Taking a pet dog or cat from India to the UK (Great Britain)
Bringing a pet dog or cat from India into Great Britain is a two-government process: India controls what leaves, and the UK controls what comes in. Because India is NOT on the UK's list of "listed" countries, the UK treats it as an unlisted (third) country, which adds two big requirements on top of the usual rules — a rabies blood (titre) test and a mandatory 3-month wait before travel. The order matters enormously: microchip must come before the rabies shot, the blood sample must come after the shot, and the 3-month clock only starts once the blood is drawn. Plan on roughly 4+ months minimum from the first vet visit, and confirm every day-count with your own vet and the official pages before booking flights.
This page tells you where the official rule is and what it says. It is not the rule and it is not legal advice. The official source decides, and the official source is the one that counts if this page and it ever disagree.
India is an UNLISTED country for Great Britain, so on top of the usual rules your pet needs a rabies blood (titre) test AND a mandatory 3-month wait counted from the date the blood was drawn. Microchip must come before the rabies shot; the blood sample must be at least 30 days after it. Plan on 4+ months minimum.
At a glance
The whole journey in order. Every point below is spelled out in full further down.
- Microchip your pet first — before the rabies vaccination, or the vaccination will not count.
- Vaccinate against rabies and wait at least 21 full days.
- Take a rabies blood (titre) sample at least 30 days after the shot; the result must be at least 0.5 IU/ml.
- Wait a full 3 months from the blood-sample date before travelling — this is the rule people get wrong.
- For dogs, a vet treats for tapeworm 24 hours to 5 days before arrival.
- Travel on an approved route with a Great Britain pet health certificate signed by an official vet; enter within 10 days of issue.
- On the India side, AQCS examines the pet and issues the export certificate ~7 days before you fly.
Leaving India — the AQCS export side
India controls what leaves through the Animal Quarantine and Certification Services (AQCS). You book an appointment, present the pet in person, and lodge your documents about a week before departure to get the export certificate / No Objection Certificate.
Authority: Animal Quarantine and Certification Services (AQCS), Department of Animal Husbandry & Dairying
Book an AQCS appointment and present the pet in person
You leave India through an Animal Quarantine and Certification Services (AQCS) station under the Department of Animal Husbandry & Dairying. You must contact the station and confirm a prior appointment before visiting, and the pet itself must be brought to the office to be examined by the quarantine officer.
- Appointment confirmed ~7 days ahead
- Pet must be physically presented for examination by the officer
- A separate application form is filled for each pet (Applications & Formats / Livestock)
Get a veterinary 'fit to fly' health certificate from a registered vet
Before the AQCS visit, take your pet to any local registered veterinarian for a health check and a certificate confirming the animal is fit to travel by air/road/train. This is a core document AQCS asks for.
- Issued by a local registered vet, not AQCS
- Confirms the pet is fit to fly
Carry the microchip certificate and vaccination recordsDon't get this wrong
AQCS requires proof that the pet is microchipped and documentation of its vaccinations. If the pet is too young to have been vaccinated itself, you must instead bring the mother's vaccination record.
- Microchip certificate required
- Pet's vaccination details required (page does not name rabies specifically)
- Mother's record used if pet too young to be vaccinated
Bring owner/travel documents and the importing-country paperwork
Along with the pet, submit a self-attested copy of your passport, your air ticket copy, and (if the pet flies as cargo) the airway bill. Crucially, AQCS also asks for the specific requirements of the importing country — for the UK that means your rabies blood titre test result and any import documentation. All documents are needed as originals plus photocopies, and if you cannot attend, an authorised person can go with an authority letter.
- Passport copy, air ticket copy, airway bill (if cargo)
- Two postcard-size photos (4x6 inches) of the pet
- Bring originals AND photocopies, self-attested
- UK-specific docs (rabies blood test result) fall under 'importing country requirements'
Submit 7 days ahead to get the NOC / export certificateDon't get this wrong
Lodge your documents with the quarantine office roughly a week before you fly so AQCS can issue the No Objection Certificate (NOC) / export certificate. That export certificate has a short shelf life, so time it close to departure.
- Submit ~7 days before embarkation
- Export certificate valid 10 days from issue/examination
- No fee amounts are stated on the page — confirm locally
Entering Great Britain — the gov.uk import side
Great Britain controls what comes in. Because India is unlisted, the rabies blood test and the 3-month wait are mandatory, and the exact order and timing of every step is what keeps your pet out of quarantine.
