Pet Relocation in Dubai: What You Need and When
Moving a pet to or from Dubai is entirely manageable, but it rewards starting early. Permits expire, health certificates have narrow windows, and a titre test can add months to a timeline if nobody mentions it until the end.
This guide sets out what is needed, in the order you will need it.
Start here: the timeline
Most of what goes wrong in a pet relocation comes down to timing rather than paperwork. Here is the shape of it.
Four to six months before travel
Confirm whether a rabies titre test is required for your route. If it is, this is the step that decides your timeline. Begin crate training. Make sure vaccinations and the microchip are up to date.
One to two months before
Book the crate. Confirm the flight and cargo booking. Check the destination country’s requirements, which are often stricter than the UAE’s.
Two to four weeks before
Apply for the import or export permit. These take three to fourteen business days and are valid for thirty days once issued.
Within ten days of travel
The official veterinary health certificate is issued. It cannot be issued earlier.
On arrival
A settling-in check within the first week, particularly if you are arriving in summer.
What you need
The import or export permit
The process begins with the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment, known as MOCCAE. You apply through their website using a form specific to your pet’s species.
Permits take three to fourteen business days to process and are valid for thirty days from issue, so applying too early is as much of a problem as applying too late.
Fees vary by species, number of pets and arrival city rather than a flat rate.
The veterinary health certificate
Issued by a MOCCAE-approved vet, confirming your pet is fit to travel and meets the required health standards. It follows the examination and vaccinations rather than preceding them, and must be issued within ten days of the flight.
Vaccinations
Cats and dogs must be fully vaccinated before entering Dubai.
Dogs need rabies, canine distemper, canine parvovirus, infectious canine hepatitis and leptospirosis.
Cats need rabies, feline panleukopenia, feline rhinotracheitis and feline calicivirus.
All of this is recorded in the pet passport, which travels with your pet and holds their full vaccination history.
Microchipping
A fifteen-digit ISO standard microchip is mandatory for cats and dogs in Dubai, and is how your pet is identified on arrival. If your pet already has a chip, it is worth checking it meets the ISO standard and still reads correctly.
The rabies titre test
Required for pets travelling from countries considered higher risk for rabies. It confirms the rabies vaccination has produced enough antibodies for travel.
The test must be carried out at least twenty one days after the rabies vaccination, and the result is valid for twelve months.
This is the step most worth planning around. If your route requires it, everything else follows from when the test can be done.
Restricted breeds
MOCCAE does not permit entry for certain dog breeds, including:
All kinds of Pit Bull
Japanese Tosa
Dogo Argentino
Fila Brasileiro
Wolf dog hybrids
American Staffordshire Terrier
If your dog is a cross or the breed is uncertain, it is worth checking with us before anything else is booked.
The crate and the flight
All pets entering the UAE, whether through Dubai, Abu Dhabi or Sharjah, arrive as manifest cargo. That means a dedicated cargo airway bill rather than cabin or checked baggage, and an IATA-compliant crate meeting set standards for ventilation, size and safety.
Two things make a real difference to how your pet handles the journey.
Book the crate early, and make sure your pet can stand, turn around, and lie down comfortably inside it.
Begin crate training at least four weeks before travel, introducing it gradually so that by the day of the flight it feels familiar rather than confining.
On airlines, the right choice depends on your route, your pet’s size and whether a transit is involved. Emirates, Etihad and Lufthansa all operate established live animal programmes with climate-controlled handling facilities, and rules differ between them on transits and breed restrictions. We book the carrier that suits the route rather than defaulting to one.
Arriving in Dubai
Most pets settle within a week or two. A few things help.
Give them somewhere quiet to rest for the first few days rather than introducing them to the whole house at once.
Watch their appetite and toileting, since these are usually the first things to change if something is not right.
Be careful with the heat. If you arrive between May and September, walk early in the morning or after dark, and check the pavement with your hand before going out. This is the most common problem we see in newly arrived dogs.
Bring them in for a check within the first week. It is included in our relocation service, and it is the simplest way to know they have travelled well.
How we handle it
You can manage a relocation yourself. MOCCAE’s process is public, and the requirements are all set out above. Most people find it easier to have one team handle the permits, the vet checks, the crate and the flight together rather than coordinating separate providers.
That is what we do. Vaccinations, microchipping, titre testing, permits, crate preparation and cargo booking all happen through our own team. Your vet is the person who signs the health certificate, so whoever examines your pet is the one confirming they are fit to fly.
We handle both directions, into Dubai and out of it, with a pre-travel check before you go and a settling-in check once you arrive.
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