Pet travel route
Taking a dog or cat from Italy → 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 leaving Italy publishes little for this route. Everything it does say is here, with its wording. The ministry's page is a short general note (updated 3 January 2025) with no deadline, fee or step-by-step procedure: your local ASL veterinary service says what applies for your destination.
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
Health certification from your local ASL veterinary service: Get the information you need by contacting the embassy in Italy of the non-EU destination, or go directly to the veterinary service of your ASL (local health authority), which is competent to issue the health certification that may be needed.
The ministry's page gives no deadline for how recent the certificate must be: the destination's own requirements 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”
“È dunque opportuno reperire le informazioni necessarie contattando l’ambasciata in Italia del Paese terzo oppure rivolgersi direttamente al servizio veterinario della Asl di appartenenza competente per l’eventuale rilascio della certificazione sanitaria necessaria.”
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”
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.
- When the destination is outside the EU, it can ask for health requirements and documents on top of those for EU countries, and the conditions vary by destination.
- Some non-EU countries have very strict laws, for example quarantine that separates the animal from its owner, even for long periods. Collect the information well in advance.
- Planning to bring your pet back to the EU? After a short stay in a non-EU country you can skip the 3-month wait after the rabies blood test, but only if, before you leave the EU, your pet was vaccinated against rabies, passed a successful titer test, and your vet recorded both in its EU pet passport. So do the blood test before you go.
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
Health certification from your local ASL veterinary service: Get the information you need by contacting the embassy in Italy of the non-EU destination, or go directly to the veterinary service of your ASL (local health authority), which is competent to issue the health certification that may be needed.
The ministry's page gives no deadline for how recent the certificate must be: the destination's own requirements 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”
“È dunque opportuno reperire le informazioni necessarie contattando l’ambasciata in Italia del Paese terzo oppure rivolgersi direttamente al servizio veterinario della Asl di appartenenza competente per l’eventuale rilascio della certificazione sanitaria necessaria.”
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”
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.
- When the destination is outside the EU, it can ask for health requirements and documents on top of those for EU countries, and the conditions vary by destination.
- Some non-EU countries have very strict laws, for example quarantine that separates the animal from its owner, even for long periods. Collect the information well in advance.
- Planning to bring your pet back to the EU? After a short stay in a non-EU country you can skip the 3-month wait after the rabies blood test, but only if, before you leave the EU, your pet was vaccinated against rabies, passed a successful titer test, and your vet recorded both in its EU pet passport. So do the blood test before you go.
Common questions
Does my dog need a rabies blood test to go from Italy 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.