Authority: GOV.UK / Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra)
Step 1 — Microchip your pet FIRSTDon't get this wrong
Your pet must be fitted with a microchip, and this has to happen before the rabies vaccination. If a pet is vaccinated before it was chipped, the UK does not count that vaccination and it must be redone.
- Microchip is the very first step
- Must be done before the rabies shot, or the vaccination won't count
Step 2 — Vaccinate against rabies and wait at least 21 days
After the microchip, your vet vaccinates the pet against rabies. You cannot travel immediately — there is a minimum wait after the vaccination (or the last dose of the first course) before the pet is allowed to enter Great Britain.
- Wait is at least 21 full days after the first vaccination
- Exact wait can depend on the vaccine used — check with your vet
Step 3 — Get a rabies blood (titre) test (required because India is unlisted)Don't get this wrong
India is not on the UK's list of 'listed' countries, so it counts as unlisted. That means your pet needs a rabies blood test in addition to the normal rules. Your vet must take the blood sample at least 30 days after the rabies vaccination, and the result must show a rabies antibody level of at least 0.5 IU/ml.
- India is UNLISTED, so the blood test is mandatory
- Blood sample taken at least 30 days after the rabies vaccination
- Antibody result must be at least 0.5 IU/ml
- Test stays valid as long as rabies boosters are kept up to date
Step 4 — Wait 3 months from the blood sample date before travellingDon't get this wrong
This is the single most important timing rule for the India–GB route. After a successful blood test, you must wait a full 3 months, counted from the date the blood was drawn (not from vaccination), before the pet can travel to Great Britain. Getting this wrong can lead to the pet being refused or quarantined.
- 3-month wait measured from the blood SAMPLE date
- Not measured from the vaccination date
- This wait is on top of the 21-day post-vaccination wait
Step 5 — Tapeworm treatment for dogs (timed to arrival)Don't get this wrong
If you are bringing a dog, a vet must treat it for tapeworm within a specific window tied to your arrival time in Great Britain — not too early and not too late. (This applies to dogs; the rule is a timed window before arrival.)
- Dogs only
- Treat between 24 hours and 5 days before arrival in GB
- Must be recorded by the vet
Step 6 — Travel on an approved route
You must enter Great Britain on a route that is approved for pet travel. Confirm your airline/route qualifies before booking, as arriving on a non-approved route can cause problems on entry.
- Route must be approved for pet travel
- Confirm the carrier/route before booking flights
- Refused entry is possible if you arrive by sea without following the rules
Step 7 — Get a Great Britain pet health certificate (enter within 10 days)
Because India is unlisted, your travel document is a Great Britain pet health certificate. It must be signed, stamped and dated by an official veterinarian (OV) authorised by their government to issue it — if your vet is not an OV, they contact the local authority to get it signed. Your pet must arrive in Great Britain within 10 days of the certificate being issued.
- Document type for unlisted India = Great Britain pet health certificate
- Must be signed/stamped/dated by an official veterinarian (OV)
- Pet must enter GB within 10 days of issue
Step 8 — Know the quarantine risk if rules aren't followed
If any of the requirements above are missed or mistimed, your pet can be held in quarantine for up to 4 months at your cost, or refused entry if you travelled by sea. This is why the timing of the microchip, vaccination, blood test and 3-month wait must be exactly right.
- Up to 4 months quarantine if rules not met
- Owner pays the costs
- Refused entry possible for sea arrivals
Official sources
Every step above was read off one of these pages. They are the version that counts — check them before you travel or ship.
- GOV.UK — bringing a pet to Great Britain
- GOV.UK — bringing a pet to Great Britain
- GOV.UK — bringing a pet to Great Britain
- GOV.UK — bringing a pet to Great Britain
- GOV.UK — bringing a pet to Great Britain
- GOV.UK — bringing a pet to Great Britain
- AQCS India — export of pets
- AQCS India — export of pets
- AQCS India — export of pets
This page tells you where the official rule is and what it says. It is not the rule and it is not legal advice. The official source decides, and the official source is the one that counts if this page and it ever disagree.
Every day-count and rule here was read off the official gov.uk and AQCS pages and independently fact-checked against the source text before publishing.
This page is free to read and always will be. It is written from the official pages linked above; those pages can change, and if one has, the link is the fastest way to see what it says now.
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