International pet relocation from India

Plan for two to seven months. The rabies neutralising antibody (RNATT) titre test plus destination waiting periods (three months for many rabies-controlled countries, up to six for Australia) set the floor. Starting earlier never costs more; starting late usually does.

It depends entirely on the destination. Many countries including the USA, UK, Canada, the EU and UAE allow direct release when the paperwork is complete and correct. Australia and New Zealand require a mandatory post-arrival quarantine period at an approved facility.

The Animal Quarantine and Certification Service (AQCS) is India's government body that inspects and certifies live animals crossing the border. Exporting a pet from India requires an AQCS-endorsed health certificate and no-objection clearance; importing a pet into India requires an advance NOC under the Transfer of Residence, Re-import or DGFT short-stay pathway.

A small number of carriers allow small cats and dogs in cabin on specific international routes, but most sectors out of India require manifest cargo or checked excess baggage. We tell you which of the three applies to your route before you plan anything else.

The RNATT measures the rabies antibodies in your pet's blood to prove the vaccination actually worked. The blood must be drawn at least 30 days after a rabies vaccination given after the microchip was implanted, the approved laboratory takes three to five weeks to report, and most rabies-controlled destinations then impose a three-month waiting period counted from the draw date. That sequence, not paperwork speed, is what makes international moves take months.

Very few destinations are outright closed, but several are effectively closed on a short timeline because the waiting periods are longer than your notice period. Breed restrictions matter more than country bans in practice: several countries refuse specific dog breeds regardless of paperwork, and a few refuse snub-nosed breeds on the airline side rather than the border side. We check both lists against your pet before you plan a date.

Yes, and on many international sectors it has to. As manifest cargo your pet travels on its own air waybill, which means it can fly a day before or after you, on a different carrier, with our handler at departure and a partner agent receiving on arrival. Where checked excess baggage is available it is usually cheaper, but it requires you to be on the same flight.

We do not date the health certificate or confirm the flight until the permit is in hand, so a delay moves the travel date rather than sending your pet toward a border with an incomplete file. That is why the timeline carries slack in the final fortnight. It exists precisely so a slow authority costs you a week, not a rejected animal at check-in.

Yes, and the same team runs it. Imports need an advance AQCS NOC applied for before the flight, filed under the Transfer of Residence, Re-import or DGFT short-stay pathway, and pets arriving for permanent relocation are ordinarily observed for around fifteen days after arrival. The pathway question decides everything else, so we establish it before anything is filed.