Pet travel route
Taking a dog or cat from Peru → Vietnam
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 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.
How early to start
3 days
if your pet has no microchip or rabies vaccination yet (the least time the official waiting periods allow)
3 days
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 or cat needs
Paperwork
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
SENASA export health certificate: apply at least 72 hours before departure: Present to SENASA, at least 72 hours before you travel: an application to the head of the Animal Health Area, the destination's import permit or official requirements, the vet's health and vaccination certificates, and proof of payment (S/ 97.20). SENASA inspects your pet for signs of infectious or parasitic disease and issues the export health certificate.
“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;”
“Estos documentos deben presentarse con 72 horas de anticipación como mínimo.”
“Permisos sanitarios de importación o los requisitos sanitarios establecidos por la Autoridad Oficial Competente del país de destino.”
“Voucher o constancia de pago por la inspección y emisión del certificado (S/ 97.20)”
“Para culminar, se realiza la inspección clínica a la mascota para detectar la presencia de algún signo de enfermedad infectocontagiosa o parasitaria.”
On arrival
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”
Vet exam
Health and vaccination certificates from a registered private vet
A vet registered with Peru's veterinary college (CMVP) issues a current health certificate (health status, internal and external deworming, other treatments) and a current vaccination certificate, both on the college's forms. Rabies vaccination from 3 months of age, or as the destination requires.
Details and the official words
“Certificado de Salud vigente (en formato del Colegio Médico Veterinario del Perú) emitido por un Médico Veterinario Colegiado de la práctica privada, indicando el estado de salud del animal, las desparasitaciones (interna y externa) u otro tratamiento recibido.”
“la vacunación antirrábica a animales a partir de 3 meses de edad o de acuerdo a lo exigido por el país destino”
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.
- Some destinations' requirements must be met well in advance, and as the owner you are responsible for knowing them. Bring the destination's import permit or its official requirements when you apply.
- In Lima, SENASA issues the certificate at the Callao office near the airport (open every day, 24 hours), in Ate Vitarte and in Lurín; elsewhere at SENASA's regional offices. Questions: viajacontumascota@senasa.gob.pe.
Government fees we know of
- SENASA inspection and export health certificate97.2 PEN
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 Peru 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.
Does my dog or cat need a microchip?
The official rules we have verified for this route don't list a microchip requirement.