Guide to pet relocation Dubai costs and flying with your pets

Are you and your furry friend planning a move to or from Dubai?

Relocating pets can be complex, but as someone who’s done this journey personally with my cats, hopefully I can help make your pet’s journey as stress-free as possible.

I’ll help you with choosing the right travel carrier, what paperwork you need, what reliable vets in Dubai I recommend plus all the nitty gritty of the actual process.

Transporting my cats from Dubai to Jeddah wasn’t an easy feat and navigating the process proved to be unclear and confusing! Adding to the confusion, airline professionals were unsure of the process!

I also chat with animal rescuers regularly to make sure this article is up to date, so you don’t have to go through what I went through! Be aware though, rules can change at any time so make sure to double check with government websites and officials.

Which airlines allow you to take pets in the cabin?

Within the Gulf there is currently only two airlines allowing cats and dogs inside the cabin. That is Saudia Airlines and Etihad Airways.

Outside ot the Gulf the following airlines allow pets:

Extra info – Some countries, like the UK for example, do not allow any live animals to be imported via the cabin. All animals must go in the hold regardless.

Weight allowances for pets in the cabin

Every airline has different weights for pets inside the cabin and different rules, so you’ll need to check who you fly with for their individual rules.

Saudia Airlines	Etihad Airways
5 kg total weight	8 kg total weight
Dogs aren’t allowed in cabin (except support dogs)	Over 16 weeks old

Saudi Airlines allow a small pet up to 5kg, which includes the weight of your carrier. Cats and small birds are allowed in cabin while dogs are only allowed in the cabin if they are a support animal.

Your pet will need to be 3-4kg for Saudia as most carriers weigh between 1 to 1.5kg. Only one pet is allowed per passenger. So if you have more than one you will need either a friend or a flight buddy.

For Etihad they are more generous with an allowance of 8 kg including the carrier. They allow both cats and dogs over 16 weeks old.

My experience with the weight allowance

Both my cats weigh just over 3kg and with their soft side carriers, they both weighed just over 5kg. It was okay to be up to 5.9kg with Saudia Airlines.

In terms of pet comfort, the carriers allowed them a little bit of room to move around.

This is similar to the pet carrier that I used, I went for a more sturdy model with zips and padding. Along with a decent size for them to be able to turn around.

Both cats were weighed by Saudia at the check-in for our flight. After interviewing many people, there is mixed experiences with some having their pets weighed and some not.

Paperwork needed for exporting or importing your pet

These are in time order, since some requirements need:

Requirement	Timeline
Pet vaccines	Minimum 6 weeks in advance of flying*
Pet passport	Minimum 6 weeks in advance of flying*
Pet microchip	Minimum 6 weeks in advance of flying*
Government ID	–
Passport	–
Export permit	Up to 30 days before
Import permit	Up to 30 days before
Export Health Certificate	1 week before
Fit to Fly certificate	1 week before
Airline Pet Booking Form	Minimum 72 hours before

In countries with a high rabies risk, they may also require a rabies testing certificate which tests for the antibody titre levels to confirm immunity from the rabies vaccine.

Pet Vaccines

This is the very first thing you’ll need to do in the process of exporting your pets and that is to make sure the vaccines are up to date with proof in their pet passports.

Depending on the country you are importing the pets from, the UAE requirements change.

The standard vaccines required for cats are:

• Rabies (1st dose should not before 12 weeks of age)
• Feline Pan Leukcopenia
• Feline Rhinotracheitis
• Feline Calicivirus

The standard vaccines required for dogs are:

• Rabies (1st dose should not before 12 weeks of age)
• Canine Distemper Virus (CDV)
• Canine Parvo Virus
• Infectious Canine Hepatitis
• Leptospirosi (Can be lab test if vaccine isn’t available)

The UAE also requires both cats and dogs to have received de-worming tablets 14 days or more before travelling, with proof in the pet passport.

You can find more details of specific UAE import requirements here.

Pet Passport

The pet passport will state the history of the pets vaccines and basic details about the pet, it will also have the pet microchip number or also called Pet Indentifier Number (PIN).

