Pet travel route
Taking a dog or cat from Saudi Arabia → 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
2 weeks
if your pet has no microchip or rabies vaccination yet (the least time the official waiting periods allow)
2 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.
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
Health requirements applied through MEWA and endorsed in the export health certificate: The importing country's veterinary health requirements must be carried out through the Ministry's clinics or offices, then verified and endorsed in 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;”
“must be verified and endorsed in the export health certificate”
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”
Permit
Import permit and conditions from the destination
Attach a copy of the import permit issued by the importing country. It must state the animal health conditions required, and come from the competent authority responsible for livestock in the importing country.
Details and the official words
“A copy of the import permit issued by the importing country must be attached, indicating the required animal health conditions.”
Permit
MEWA export permit (Naama platform)
Request the export permit on the Naama platform at least 15 days before the shipment date. It is valid for 30 days from issue, and your pet must leave through the port named in it.
Details and the official words
“The export permit request must be submitted at least 15 days before the shipment date”
“The export permit is valid for 30 days from the date of issuance”
“The shipment must depart through the port specified in the export permit”
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.
- The Ministry can set and schedule your pet's departure date according to the capacity of the quarantine facility at the exit port.
- All quarantine procedures follow the Veterinary Quarantine Law and the Animal Welfare Law of the GCC states, and their executive regulations as enforced in Saudi Arabia.
Common questions
Does my dog or cat need a rabies blood test to go from Saudi Arabia 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?
Yes: Attach a copy of the import permit issued by the importing country.
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.