I know a lot of people with pets have been wondering what the requirements are if they want to travel abroad with their pets. So to clarify things, I decided to head to the International Veterinary Hospital (IVH) and meet with their import/export department, who’ve also been getting tons of questions about this lately.
If you’re planning to travel with your pet by plane or drive across the border into Saudi Arabia, you’re going to need an export permit. That was a bit of a surprise to me since I assumed crossing into Saudi with my dog would be a casual thing since it’s a GCC country to GCC country trip, but it isn’t. According to IVH, before you leave Kuwait with your pet you need to apply for an export permit. The process takes around 10 days to get done and you can do it yourself or pay someone like IVH to handle it for you. I think the most important requirement you should check for right now is that your pet’s rabies shot is valid. If it’s not valid, you’ll need to wait 30 days after getting a new shot before your pet can travel. So if you’re thinking of traveling anytime soon, get this sorted beforehand.
Once the exit permit is issued for your pet, it’s valid for 2 weeks.
Another thing to consider is that you can only travel with a maximum of two pets. If you have more than two, you’ll need someone else traveling with you to register the additional pets under their name.
At the moment, direct flights out of Kuwait are not available, but you can drive to Saudi Arabia. If you’re considering driving, be aware that Saudi Arabia requires a pet import permit to enter. They have their own set of requirements, all listed on their NAAMA portal, and the good news is you can apply online.
Once the Saudi pet import permit is issued, it’s valid for 4 weeks.
Finally, when you’re ready to return to Kuwait, you’ll need to obtain an import permit. Unlike Saudi, this can’t be done online and needs to be done in person here in Kuwait.
This isn’t a complete list of everything you’ll need, but it should give you a rough idea of what to expect when traveling with your pet dog or cat.
3 replies on “Thinking of Traveling with Your Dog or Cat?”
At Kuwait Agriculture Affairs and Fish Resources,Farwaniya you can apply for import and export paper at the same time (in person) .
Import paper is valid for 4 weeks from the date of issue . If you can later extend the import paper ,but someone in Kuwait must go there in person with the original expired Import paper and have it renewed.
Best advice to add to this, is apply for the re-import permit and export permit now, it will make your life so much easier when coming back. The authority will ask to see your pet at the farwaniya office and they scan the microchip number, and this import permit can normally be done for up to 3 months. I’ve even extended them in the past when coming back after the date by sending my driver to get a new one, but this only works if you made one in the first place. If you don’t do the import permit now it will be a huge headache and risk for your pet when coming back, as the customs / border agents will take your pet away upon re-entry and send it to the government vet. You are not allowed to be with your pet in this process. Just google “justice for winston kuwait cat” if you want to see the dangers to that process.
I bet it makes it very challenging for people with wild cats right now wanting to exit Kuwait for a little bit. Expectedly so, there will be more exacting requirements for this cohort of animals as also for falcons and parakeet.