Pet Travel: India to Portugal in Cabin

My name is Kshitij Verma. Last year, my wife and I traveled from India to Portugal with my dog(Hobbs). Hobbs is a brown-colored male Lhasa Apso dog. Initially, I thought pet travel was going to be very stressful. So I contacted several pet relocation companies, but they charge very high amounts of money for nothing(only guidance). Then I did some research and started collecting information for my pet travel. Finally, we successfully landed in Portugal and completed all import checks in Portugal.

In this blog, I will explain everything that you should know before traveling and what I did for Hobbs to travel.
I am sure that by reading this blog till the end, you can travel independently with your pet on your own.

Pet Age and Weight

To travel with a pet in a cabin, your pet’s age must be at least 12 weeks or more. The weight of the pet must be 8 kg, including the travel bag weight. Hobbs was 2 years old, and his weight was 7.5 kg when I was traveling with him.

Pet Microchip

You can go to your nearby veterinarian clinic for microchipping. They will charge you around ₹1000-1500 depending on your area.
Following points you need to consider:

• The microchip must be 15-digit ISO Standard 11784/11785 compliant

• The microchip must be done before vaccination (preferably 30 days before)

• Never forget to take a microchip certificate issued by the veterinarian

Vaccination Card/Pet Passport

For Hobbs, my local veterinarian issued a vaccination card to track all vaccinations(eg: Nobivac RL, Nobivac Puppy DP, Nobivac DHPPi) with date and stamp. In the card, the anti-rabies vaccine must be mentioned and the date should be after your pet is microchipped.

Rabies Titration test/Rabies Antibody Test

To travel in the EU region, you should have a negative Rabies Antibody Test report. As per guidelines, after 30 days of anti-rabies vaccination, my local veterinarian helped me to do an anti-rabies antibody titration test. He charged me approx ₹17000 to deliver a sample from Lucknow to the UK for titration test. You can also consult your local vet, they will charge you from ₹15000-25000 depending on your area. For me, it took approximately 25 days to get an anti-rabies titration certificate.

Following points you need to consider:

• You can fly after 90 days from the date of blood sampling for the rabies antibody titration test.

• The titer test result should be above 0.5IU/ml.

• Must have an EU-authorised laboratory for serology. You can verify this by filling out the form for blood titration. I did an anti-rabies test from the Animal and Plan Health Agency(APHA), UK.

Book Flight Ticket

After getting the negative result of the rabies titration test, I chose the Lufthansa flight to travel with my pet because they provide very good space for a travel bag to carry my pet in the cabin.

Following points you need to consider:

• Book a flight that will land you in Portugal in the daytime (In Lisbon airport, Traveler’s Entry Point closes at 00:00 and reopens at 06:00)

• First, talk to the customer agent via call or chat and discuss the travel date, then they will help you which flight number you can choose that allows pets in the cabin.

• Ideally, I would prefer to book from the Lufthansa website. Once the flight is booked, you can chat/call to agent and add a pet to your ticket. After confirmation, you will get another ticket with the pet confirmed in your mail.

• The total weight of the travel bag including your pet, must not exceed 8 kg.

• The travel bag’s maximum size is 118 cm ~55 x 40 x 23 cm (Length x Breath x Height).

• I purchased a travel bag from Amazon, you can buy a similar bag online or at a nearby pet store.

Health Certificate

To enter Portugal, a pet health certificate must be EU Compliant (Regulation (EU) No 576/2013). 5 days before travel, I went to a local vet and he signed and stamped the health certificate with vaccination details. You can download the health certificate format from here. In this document, page number 6 must be filled signed, and stamped by a local veterinarian.

Official health certificate from AQCS

ANIMAL QUARANTINE & CERTIFICATION SERVICES(AQCS) is a government agency that ensures all import/export movement from and to India. Now it’s time to get an export/health certificate from AQCS 10 days before travel, I sent a mail to the AQCS Delhi office(aqcsnr-dadf@nic.in) and requested to get an appointment 1 day before travel. On the same day, at 10 am, I reached with my dog and I submitted all the documents. Within 20 minutes, they called me with my dog for a physical examination by govt. veterinarian. At 1 pm, I got an official health certificate issued by the AQCS government of India.

Following documents you should send by mail or carry copies of each AQCS Appointment:

• Health Certificate signed and stamped by Local Vet (EU Compliant)

• Microchip Certificate

• Vaccination card

• Passport copy of the owner

• Air ticket

• Blood titre test

• 02 4×6 inches Post Card size photo (Light facing) of Pet.

Mail to Lisbon Airport

Once I received the Official health certificate from AQCS then I sent a mail to Lisbon airport(pcflisboaa@dgav.pt) to inform them that I was traveling with my pet in the cabin and attached the below documents:

• A scanned copy of the Official health certificate from AQCS

• Flight Ticket

• Filled and signed this form(only a few details you have to fill in)

Custom Clearance at Lisbon Airport

Lastly, I reached Lisbon airport at 11 am on 18th February 2023 and I went to the DGav(Directorate General for Food and Veterinary Affairs) office(next to belt number 9). Where I met the veterinarian and showed all the documents. Luckily, everything was okay and she charged me 40 euros and gave me a receipt of the Veterinarian examination for customs clearance. Then I booked an Uber pet and safely arrived at my hotel.

References

• Non-commercial movement from non-EU countries
• Animals as additional carry-on baggage
• Animal Quarantine and Certification Service

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