Pet Microchip

The pet must be microchipped in order to be imported to Dubai and the UAE, this must be a compliant microchip with the ISO standard 11784 or 11785. This will be a 15 digit number.

It is a legal requitement that all pets in Dubai must be microchipped and registered to their owner.

Government ID

To import a pet into the UAE, you must have a valid Emirates ID. So it isn’t possible to import a pet until your visa process has completed.

For exporting from Dubai to other Gulf countries, you will need someone with a valid government ID of that country in order for them to be imported. It cannot be done as a tourist.

Passport

Of course you will need to make sure your passport is valid in order to travel and you will need this document to fill out the required forms unless the pets are flying via the cargo on a seperate plane to you.

Export Permit

This is a document is from the country of origin, showing permission for exporting the animals.

The process and what is needed for its approval will depend on your exporting and importing country. Also different countries can have very different timelines for paperwork completion.

You’ll need to check with the respective countries, typically time frames are given on the government websites including how long the paperwork is valid for.

Import Permit

The document from the country you intend to fly your pets to, showing permission for importing the animals.

Again you will need to check requirements, time frames and paperwork validity period via government websites based on where you plan to import your pets.

UAE Pet Import Limit

The UAE has a limit of two pets per person to be imported into the UAE, this can be 2 cats or 2 dogs or 1 of each. This is an annual allowance, so if you have more pets, you will need to wait one year.

*This excludes pets returning to UAE.

My experience with the paperwork

I was exporting my two cats from Dubai to Jeddah in Saudi Arabia.

Saudi requirements:

• Saudi required vaccinations to given less than six months ago but a minimum of 1 month ago
• A compliant microchip and pet passport with vaccination records
• Citizen ID or Iqama
• Import permit

Both Saudi and UAE’s permits were valid for 30 days from the date of issue.

The Saudi permit took one working day to issue and one working day to fix.

The UAE it was possible to do it in one working day if you submit it early in the morning and then take your pets straight to Dubai Cargo village for the vet inspection.

However, I would recommend to do this process 1 to 2 weeks before flying just in case of any issues.

For exporting from UAE, I needed the following:

• Export permit from UAE called an “Issuance Veterinary Health Certificate”
• Fit to fly certificate (optional)

Completing the Dubai export paperwork

The “Issuance Veterinary Health Certificate for Exporting Live Animals” cost 400 AED and was applied for online and the process was relatively simple. However now you have to pay 250 AED per cat and 500 AED per dog for export.

After applying online, the website quickly changed from pending to “Upon vet inspection.”

It wasn’t clear what I needed to do next but I spoke to people who had done the process before who told me I need to take my cats to Dubai Cargo Village.

The vets at Dubai Cargo Village are open 24/7 but I would recommend to take them in the day. Here they are inspected by the on-site vet and the vet kindly corrected any errors I had on my forms.

The website says it can take up to a week but my paperwork was approved the first day working day.

They then issue the certificate the same day ready for travel at Dubai cargo village and is valid for 30 days from the issue date.

When filling out the forms both for the export and import permits, they often used different names either “Animal identification” or “Health Certificate number” but it was actually the pet microchip number that they wanted.

Completing the import paperwork for Saudi

Saudi was even more of a mystery than the Dubai paperwork. We kind of felt like we were guessing what to put for most of it.

Our initial application was rejected and said why, so we created a new one and submitted it again. The second one was accepted and took one working day to be approved.

Again like the UAE export permit, we were told it was valid for one month from the issue date but we never saw the final certificate so we are not 100% sure. I advise for Saudi Arabia to do it a few working days to one week before just in case.

Other notes – Saudi Arabia is easier to import cats than dogs. Once you have the approval, you fly with the animals and then present your paperwork to the staff at customs in the airport.

We just printed our approval page and permit number, we weren’t given an official document like the UAE.

We flew into Jeddah airport and this was their process. However at Riyadh I have been told there is an onsite veterinarian who will check your paperwork number, inspect the paperwork from your export country and inspect your pets. For Jeddah, we just showed it to the customs staff as there was no on-site veterinarian.

My experience flying with pets in the airport & security

This was the most difficult and frustrating part.

