Flying With a Pet To or From Vietnam: What to Arrange
Almost everything published about pets and Vietnam is written by companies that move pets for a living. That is not a criticism β they know the process β but it does mean the guidance is shaped around a service, and the parts that are genuinely uncertain get presented as settled.
What follows is the structure of the problem. If you understand the structure, you can ask the right questions of whoever you end up using.
The Three Approvals, and Why They Are Separate
| Who | What they control | Get it wrong and⦠|
|---|---|---|
| Department of Animal Health (Vietnam) | Quarantine registration and the veterinary certificate | The animal is held at the border |
| Your airline | Whether the animal flies in the cabin or the hold, crate specification, breed and temperature restrictions | You are refused at check-in with a booked ticket |
| Destination country customs | Import conditions on arrival β often the strictest of the three | Quarantine or refusal at the far end |
These do not talk to each other. Satisfying Vietnam says nothing about satisfying your airline, and satisfying both says nothing about the country you are flying to. Each has to be worked separately, and the strictest one sets your real timetable.
Bringing a Pet Into Vietnam
The sequence, in order:
Microchip first, then vaccinate
Order matters. The microchip has to be implanted before the rabies vaccination, so that the vaccination certificate carries the chip number and can be tied to that specific animal. A vaccination recorded before the chip exists cannot be linked to the animal in front of the officer, and that is the most common reason paperwork gets rejected.
Check the required interval between vaccination and travel with the Department of Animal Health β there is both a minimum wait and a maximum validity, and this is one of the figures we are not prepared to print without a verified source.
Apply for quarantine registration
An application for animal quarantine registration goes to Vietnam’s Department of Animal Health in advance of arrival. It covers the microchip number, the country of origin, and the number of animals.
Vietnam does limit how many animals may be brought in as household pets without a separate import permit. Confirm the current number with DAH before assuming your household qualifies.
Export health certificate from the competent authority
Issued by the government veterinary authority of the country you are leaving β not by your own vet alone. Your vet prepares it; the state body endorses it. Documents must be presented in English or Vietnamese for inspection.
Inspection at the border
Animals arriving in Vietnam are subject to quarantine inspection. In practice, an animal arriving with correct documentation β current rabies vaccination, valid health certificate, working microchip that matches β is normally examined and released rather than held. It is missing or mismatched paperwork that turns an inspection into a detention.
Taking a Pet Out of Vietnam
This direction gets almost no coverage, and it has one feature that surprises people: the Vietnamese export certificate has a short validity window, so it cannot be obtained far in advance. It has to be timed to your flight.
Find out what your destination requires first
This is the step to do before anything else, because it is usually the binding constraint. Rabies titre blood tests, where required, can involve waiting periods measured in months. Island and rabies-free countries β Australia, New Zealand, the UK, Japan, Singapore and others β have the longest lead times, and starting late does not shorten them.
Book the animal onto the flight, in writing
Cabin or hold, crate dimensions, and whether the aircraft on your route accepts live animals at all. Get the confirmation in writing and carry it.
Veterinary inspection and the export certificate
A registered veterinary facility examines the animal and checks the microchip against the vaccination record. The quarantine authority then issues the export veterinary health certificate.
The certificate is valid for a limited period only β confirm the exact window with the issuing office, and build your appointment around your departure date rather than around your convenience.
Flying out with more to manage than usual?
Departure in Vietnam is three separate queues. All three lanes handled for $45 per person.
On the Day
An animal makes an already three-stage departure slower. Check-in with a pet is not a normal check-in β documents are examined, the crate is inspected, and it is done at a desk rather than a kiosk. Arrive earlier than the standard three hours, not later.
How the three departure queues work β
Common Questions
Yes, subject to quarantine registration with Vietnam’s Department of Animal Health, a microchip, current rabies vaccination, and an export health certificate endorsed by the veterinary authority of the country you are leaving. There is a limit on how many animals may enter as household pets without a separate import permit β confirm the current figure with DAH rather than relying on secondary sources.
Animals are subject to quarantine inspection on arrival. An animal presented with complete, matching documentation is normally examined and released rather than detained. Detention is generally the consequence of missing paperwork or a microchip that does not match the vaccination record, rather than a routine holding period.
Yes, and this is the detail that most often invalidates otherwise complete paperwork. The chip must be implanted first so that its number appears on the vaccination certificate. A vaccination recorded before the animal was chipped cannot be tied to that animal, and the certificate will not be accepted.
Months rather than weeks if you are flying to a rabies-free destination such as Australia, New Zealand, the UK or Japan, because required blood tests carry waiting periods that cannot be shortened. Several weeks at minimum for more permissive destinations. The Vietnamese export certificate itself is issued close to departure and has a short validity, so it is the last step rather than the first.
That is entirely the airline’s decision, not a Vietnamese regulation. Policies vary widely on cabin carriage, crate specification, breed restrictions and temperature limits, and many carriers refuse snub-nosed breeds altogether. Confirm with the airline in writing before booking the flight.
Because Vietnam’s animal quarantine rules have been amended several times between 2018 and 2026, with the quarantine list updated again from January 2026 and older certificate forms phased out during 2026. Widely republished figures for vaccination windows and certificate validity could not be verified against the current consolidated text, and a wrong number at a border costs an animal its trip. The Department of Animal Health is the authority to confirm with.
Vietnam’s terrestrial animal quarantine framework sits in Circular 25/2016/TT-BNNPTNT as amended by Circulars 35/2018, 09/2022, 04/2024 and 28/2025/TT-BNNMT, with the quarantine list updated from 1 January 2026. Because that framework has changed repeatedly, specific vaccination intervals, certificate validity periods and animal-number limits are deliberately not stated here β confirm them with Vietnam’s Department of Animal Health, your airline, and the import authority of your destination before travelling.
