Pet travel route
Taking a dog or cat from Switzerland → the United Arab Emirates
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 Switzerland publishes little for this route. Everything it does say is here, with its wording. FSVO's page says only that the destination's rules apply when you leave Switzerland, and that the certificate comes from your cantonal veterinary service. It gives no deadline or fee: deadlines and fees differ between the 26 cantons, so ask yours.
How early to start
1 day
if your pet has no microchip or rabies vaccination yet (the least time the official waiting periods allow)
1 day
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.
Which rules apply to you
Switzerland is in the group “On MOCCAE's low-risk list — no rabies titer test” in the United Arab Emirates’s published list.See every group
Headlines for the United Arab Emirates
- Rabies blood test for some origins
- Import permit needed
What your dog needs
Dogs
Permit
UAE import permit
Apply online on the MOCCAE website before your pet travels (AED 200 per animal). It's issued in 1 working day and is valid for 90 days — your pet can't enter on an expired permit.
Details and the official words
“validity of permit is 90 days. It is not allowed to import pets with an expired import permit”
Identification
Permanent microchip
Your pet needs a permanent microchip, and the number on the health certificate must match it.
Details and the official words
“The cats and dogs must be identified with a permanent microchip”
Age rule
Minimum age
From a low-risk country your pet must be at least 12 weeks old; from a high-risk country at least 15 weeks old.
Details and the official words
“the minimum age for importing from the high risk countries is not less than 15 weeks”
Vaccination
Rabies vaccination
A valid rabies vaccination (per the vaccine maker's instructions), with the first dose given at 12 weeks old or older, recorded with vaccine name, maker, batch number and date.
Details and the official words
“initial dose should not be applied before 12 weeks of animal age”
Vaccination
Core vaccinations
Dogs: distemper, parvovirus, infectious hepatitis and leptospirosis (or a lab test if your country doesn't vaccinate for it). Cats: panleukopenia, rhinotracheitis and calicivirus.
Details and the official words
“Leptospirosis (Can be dispensed with and replaced by lab test in case that the exporting country does not apply vaccination)”
Treatment
Internal and external parasite treatment
Treat your pet for internal and external parasites within the 14 days before it's shipped, and have it recorded on the health certificate or passport.
Details and the official words
“The animal was received preventive doses for internal and external parasites during the 14 days prior to shipment”
Paperwork
Health certificate from your country's veterinary authority
An authorised health certificate issued by the competent veterinary authority of the country you're travelling from, with the microchip number.
Details and the official words
Veterinary certificate from your cantonal veterinary service: You can obtain the veterinary certificate for leaving Switzerland from the cantonal veterinary service responsible for where you live. The destination decides what the certificate must say and when it must be issued.
FSVO's page gives no deadline or fee. Contact your cantonal veterinary service early.
“Authorized health certificate issued from the competent veterinary authorities.”
“You can obtain a veterinary certificate for leaving Switzerland from the responsible cantonal veterinary service”
On arrival
Release on arrival (dog)
On arrival, apply for release with the customs declaration or bill of lading, vaccination record, health certificate (and titer certificate if needed). Your dog is inspected; the release fee is AED 500 per dog.
Details and the official words
If this is missed: Pets that don't meet the requirements are rejected at the owner's expense or confiscated.
“A customs declaration or bill of lading showing the delivery data”
Good to know
- Banned in the UAE: Staffordshire Bull Terrier, American Pit Bull Terrier, American Staffordshire Terrier, American Bully, Fila Brasileiro, Dogo Argentino, Tibetan Mastiff, Neapolitan Mastiff, Dogue de Bordeaux, Boerboel, Bullmastiff, Cane Corso, Bully Kutta, Presa Canario and Japanese Tosa (service, support and medical dogs excepted under the rules).
- FSVO's page is short on this: when you leave Switzerland the rules of the destination country apply, and to bring your pet back the conditions for re-entering Switzerland must be met. It names the cantonal veterinary service as the place to get the certificate. Ask them about timing early.
What your cat needs
Cats
Permit
UAE import permit
Apply online on the MOCCAE website before your pet travels (AED 200 per animal). It's issued in 1 working day and is valid for 90 days — your pet can't enter on an expired permit.
Details and the official words
“validity of permit is 90 days. It is not allowed to import pets with an expired import permit”
Identification
Permanent microchip
Your pet needs a permanent microchip, and the number on the health certificate must match it.
Details and the official words
“The cats and dogs must be identified with a permanent microchip”
Age rule
Minimum age
From a low-risk country your pet must be at least 12 weeks old; from a high-risk country at least 15 weeks old.
Details and the official words
“the minimum age for importing from the high risk countries is not less than 15 weeks”
Vaccination
Rabies vaccination
A valid rabies vaccination (per the vaccine maker's instructions), with the first dose given at 12 weeks old or older, recorded with vaccine name, maker, batch number and date.
Details and the official words
“initial dose should not be applied before 12 weeks of animal age”
Vaccination
Core vaccinations
Dogs: distemper, parvovirus, infectious hepatitis and leptospirosis (or a lab test if your country doesn't vaccinate for it). Cats: panleukopenia, rhinotracheitis and calicivirus.
Details and the official words
“Leptospirosis (Can be dispensed with and replaced by lab test in case that the exporting country does not apply vaccination)”
Treatment
Internal and external parasite treatment
Treat your pet for internal and external parasites within the 14 days before it's shipped, and have it recorded on the health certificate or passport.
Details and the official words
“The animal was received preventive doses for internal and external parasites during the 14 days prior to shipment”
Paperwork
Health certificate from your country's veterinary authority
An authorised health certificate issued by the competent veterinary authority of the country you're travelling from, with the microchip number.
Details and the official words
Veterinary certificate from your cantonal veterinary service: You can obtain the veterinary certificate for leaving Switzerland from the cantonal veterinary service responsible for where you live. The destination decides what the certificate must say and when it must be issued.
FSVO's page gives no deadline or fee. Contact your cantonal veterinary service early.
“Authorized health certificate issued from the competent veterinary authorities.”
“You can obtain a veterinary certificate for leaving Switzerland from the responsible cantonal veterinary service”
On arrival
Release on arrival (cat)
On arrival, apply for release with the customs declaration or bill of lading, vaccination record, health certificate (and titer certificate if needed). Your cat is inspected; the release fee is AED 250 per cat.
Details and the official words
If this is missed: Pets that don't meet the requirements are rejected at the owner's expense or confiscated.
“A customs declaration or bill of lading showing the delivery data”
Good to know
- FSVO's page is short on this: when you leave Switzerland the rules of the destination country apply, and to bring your pet back the conditions for re-entering Switzerland must be met. It names the cantonal veterinary service as the place to get the certificate. Ask them about timing early.
Government fees we know of
- MOCCAE import permit200 AED (+200 per extra pet)
- MOCCAE release (dog)500 AED (+500 per extra pet)
- MOCCAE release (cat)250 AED (+250 per extra pet)
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 need a rabies blood test to go from Switzerland to the United Arab Emirates?
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 into the United Arab Emirates?
Yes: Apply online on the MOCCAE website before your pet travels (AED 200 per animal).
Will my dog be quarantined in the United Arab Emirates?
Not on the routes we have verified: the official rules list no quarantine for a pet that meets the requirements.
Does my dog need a microchip?
Yes: Your pet needs a permanent microchip, and the number on the health certificate must match it.