We were instructed by security to take our cats out of the carriers, hand-carry them through the metal detectors (yes I was hugging my cats in the middle of an airport) and told to put the carriers through the scanner.

This was not only difficult with two very scared cats in a busy, noisy and overcrowded environment which was traumatic for them but no one from Dubai Airport security tried to help us despite several people sitting around chatting. Even when I requested for help, not one person got up to help us.

We later found out it is possible to do a manual check but no one within the airport helped us go to the area which would have allowed us to do a manual check instead.

I had to watch in horror as my husband with one hand held a wiggling around cat while trying to put the carrier in the scanner with zero help from anyone in security. Hugging our other cat and praying the other didn’t escape.

Also on the other side, while still holding the cats, not one security person tried to help us put the cats back in the carrier. Having someone just to lift the bag and help put it in the right position so I could hold the cat with two hands would have been a massive help.

Also I’ve never seen my cats so happy to go into their carrier than they were after security.

After speaking with others who’ve flown out of DXB with pets, I’ve had mixed responses in terms of the procedure. Some were made to do the same as us and others were taken to a private area where they checked the cats manually (we flew from Terminal 1 and were told this is available from Terminal 1).

It seems Saudia should have provided someone to help us with the process through airport security and take us to the right place. However, I feel the staff at Dubai airport or security should have guided us also in this situation.

It was very disappointing as a customer to paying over 1000 AED to Saudia and them provide zero assistance to make sure we got to the right security area.

My experience flying with pets in the cabin

The journey itself was fine and both cats got settled after the airport trauma. I had given them natural calming supplements before we reached the airport.

I petted them a little during the flight to make sure they were relaxed and both seemed happy to have the familiar smell of their owner.

They were both more than content to stay in their carriers and away from all the strange people. In fact, after security, they pretty much put themselves back in their carriers!

In terms of nature’s call, both held their bladders for the entire journey. No accidents or messes to clear up.

By the time we left home and to the time they arrived in their new home was around 12 hours. They were in the carriers for this length od time due to flight delays.

FAQs

What type of pet carrier should I buy?

It will depend on whether you plan to fly your pets in the cabin or cargo. For in the cabin, you’ll need a lightweight soft-sided pet carrier as most airlines require that you place your pet under the seat in front of you and this is only possible with a soft-sided carrier.

If you want a really well designed and stylish carrier, this one from Wild One is a lightweight and breathable pet carrier with fold out bed is really convenient but on the pricier side.

If you’re wanting to spend less, this option from Amazon is great quality with padding and well designed, plus it comes in 5 different colours. I can’t be the only one who likes everything to match?

If you are wanting to send your pets in the cargo, then you’ll need an IATA approved hard plastic carrier and will need to check the dimensions requested by the airline. As each can have their own requirements.

This is one I found with the correct dimensions for my cat if I’d sent them via cargo with Saudia:
Travel IATA Approved Carrier in 60cm / 24in size

What was the cost for the permits in UAE and Saudi?

The import cost for foreigners is quite high. It is around 1500 SAR for the import permit. This price was given to us by the import company.

There is a different price for Saudi nationals. Again we were told you can put up to 5 pets on one form.

Do you need any other paperwork when flying your pets?

This applies to anyone wishing to fly their pets in an aircraft. Typically you’ll need a fit to fly certificate provided from a vet.

For Dubai to Saudi – I went to Dubai Municipality vets for my “Fit to fly” certificate. This stated that my pets were in good health and able to fly. This is different from the health certificate for export. This certificate was 30 AED per pet from Dubai Municipality. You can also get it issued from a private vet however the cost was just over 100 AED per pet from a private clinic (which is what I was quoted) but could be more (another did quote me higher).

I was told this document wasn’t necessary for Saudia but I decided to get it anyways. Saudia actually checked all the paperwork and asked for these specific documents so it was definitely worth paying the 60 AED.

Should I sedate my pets or are the pets sedated?

For in the cabin, no they are not sedated and the global veterinary association does not recommend to sedate pets for the journey. You can buy many natural pet calming products which will help with the journey instead.

For cargo, cats are not sedated but I’ve read online that dogs may be given a mild sedative by the airline (this is based on online information so I cannot vouch for its accuracy) however as the owner there is nothing for you to do.

