Middle East
Pet relocation from the Philippines to United Arab Emirates
Dubai and Abu Dhabi routes for families and professionals, built around a MOCCAE import permit and a recently issued health certificate.
Pets entering the United Arab Emirates need an import permit from the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment, a microchip, a current rabies vaccination, a health certificate endorsed by the Philippine authority shortly before travel and, because the Philippines is not on MOCCAE's low-risk list, a rabies antibody test for both species, a rabies titer test. Plan for as fast as two months when the requirements are in order. With documents complete, pets are normally released on arrival rather than quarantined.
Requirements reviewed October 2026. Rules change — we confirm the current position for your route before anything is booked.
Typical lead time
as fast as two months
Import permit
Required from MOCCAE
Rabies titer test
Required (0.5 IU/ml or above)
Health certificate
Endorsed, issued close to travel
Our experience
Dubai relocations
What your pet needs
Requirements for United Arab Emirates
The steps below are the ones that decide your departure date. Everything else follows from them.
MOCCAE import permit
The federal permit is applied for before travel and is valid for 90 days from issue, so the veterinary work is timed around it. The pet also has to be at least 15 weeks old to enter.
Vaccination and microchip
The United Arab Emirates is sequence sensitive: the microchip has to be implanted before the rabies vaccination, and the veterinary work — not the permit application — is where the process starts. A current rabies vaccination recorded against that microchip is required, along with the full species schedule — distemper, hepatitis, parvovirus and leptospirosis for dogs; panleucopaenia, rhinotracheitis and calicivirus for cats.
Endorsed health certificate
The certificate is issued by a veterinarian and endorsed by the competent authority, then presented at the arrival airport.
Snub-nose breeds
Brachycephalic breeds face airline restrictions on this route and in the region summer heat. We select the airline and the season around your pet breed.
How the work is sequenced
Step by step
- 1
Veterinary work
The microchip is implanted first, then the core and rabies vaccinations, recorded so the microchip number, the vaccination dates and the certificate agree. The route is sequence sensitive, and this work is where the process starts — not the permit application.
- 2
Rabies titer test
The blood sample is drawn at least 21 days after the rabies vaccination and tested for a rabies antibody result of 0.5 IU/ml or above.
- 3
Flight arrangement
Roughly 21 days after the sampling we confirm the airline, the crate and the itinerary, and lodge the MOCCAE import permit so that it is valid across the travel window.
- 4
Clearance and booking
The arrival clearance and the booking are confirmed no earlier than five days before the flight, once the endorsed health certificate and the parasite treatment are in hand.
- 5
Flight and handover
The pet flies, is inspected at the entry centre, and is released against the electronic release request and the release fee.
Answers
United Arab Emirates questions we get asked
If your question is not here, message us — the answer depends on your pet, not on a template.
Does a pet need quarantine when arriving in Dubai from the Philippines?
There is no fixed quarantine for a compliant pet: the entry center checks the papers, inspects the animal and issues an electronic release. A pet that fails the rules can be refused entry at the owner's expense or confiscated, which is why the documents are checked long before the flight.
Can French Bulldogs fly to Dubai?
Brachycephalic breeds are restricted by many airlines and by summer temperature embargoes in the Gulf. We route them through airlines that accept the breed and through cooler months, and we tell you honestly if a date is not workable.
Ready to start?
Send us your pet's origin, destination and travel date. A team of specialists reviews it and replies with the documents, a relocation plan and an itemized quote.