certificate is valid for 10 days from issue in general, but the destination's rules decide.
“Presentar original del certificado sanitario, expedido o avalado por la entidad sanitaria oficial del país de origen con sello y firma original o electrónica para los países que cuenten con este sistema, con fecha de expedición no mayor a diez (10) días calendario previos al ingreso de los animales a Colombia”
“normally issued within 10 days prior to departure, or as specified by the destination country/place”
“Official Endorsement/Official Certification of Information on an Animal Health Certificate: one working day.”
On arrival
Inspection and Sanitary Inspection Certificate (CIS) at the entry point
At the port, airport or border post ICA checks your documents and inspects your pet; you pay ICA's fee for the inspection and the CIS in advance, and ICA issues the CIS if everything is in order.
Details and the official words
“Para realizar el proceso anterior, el interesado deberá pagar previamente la tarifa vigente establecida por el ICA por concepto de inspección y emisión del CIS”
Only in some cases
Vet exam · only in some cases
AFCD official veterinary examination (only if the destination requires it)
If the destination specifically requires an Official Veterinary Examination, apply for an Official Animal Health Certificate instead: bring your pet to AFCD, where a Government Veterinary Officer inspects it before issuing the certificate (ready in two working days). Book an appointment on 2150 7062 at least 10 working days before the inspection.
Details and the official words
“You must make an appointment at least 10 working days prior to the expected date of inspection.”
Good to know
- Dogs and cats do not need an import document (DZI) from ICA, but at the entry point they get a documents check, a physical inspection and an ICA Sanitary Inspection Certificate (CIS).
- A pet without a valid official health certificate (but with current vaccinations), or arriving from a country where rabies vaccination is not done, must spend at least 15 days in quarantine at home under ICA's follow-up, at your cost. If you refuse, it is sent back at your cost.
- Your pet must arrive without recent wounds or injuries in an acute phase.
- AFCD tells you to contact the destination's government authority and your airline or shipping company for the import requirements; you may also need an import permit or licence from the destination.
- Will your pet come back to Hong Kong? Certain steps must be completed before export, so check AFCD's guidance for returning pets first.
- Bengal and Savannah cats (and crosses) need documents showing they are 5th generation or later of domestic ancestry and not controlled under the Protection of Endangered Species of Animals and Plants Ordinance, Cap. 586.
- AFCD applications are made in person at the Certification Desk (Counter No. 9), 5th Floor, Cheung Sha Wan Government Offices, Monday to Friday (closed weekends and public holidays). Fees are paid when you apply.
Common questions
Does my dog need a rabies blood test to go from Hong Kong SAR China to Colombia?
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 into Colombia?
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.
Will my dog be quarantined in Colombia?
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 need a microchip?
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.