Can I take a cabin bag with my pets?

The answer is yes! You can take a bag or cabin luggage that will go in the overhead locker. Your pets will be by your feet typically however this can depend on the aircraft.

We took just one standard cabin bag between the two of us, plus my handbag.

What is the process for booking my pet on the flight?

Every airline is different so you will have to check with the airline. For Saudia, we simply turned up at the airport with our cats. They checked our ID, weighed our luggage, presented the pet paperwork, weighed our pets before going to another desk to pay for the cats to be added in the cabin. We then returned back to the check-in desk to finalise our check-in.

They didn’t tell me the total amount at the airport but instead took a small payment of 100 AED and then charged me the full amount later which was another 940 AED. So in total, we paid 520 AED per pet for them to go into the cabin which was 1040 AED for the two cats.

What should I do pre-flight?

I fed the cats normally and gave them access to water right up until the very morning just before we left for the airport. Pet calming products are also great to give them before the flight.

I used Nutri-vet Pet-Ease Paw-Gel, one cat loves the taste but the other isn’t keen on fish. As it only comes in a Salmon flavour from what I could find. For the one who doesn’t like it, I put it on her nose to cause her to lick it off. Another one highly recommended to me for cats was Pet Naturals Cats Calming Treats.

The same brand also has the same treats for dogs or you can choose to use a calming collar for dogs, however I wouldn’t recommend the collar for cargo travel in case the collar gets stuck on something inside the carrier. This could cause the dog to become alarmed or even worse, hurt themselves.

Landing in Saudi and the cats settling in post-flight

It took us a little while longer to go through customs as they inspected the paperwork but other than that, the whole process was pretty normal. We landed in Jeddah and they seemed quite relaxed. I can’t say the process would be like this for everyone. Riyadh seems to have a different process according to the pet transport companies I spoke to.

Once at home, my one cat was off her food in the evening and a little stressed out. She did vomit after (TMI?) but by the second day she was back to her usual self. My other cat was fine but seemed to be peeing more frequently after the flight. I bought an array of wet foods and also bought some cat yoghurts in order to get their fluid intake up after the flight as I know the cats were probably dehydrated. Cats don’t really feel thirsty like we do so it’s good to try and give them more wet food in order to increase their water intake after the journey. Along with making sure they have access to fresh clean water.

Do I recommend taking pets in the cabin?

Although as pet owners we like having our pets with us, I must admit I think cargo might have been easier on them due to being fewer people and not having the ordeal of security. Though of course being alone for them in a strange environment is also scary. So it’s difficult to know which is better for the happiness of your pets.

One downside of cargo can be that getting them the other side is more complicated and it definitely helps to know someone on the other side who can help with clearance. This is where pet relocation companies can be so useful and do their best to make sure there aren’t any delays.

We did at first consider to use a pet relocation company. I even got a few quotes but most companies we spoke to didn’t have a contact at Jeddah airport only Riyadh. One company suggested to fly the cats to Riyadh and then drive them to Makkah. They quoted a huge sum for this. So it is definitely a lot cheaper if you choose to do it yourself than most relocation services.

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Heading to Saudi? Make sure to get your visa first:
Everything you need to know about the Saudi Tourist visa

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Conclusion

So there you have it. All the information I learnt from flying my pets in the airline cabin. Only once I got to the car with my cats did I feel like I could relax. I’ve honestly never been so relieved to get through a journey. The whole process felt a little haphazard. I really wasn’t sure whether everything was okay with the paperwork, particularly the Saudi side. The journey itself is super stressful, nevermind the fact you’re moving all your stuff to another country. So I truly hope this article at least helps take away some of the stress for you.

If you have the extra money then definitely having a pet relocation company to take all that stress away from you is a huge benefit! Moving your entire life is stressful enough! However, I would like to say. Once you manage to do it for the first time. It’s actually a whole lot easier to do it again. As they say, the first time is always the hardest! So I honestly wouldn’t mind trying to fly with the cats again. I hope the above information helps you and I’ve tried to include as much information as possible. If you think there’s anything I’ve missed off, please leave a comment below and add the extra information!

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