Bringing a Dog or Cat Into Vietnam: Documents, Fees and the Border Check (2026)

Bringing up to 2 pet dogs or cats into Vietnam by air needs an export quarantine certificate and a direct border declaration. The agency checks the certificate, exams the animal, and issues the import certificate in 1 working day, or 5 if a sample is tested. The certificate fee is 40,000 VND, charged at 50% until 31 December 2026.

Vietnam’s current rule for a pet arriving with you personally is short: for up to 2 dogs or cats kept as pets, for family life, or travelling with you on holiday, business or in transit — and not on the list of animals banned from export or import — “the owner declares import quarantine directly at the Border Animal Quarantine Agency”. That’s Circular 01/2026/TT-BNNMT, in force since 1 January 2026, which replaced the older Circular 25/2016/TT-BNNPTNT. Everything below builds out from that one line: what to arrange before you fly, what changes if you’re bringing more than 2 animals, what happens at the border checkpoint, and what it costs.

The certificate you need before you fly

Vietnamese law requires an imported animal to be healthy, to come from an area or facility recognised as free of disease — or without a dangerous disease — under World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) and Vietnamese rules, and to travel with a quarantine certificate issued by the competent authority of the exporting country that meets Vietnam’s veterinary hygiene requirements. That certificate is the document the border agency checks first when you land.

Declaring the quarantine: 2 pets or fewer, versus more

If you’re bringing in no more than 2 dogs or cats, kept as pets, for family life, or while you’re travelling, on business, or in transit, and they’re not on the list of animals banned from export or import, you simply declare the import quarantine directly at the border animal quarantine agency. That provision lists no filing before you travel: the owner declares directly at the border agency.

Bringing in more than 2 animals, or animals that don’t fit that ordinary-purpose description, puts you on a different track: the circular routes that case through the same registration process used for other animal imports. An organisation or individual importing an animal on the quarantine list registers that quarantine with the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment. Under the circular’s registration article, that means sending one set of registration documents — an application on form 19, plus any licence required if the animal is under another authority’s special management — to the Department of Livestock Production and Animal Health before you import, by the national single-window portal, the public-service portal, public postal service, email, fax, or in person. Within 4 working days of receiving a complete, valid file, the Department sends the owner written consent and quarantine instructions.

What happens at the border checkpoint

Whichever path you’re on, the border animal quarantine agency does the same checks: it checks the exporting country’s quarantine certificate, carries out a clinical examination of the animal, vaccinates it against dangerous infectious diseases if it hasn’t already been vaccinated, and takes a test sample if the animal is suspected of an infectious disease.

If no test sample is needed, the agency issues the import quarantine certificate (form 15a) within 1 working day of the quarantine being carried out, provided the file is complete and valid and the animal is healthy and vaccinated as required. If a sample is taken, that window extends to 5 working days, with the added condition that the test result comes back negative for the pathogen. The Department of Livestock Production and Animal Health lists a regional office, Chi Cục Thú Y Vùng IV, at an address in Hải Châu, Đà Nẵng (shown above); I found no official page naming a quarantine desk inside Da Nang International Airport.

The fee for importing a pet dog or cat

Under Circular 101/2020/TT-BTC, in force since 11 January 2021, the fee for issuing an animal or animal-product quarantine certificate is 40,000 VND per certificate. From 1 July 2025 through 31 December 2026, that fee is temporarily cut to 50% of the standard rate under Circular 64/2025/TT-BTC. The same 101/2020 fee schedule also lists a clinical-examination fee of 100,000 VND per vehicle or specialised vehicle for dogs, cats and a list of other animals.

The fine for skipping the declaration

Not registering or declaring quarantine when importing, temporarily importing for re-export, temporarily exporting for re-import, transferring between border checkpoints, or transiting Vietnamese territory with an animal subject to quarantine is fined 4,000,000 to 5,000,000 VND. That penalty comes from Decree 204/2026/NĐ-CP, in effect from 1 August 2026, which replaces the previous veterinary-penalty decree.

Airline rules for flying with your pet

Separately from the quarantine rules above, your airline sets its own conditions for carrying the animal on the flight. Vietnam Airlines, for one, allows dogs and cats aged 10 weeks or older in the cabin, provided the combined weight of the pet and kennel doesn’t exceed 6kg and the kennel’s three dimensions don’t exceed 35cm x 30cm x 20cm. Dogs, cats 10 weeks or older, and ornamental birds can also travel as checked baggage, as long as the pet and cage together don’t exceed 32kg. These are the airline’s own carriage conditions, not a government quarantine requirement, so check directly with your carrier if you’re not flying Vietnam Airlines.

Marrying a Vietnamese citizen as well? See registering a marriage in Da Nang. For more on family logistics in Da Nang, browse the family guides hub.

Not confirmed: Vietnamese quarantine law doesn't set a specific day-count for rabies vaccination timing before travel. It's also unclear whether isolation applies when a traveller brings in up to 2 pets. The traveller provisions don't cross-refer to the circular's separate isolation procedure for bulk imports. Whether bringing in more pets counts as needing a formal "import permit" isn't confirmed either. The circular routes that case through the standard registration dossier, and that dossier's own licence requirement applies only to animals under another authority's special management, not ordinary pets. Which of the two published fees — the certificate fee or the per-vehicle clinical-exam fee — actually gets billed to one hand-carried pet at the airport isn't specified anywhere. No circular mentions a microchip requirement for an imported pet, nor does any official page name a quarantine desk specifically inside Da Nang International Airport's terminal.

General information checked against the sources listed above, not legal advice for your situation. Rules and office practice change; confirm with the immigration office or a licensed adviser before you act. See how guides are checked.

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