Moving pets from Dubai to Hong Kong

This month has been a busy one! We wanted to share with you one of the most common expat journeys, from Dubai to Hong Kong. How do you take a dog or cat to Hong Kong from Dubai? How easy is it and what are the things to know about moving to Hong Kong with pets?

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Quarantine

Hong Kong has quarantine for animals travelling from the UAE or Saudi Arabia. The waiting list for quarantine is currently (April 2024) 18 months for dogs and 12 months for cats. For this reason we relocated this client's pets to the UK first for a 6 months stay, before sending them on to Hong Kong. While this isn't an option for everyone it's the quickest way to currently get pets into Hong Kong unless you have prepared well in advance.

Import Permit

In order to relocate a cat or dog to Hong Kong you must secure an import permit in advance; the permit is called a "Special Permit" and while the application can be emailed to the authorities it's highly advisable to engage with a pet relocation specialist in Hong Kong to facilitate this.

Microchip

One thing that surprises many expats moving to Hong Kong with pets is that their cat or dog will be re-chipped on entry with an AVID Standard microchip (recognisable from the 9 digit format XXXXXXXXX), unless of course they already have one in place. AVID standard chips are a tiny RFID chips and are not ISO compliant so it's important that when you leave Hong Kong you check the rules of your destination.

Vaccinations

Another thing to know when moving pets to Hong Kong is that they will re-vaccinate your dog or cat against rabies when you arrive. This is regardless of vaccination history or where your pet has travelled from.

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