Taking a pet dog or cat from India to Canada

Before approaching AQCS, take your pet to any local registered veterinarian and obtain a veterinary health certificate stating the pet is fit to fly (by road, air, or train). This certificate confirms your dog or cat is healthy and fit for the journey and is one of the mandatory documents AQCS checks. Book this close to travel, since Canada also requires the pet to appear healthy at the border. Keep the original and a photocopy, because AQCS requires both.

• Issued by any local registered veterinarian
• Must state the pet is 'Fit to fly by road/Air/Train'
• Bring original plus photocopy

AQCS requires a microchip certificate as part of the export documentation. A microchip permanently identifies your pet and links it to its vaccination and health records, which matters because Canada's rabies vaccination certificate identifies the animal partly by its microchip or tattoo number. Have the microchip implanted and get the certificate before your rabies vaccination is recorded, so the same identification number ties all your documents together. Carry the original and a photocopy.

• Microchip Certificate is a listed mandatory document
• Ties identity across rabies and health records
• Canada's rabies certificate records the microchip/tattoo number

AQCS requires the vaccination details of the pet. For Canada the rabies vaccination is the one that matters most, and its record must show the date of vaccination and the vaccine's trade name and serial number. If your pet is too young to have been vaccinated, AQCS says you must instead produce the vaccination record of the mother along with the pet. Assemble the complete vaccination history, originals and photocopies, before your AQCS appointment.

• Vaccination details of the pet are mandatory
• If pet is under vaccination age, bring the mother's vaccination record
• Rabies record must support Canada's certificate elements

Beyond the health, microchip, and vaccination papers, AQCS requires a copy of the owner's passport, a copy of the owner's air ticket, and an airway bill if the pet travels as cargo. If the owner cannot attend AQCS in person, an authorized person must submit an authority letter. AQCS also explicitly tells you to satisfy any specific requirements of the importing country, giving 'Import permit, Blood titre test etc.' as examples, so you must check Canada's rules yourself. You also need two postcard-size (4x6 inch) light-facing photographs of the pet.

• Owner passport copy and air ticket copy
• Airway bill if pet travels as cargo
• Authority letter if owner is absent
• Two 4x6 inch light-facing photos of the pet
• You must meet the destination country's own requirements

After the officer examines your pet and documents, AQCS issues the export certificate. This certificate is valid for only 10 days from the date of issue or examination at AQCS, so time your appointment close to your departure. All AQCS notifications, rules, orders, and procedures are subject to change at any time, and decisions are made per the rules in force when you actually file your application, so confirm current requirements before you travel.

• Export certificate valid 10 days from issue/examination
• Rules can change; the version at filing time governs
• Time the appointment close to departure

Canada's rules branch by animal type, purpose (personal vs commercial), age, and whether you are coming from a rabies-free or rabies-present country. India is not on Canada's rabies-free list (which includes only countries such as Australia, Japan, New Zealand, the UK, Ireland, Finland, Iceland, Sweden, and Fiji), so you follow the 'country not free of rabies' path. For a personal pet dog the age brackets are less than 3 months, 3 to 8 months, and 8 months or older; for a domestic cat the cutoff is 3 months. Selecting the wrong category leads to the wrong requirements, so match your situation precisely before preparing documents.

• India is treated as a country 'not free of rabies'
• Dog age brackets: under 3 months, 3-8 months, 8 months or older
• Cat cutoff: under 3 months vs 3 months or older
• Personal pet = your own pet, accompanied or unaccompanied

Rabies vaccine does not work in very young dogs: CFIA states dogs cannot be effectively vaccinated against rabies before 12 weeks of age. For a personal pet dog younger than 3 months, Canada does not ask for a rabies certificate but requires proof of the dog's age from a veterinarian, plus the healthy-appearance and humane-transport conditions. A domestic cat under 3 months follows a similar young-animal path. For pets old enough to be vaccinated, make sure the vaccination was given at an appropriate age and is documented, because an improperly early vaccination will not be accepted as protective.

• Dogs cannot be effectively vaccinated against rabies before 12 weeks
• Dog under 3 months: needs veterinarian proof of age, not a rabies certificate
• Improperly early vaccination is not accepted as valid protection

Alongside the rabies certificate, Canada requires that the dog or cat appears healthy and meets humane transportation requirements on arrival. A CFIA veterinarian or the Canada Border Services Agency may inspect your pet at the port of entry, and a non-compliant animal can be refused entry or referred to CFIA. Prepare a compliant travel crate and be ready to present all paperwork at the border.

• Pet must appear healthy and meet humane transport requirements
• CBSA/CFIA may inspect and can refuse a non-compliant animal

CFIA's full, authoritative list of import requirements lives in the Automated Import Reference System (AIRS), and CFIA directs owners to search it for their exact situation. For a domestic dog use HS codes 01 (Live animals), 06 (Other live animals), 19 (Other mammals) and OGD Extension 2083 (Domestic dog); for a domestic cat the OGD Extension is 2084. Separately, since September 28, 2022 Canada prohibits COMMERCIAL dogs from high-risk rabies countries such as India, but that ban targets dogs for resale, adoption, fostering, breeding, show, or research, not a genuine personal pet accompanying its owner. Confirm your own case in AIRS before travel because it reflects current rules.

• Authoritative requirements are in AIRS
• Dog AIRS codes: 01 / 06 / 19, OGD Extension 2083
• Cat AIRS OGD Extension: 2084
• Commercial-dog ban (Sept 28, 2022) does not apply to personal accompanied pets