USA to the United Arab Emirates
Pet Shipping from the USA to the United Arab Emirates
We provide international pet transport from the USA to the United Arab Emirates, planned around its import rules, the season and your move date.
Book door-to-door pet relocation, or only the parts you need.
- Airline booking
- The travel crate
- The export and import paperwork
- Check-in at your US airport
- Pickup in the United Arab Emirates with delivery to your new address
The United Arab Emirates at a glance
Full requirementsThe UAE’s Ministry of Climate Change and Environment sets the minimum age at 15 weeks for pets coming from countries it rates high risk, and asks for a rabies titration certificate from a laboratory accredited in the exporting country.
- Microchip
- Permanent, with its number matching the health certificate
- Rabies vaccination
- At 12 weeks old or later, and 21 days or more before travel
- Rabies titer
- 0.5 IU/ml or higher
- Import permit
- Issued before travel; APHIS gives it 30 days, the Ministry’s own page 90
- Health certificate
- Valid 10 days from issue; the ink-signed, embossed original goes with the pet
Pet Shipping from the USA to the United Arab Emirates
A move to the United Arab Emirates starts with a permit and a blood test. The UAE’s Ministry of Climate Change and Environment issues the import permit before the pet flies, and a dog or cat from the United States also needs a titer reading no lower than 0.5 IU/ml. If you would like a simple overview of international moves first, start with our guide to international pet shipping destinations. Bringing a pet the other way, into the United States? See our US import guide.
Approved Routes and Entry into the United Arab Emirates
The Ministry expects a pet to be shipped directly from where it starts, or kept apart from other animals if it crosses another country on the way. For a connection, APHIS asks the owner, the carrier’s representative or whoever holds the pet to sign an attestation that it had no contact with other animals in transit. On landing, the owner applies online and pays, the animal is inspected, and a release permit is issued, at the Ministry’s veterinary quarantine centers, which include Dubai Airport’s cargo village and Zayed International. The flight is booked once the permit is in hand.
Route details: USA to the United Arab Emirates
- Route
- USA to the United Arab Emirates
- Arrival airports
- MOCCAE veterinary quarantine centers at Zayed International, Dubai Airport Cargo Village and Free Zone, Sharjah and Ras Al Khaimah airports
- How the pet flies
- As manifested cargo (APHIS). Shipped direct, or kept apart from other animals in transit with a signed no-contact attestation
- Import permit
- MOCCAE permit, applied for and paid online before travel; issued in 1 working day (5 for service dogs); valid 90 days (MOCCAE), 30 (APHIS)
- Health certificate
- Issued by a USDA-accredited vet, ink-signed and embossed by USDA; valid 10 days after issue; travels with a copy of the permit
- Quarantine on arrival
- MOCCAE: inspected at the port of entry, lab tests if required, released once compliant; if not, rejected at the owner’s cost or confiscated
- Rabies titer
- 0.5 IU/ml or more, sample within 12 months before travel, 21 days or more after a first shot (same day after an in-date booster)
- Time to get ready
- At least 21 days: rabies shot (pet 12 weeks or older) 21 days or more before travel and before the titer draw; pet 15 weeks old to enter
From official sources, read October 29, 2026: UAE Ministry of Climate Change and Environment, Import of pets; USDA APHIS, Pet Travel from the United States to the United Arab Emirates; USDA APHIS, Veterinary Health Certificate for Export of Dogs and Cats from the United States of America to the United Arab Emirates, PDF.
What are the entry requirements for pets going to the United Arab Emirates?
The short answer
From the United States, APHIS says a pet travels to the UAE as manifested cargo, on a health certificate valid for 10 days after issue, with at least 21 days between the rabies shot and travel.
Import Eligibility for Pets
A dog or cat has to be at least 15 weeks old on entry. Its first rabies vaccination has to wait until it is 12 weeks old. Each person may import two pets a year, as two dogs, two cats or one of each, and the Ministry exempts resident animals returning home from that limit. APHIS lists the dogs the UAE refuses in four groups: the pit bull types, ten mastiff breeds, the Japanese Tosa and the Presa Canario, with any mix or hybrid of them. The Ministry makes an exception for a service, emotional support or medical dog, which needs a certified training record, a report on the owner’s health and a signed pledge not to transfer, abandon or breed it. Our guide to banned dog breeds by country covers the UAE’s rules on owning a dog once it lives there.
Two cases follow their own rules. A Bengal or serval cat needs a pedigree certificate showing fifth generation descent. And a pet that lives in the UAE and is coming back, APHIS says, skips the titer test when the rabies vaccination it had before leaving is still valid, but travels with a copy of the health certificate the Ministry issued when it left. Ready to start? Request a quote.
