Pet travel route
Taking a dog or cat from Indonesia → India
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 India publishes little for this route. Everything it does say is here, with its wording. AQCS's 2026 procedure (ATITHI 2.0) and its older baggage page describe the Advance NOC timing differently, and its pages don't mention a rabies blood test. Confirm the current rules and the Advance NOC deadline with your AQCS station before you apply.
How early to start
4 weeks
if your pet has no microchip or rabies vaccination yet (the least time the official waiting periods allow)
4 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 India
- Import permit needed
- Quarantine
- Designated entry point
- Some origins not allowed
What your dog or cat needs
We haven’t verified the leaving side for Indonesia yet: its official veterinary authority usually has to issue or endorse the health certificate.
Identification
Microchip (its certificate goes with the Advance NOC application)
AQCS's 2026 procedure lists a microchip certificate among the documents you upload for the Advance NOC, and the application form asks for the microchip number.
Details and the official words
“Supporting Documents includes: Vaccination and Microchip certificate, Official Health certificate along with Annexure1.1.1 signed by competent authority, Air ticket/Airway bill, passport copy etc.”
Paperwork
Qualify under the baggage rule
Show proof of at least two years' stay abroad and of transferring your residence to India (for example a visa copy), plus the owner's ticket. Sign a declaration that the pet is a bona fide pet with no commercial, gift or breeding purpose. If your pet comes as unaccompanied baggage, send a copy of your passport with the immigration stamp within one month of your arrival.
Details and the official words
“Proof of two years of stay abroad.”
“Proof of transferring residence to India”
“The declaration from the owner that the dog/cat is bonafide pet with no commercial interest, gift and breeding purpose.”
Vaccination
Rabies vaccination
Cats, and dogs three months old or older, must be vaccinated against rabies more than one month, but within 12 months, before embarkation. The details must be officially certified or written in the official health certificate, together with the other vaccinations.
Details and the official words
“must be vaccinated against Rabies more than one month, but within 12 months prior to actual embarkation”
Paperwork
Official health certificate from the country of origin
An official health certificate from the country of origin certifying that your pet shows no clinical signs of infectious and contagious diseases, including rabies, distemper, parvovirus and leptospirosis for a dog (distemper, feline enteritis, panleukopenia and leptospirosis for a cat). The owner's name on it must match the owner's ticket, and it must give the owner's name and address in the country of origin and in India.
Details and the official words
The page gives no deadline for how recent the certificate must be.
“The official health certificate from the country of origin certifying that the dog is free from clinical sign and symptoms of all infectious and contagious diseases including Rabies, Canine Distemper, Parvo virus infection, Leptospirosis etc.”
“The name of owner in the official health certificate must match with the name as mentioned in the ticket of owner to establish ownership.”
Permit
Advance NOC on the ATITHI 2.0 portal, at least 7 working days before you fly
Register on the ATITHI 2.0 portal with your own passport details and apply at least 7 working days before embarkation, uploading the vaccination and microchip certificates, the official health certificate with its annexure, your ticket or air waybill and your passport copy. AQCS issues the Advance NOC within 1 working day if the documents are in order. The airline won't carry your pet without it. The processing charge is INR 1,000 per application.
The official wording is ambiguous. Confirm this point with the authority.
Details and the official words
AQCS's procedure says 'Minimum 07 days before embarkation' in its main text and 'Minimum 7 working days before embarkation' in its flowcharts; we use the longer one. Its older baggage page still says the NOC 'can be issued within 7 days before arrival'. Confirm with your AQCS station.
If this is missed: Without the Advance NOC the pet will not be allowed to board the flight.
“All passengers intending to import their pets under the Baggage Rules shall apply through the portal to obtain an Advance No Objection Certificate (NOC).”
“Minimum 07 days before embarkation, the application will be submitted through ATITHI 2.0 PORTAL by the applicant along with supported documents”
“Minimum 7 working days before embarkation, applicant will submit the following documents on ATITHI 2.0 PORTAL for obtaining Advance No Objection Certificate (NOC) from AQCS”
“concerned Animal Quarantine & Certification Station (AQCS) within 1 working day”
“Minimum 07 days before embarkation, the application will be submitted through”
“Advance NOC can be issued within 7 days before arrival based on the self certified advance copies of all above documents.”
“Advance NOC if not presented to the airlines, the pet will not be allowed to board the flight.”
“The processing charges for an Advance NOC application for import of pets is Rs.1000 per application”
Route
Enter through one of six ports
Pets can enter India through Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Bangalore or Hyderabad. After arrival you bring your pet and the original health documents to the quarantine station.
Details and the official words
“Pet animals can enter India through the ports of Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Bangalore and Hyderabad.”
On arrival
Examination at the quarantine station
AQCS examines your pet and the original health certificate and issues a Provisional Quarantine Clearance Certificate. The original health certificate is kept by AQCS.
Details and the official words
“The animal(s) will be examined at the Quarantine Station for issuing a Provisional Quarantine Clearance Certificate.”
Quarantine
Quarantine observation if there is doubt
Pets under the baggage rule are not routinely quarantined. AQCS's 2026 procedure says a pet that fails the examination on arrival or shows signs of disease is quarantined at the station for 15 days with testing at your cost, and gets its final NOC if the tests are negative.
The official wording is ambiguous. Confirm this point with the authority.
Details and the official words
AQCS's older baggage page says final clearance will be issued after 30 days for a pet kept under observation; the 2026 procedure says 15 days. Ask your AQCS station.
“Pets under baggage can also be quarantined in case of doubt.”
“In case the dog(s) fails to clear physical examination or exhibits clinical signs of diseases, it will be taken to the Quarantine Station and will remain under quarantine for 15 days.”
“In case of doubt animal may be kept under Quarantine Observation. Final clearance will be issued after 30 days.”
Good to know
- We have not verified the export process for ID yet. Your country's official veterinary authority usually has to issue or endorse the health certificate.
- These steps are for owners who move their residence to India with their pet under the baggage rule. A short visit, research, defence or police use, and anything else outside the baggage rule need a licence from DGFT (Directorate General of Foreign Trade), which we don't cover. A pet that has left India before is treated as a re-import.
- No additional feed or bedding is allowed during the journey.
- AQCS says all notifications, rules, orders and procedures can change at any time and decisions follow the rules in force on the day you apply. Its pages also describe the Advance NOC process differently in places: check the current AQCS notice before you apply.
- A pet arriving without a valid Advance NOC, or with a fake or altered one, is ordered to be deported or re-exported.
Government fees we know of
- AQCS Advance NOC processing charge (per application)1000 INR
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 Indonesia to India?
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 India?
Yes: Register on the ATITHI 2.0 portal with your own passport details and apply at least 7 working days before embarkation, uploading the vaccination and microchip certificates, the official health certificate with its annexure, your ticket or air waybill and your passport copy.
Will my dog or cat be quarantined in India?
It can be: Pets under the baggage rule are not routinely quarantined.
Does my dog or cat need a microchip?
Yes: AQCS's 2026 procedure lists a microchip certificate among the documents you upload for the Advance NOC, and the application form asks for the microchip number.