Destination guide
Bringing a dog or cat into China
The entry requirements for a family pet travelling with its owner, quoted from the official government pages, and what changes depending on where your pet is coming from.
Make my dated planLimited official guidance. General Administration of Customs of China publishes little for this route. Everything it does say is here, with its wording. This is the customs announcement of 2019 plus Shanghai's English summary (2023). The announcement's attachments (the detailed quarantine requirements, the laboratories whose antibody test reports customs accepts and the ports with quarantine facilities) are on the customs site, which we cannot read, so deadlines for the vaccination and the blood test, and the official list of designated countries, are missing. Confirm with Chinese customs or your airline before you travel.
Short summary, under review. We summarised this from a short or older official page, so it may be incomplete. Ask the official authority what else applies before you travel.
The short version
- Rabies blood test for some origins
How early to start
The least time the officially fixed waiting periods allow, by where your dog is coming from. Vet, lab and paperwork appointment times come on top.
| From | Microchipped and vaccinated | Nothing done yet |
|---|---|---|
| United States | No fixed wait | No fixed wait |
| United Kingdom | No fixed wait | No fixed wait |
| Canada | 1 day | 1 day |
| Australia | 2 weeks | 2 weeks |
| Germany | No fixed wait | No fixed wait |
| France | No fixed wait | No fixed wait |
| India | 7 days | 7 days |
| United Arab Emirates | No fixed wait | No fixed wait |
Where your pet is coming from matters
China sorts countries into groups. These are the groups exactly as the authority publishes them (China: designated countries and regions for pets carried into China, checked 2026-10-10).
Designated country or region: a pet with a valid chip that passes the on-site check is exempt from quarantine
Australia · Cyprus · Fiji · French Polynesia · Guam · Hawaii (US) · Hong Kong SAR China · Iceland · Ireland · Jamaica · Japan · Liechtenstein · Macao SAR China · New Zealand · Portugal · Singapore · Sweden · Switzerland · United Kingdom
Not designated: exempt from quarantine only with a valid chip and a rabies antibody test report from a laboratory accepted by customseveryone not listed elsewhere
Any country that is not in another group.
- From Shanghai's English page (December 2023), which credits Shanghai Customs. The customs announcement says the list is whatever China's customs publishes, so it may have changed since: the attachments with the official list are on the customs site, which we cannot read.
Every requirement
For every pet
Identification
Electronic microchip
Your pet must have an electronic microchip; a valid chip is needed for any exemption from quarantine.
Details and the official words
“宠物应当具有电子芯片。”
“（一）来自指定国家或者地区携带入境的宠物，具有有效电子芯片，经现场检疫合格的；”
Vaccination
Rabies vaccination certificate
You must give customs a rabies vaccination certificate issued by the official animal quarantine authority of the country or region you leave. The announcement gives no timing; its attachment may.
Details and the official words
“携带宠物入境的，携带人应当向海关提供输出国家或者地区官方动物检疫机构出具的有效检疫证书和狂犬病疫苗接种证书。”
Vet exam
Official clinical inspection within 14 days before arrival
The official agency of the country or region you leave inspects your pet for rabies and other infectious or parasitic disease within 14 days before it arrives in China.
Details and the official words
“Pets must undergo an animal health clinical inspection conducted by the official agencies of the departing country or region within 14 days prior to their arrival in China.”
Paperwork
Quarantine certificate from the official animal quarantine authority
You must give customs a valid quarantine certificate issued by the official animal quarantine authority of the country or region you leave.
Details and the official words
“携带宠物入境的，携带人应当向海关提供输出国家或者地区官方动物检疫机构出具的有效检疫证书和狂犬病疫苗接种证书。”
Depends on your pet or your route
Blood test
Rabies antibody test report (pets from non-designated countries)
Applies when: the country you travel from is in the group: Not designated: exempt from quarantine only with a valid chip and a rabies antibody test report from a laboratory accepted by customs
A pet from a country that is not on China's designated list needs a rabies antibody test report from a laboratory customs accepts, with a titre above 0.5 IU/ml, to avoid 30 days' quarantine. The announcement gives no timing; its attachment may.
Details and the official words
“（二）来自非指定国家或者地区的宠物，具有有效电子芯片，提供采信实验室出具的狂犬病抗体检测报告（抗体滴度或免疫抗体量须在0.5IU/ml以上）并经现场检疫合格的；”
When this route doesn’t work
Not covered by us yet · The pet is being sold, adopted or rehomed
The announcement covers pets carried in by travellers. Imports for sale or rehoming have other rules and we don't cover them yet.
Good to know
- Only dogs and cats can be carried in, and only one pet per person per entry. Pets over the limit may be returned or destroyed.
- A pet that is not exempt (no chip, no accepted antibody test report when required, or signs of disease at the on-site check) is quarantined for 30 days at a site designated by customs, and must enter through a port with quarantine facilities.
- The list of designated countries, the laboratories whose antibody test reports customs accepts and the ports with quarantine facilities are whatever China's customs publishes; they may differ from what we show.