Health Preparation and Documentation
The pet needs a permanent microchip, and the number on the health certificate has to match the chip. Dogs are vaccinated against rabies, canine distemper, parvovirus, infectious hepatitis and leptospirosis, and cats against rabies, panleukopenia, rhinotracheitis and calicivirus, on a vaccination certificate giving each vaccine’s name, manufacturer, batch number and date, with its label. The titer sample is drawn within the 12 months before travel, and no sooner than 21 days after a first vaccination or one that follows a lapse; after a booster given while the previous shot was still valid, it can be drawn that day or any day after. Internal and external parasite treatment falls in the 14 days before travel and is recorded on the certificate. A USDA-accredited veterinarian then issues that certificate through VEHCS, and USDA ink-signs and embosses the original, which travels with the pet together with a copy of the import permit.
| Requirement | the United Arab Emirates, from the United States |
|---|---|
| Microchip | Permanent, with its number matching the health certificate |
| Rabies vaccination | At 12 weeks old or later, and 21 days or more before travel |
| Rabies titer | 0.5 IU/ml or higher |
| Import permit | Issued before travel; APHIS gives it 30 days, the Ministry’s own page 90 |
| Health certificate | Valid 10 days from issue; the ink-signed, embossed original goes with the pet |
| Quarantine | The Ministry’s page, read September 23, 2026, sets out an inspection and release at the port and no quarantine period |
Two government pages, both read September 23, 2026, are behind this checklist. For the US side, APHIS’s requirements for taking a pet from the United States to the UAE set out the vaccines, the titer test and how the certificate is endorsed. For entry, the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment’s service for importing cats and dogs covers the permit, the refused breeds, release on arrival and the conditions for a resident pet coming home.
Planning Timeline for Pet Shipping to the United Arab Emirates
For an adult pet whose rabies vaccination is valid and more than 21 days old, the titer sample can be drawn at once, and the wait is for the laboratory. For a young animal, age sets the floor: the first rabies shot cannot come before 12 weeks, and the blood draw no sooner than 21 days after it. Entry is allowed from 15 weeks. The permit’s life is where the two government pages part, since APHIS gives 30 days and the Ministry 90, so the flight is planned inside the shorter. Parasite treatment then falls in the final 14 days. The health certificate is issued at the end, since it is valid for only 10 days.
Planning the budget? See what shipping a pet from the USA to the United Arab Emirates costs, fee by fee.
Every Pet Travels
Differently
Different destinations, different routes, different challenges.
Destination-Focused Planning
The Ministry lists what it checks on release, from the customs declaration to the vaccination record. We check the health certificate against that list and the permit before it goes to USDA.
Smart Routing and Logistics
We help choose practical routes, travel windows, and handoff procedures so your pet’s trip is safer and more predictable.
Personalized Support
Pet Travel Advisors assigns a move coordinator who keeps you updated and checks details before travel so nothing important is missed.
Questions about moving a pet to the United Arab Emirates
Request a QuoteWhat does it cost to ship a pet from the USA to the United Arab Emirates?
Costs depend on your pet’s size and crate, the route and airline, vet and titer test fees, and whether the move is door to door. The fastest way to get a real number is a quote based on your origin city and travel date. Request a quote here.
Does my pet have to go into quarantine in the United Arab Emirates?
The Ministry of Climate Change and Environment’s import service page, read September 23, 2026, gives no quarantine period. What it sets out is an inspection at the port of entry, then a release permit once the documents are in order, and it says a pet that fails the import requirements is rejected at its owner’s expense or confiscated.
How long does the process take?
That turns on the rabies record. A pet vaccinated for the first time needs 21 days to pass before its titer sample is taken, while one with a valid booster can be tested the same day; either way the result has to come back from the laboratory before the certificate is written. Neither APHIS’s page nor the Ministry’s, read September 23, 2026, gives a time for the laboratory.
Can any dog or cat qualify?
No. The Ministry refuses sixteen dog breeds, from the Staffordshire Bull Terrier and American Bully to the Cane Corso and Japanese Tosa, and APHIS adds their mixes and hybrids; a service, emotional support or medical dog is excepted.
How does Pet Travel Advisors help with a move to the United Arab Emirates?
Every service is available by itself: airline booking, the travel crate, the permit application and the US paperwork up to the USDA endorsement, check-in where the pet flies from, and pickup in the UAE with delivery to the new address. Door-to-door relocation is one option, and booking only the flight or only the documents is another.
Ready to start?
Book door-to-door pet relocation, or only the parts you need.