🇧🇹Taking a dog or cat to Bhutan: entry rules and flights
✓ Rules checked: September 16, 2026Official sources only
Preparing from scratch takes about 6 months, wherever you fly from.
Bhutan sets its own requirements for bringing in dogs and cats. From any departure country your pet needs microchip, rabies vaccination, rabies antibody titre test, additional vaccination, veterinary health certificate and import permit. The rules are the same for dogs and cats.
The titre test sets the pace: blood is drawn no earlier than 30 days after the vaccination, and entry is allowed no earlier than 90 days after the draw. Quarantine on arrival is mandatory — 15 days; documents do not waive it. Order matters more than the list: the microchip goes in before the rabies vaccination, or the vaccination does not count.
Check your own route
Free, no signup: timings, documents and airlines for your pet
🐕 🐈 Same rules for dogs and cats
Restrictions
The limits people find out about last: how many animals one person may bring, the minimum age and which breeds are turned away at the border.
QuarantineAlways: 15 days
Banned breedsNo bans+
These are the country's rules. Airlines refuse some breeds on their own — their limits are in the carrier table above.
Pets per personNot stated
Minimum ageno limit; vaccination from 90 days
Points of entryNot stated
What you need to enter Bhutan
The full list of documents and procedures for entering Bhutan. Every item carries its official source and last-checked date, and is marked as always required or required only from some departure countries.
Identification
Microchip+
All pet dogs and cats entering Bhutan must be identified with a microchip in accordance with ISO Standard 11784 or Annex A to ISO Standard 11785.
«the animal must be correctly identified with electronic microchip or tag at the time of entry»
Source ↗Rules checked: September 16, 2026government
Vaccination
Rabies vaccination+
Vaccination with an inactivated rabies vaccine. Primary — no less than 6 months and no more than a year before entry. Booster — no more than a year before entry. That is an unusually long wait: most countries require 21–30 days after the primary vaccination.
«In the case of primary rabies vaccination, the animal has been vaccinated with inactivated rabies vaccine not less than 6 months and not more than 1 year prior to the date of entry.»
Source ↗Rules checked: September 16, 2026government
Additional vaccination+
Dogs only. Dogs must be vaccinated against distemper, hepatitis, parvovirus, adenovirus, parainfluenza, leptospirosis, canicola, and icterohaemorrhagiae.
«The vaccinations should be done at least one month before the date of entry except for rabies.»
Source ↗Rules checked: September 16, 2026government
Tests and treatments
Rabies antibody titre test+
A rabies antibody blood test — at least 0.5 IU/ml. The sample is taken no earlier than 24 months and no later than 3 months before entry.
«The tests must have been carried out not less than 3 months and not more than 24 months prior to the date of entry.»
Source ↗Rules checked: September 16, 2026government
Documents
Veterinary health certificate+
an export health certificate issued by a licensed veterinarian in the origination country.
«The animal is free from clinical signs or symptoms of infectious or contagious disease and fit to travel within 48hours.»
Source ↗Rules checked: September 15, 2026government
Import permit+
To bring your pet into Bhutan, you must apply for a pet import permit issued by the Bhutan Agriculture and Food Regulatory Authority (BAFRA). However ... an import permit is not required for pet dogs and cats entering Bhutan with their owne
«The application for import permit should reach the office of BAFRA at least 4 weeks before the scheduled date of entry of dogs and cats into Bhutan.»
Source ↗Rules checked: September 16, 2026government
The order of preparation
The order matters more than the list: a step done too early has to be repeated. The intervals come from the same rule fields the engine uses for the earliest departure date.
Microchip
before the rabies vaccination
Rabies vaccination
pet at least 90 days oldvalid after 180 days
Rabies antibody titre test
no earlier than 30 days after the vaccinationentry 90 days after the blood draw
Additional vaccination
Import permit
Veterinary health certificate
no earlier than 2 days before entry
Steps marked “depends on origin” are not needed by everyone — see the table above or check your own route.
Compared by departure country
The requirements are the same whichever country you fly from — this country draws no distinction between departure countries. Below is the same engine answer on six examples, counted from zero: no microchip and no vaccination yet, preparation starting today.
If the microchip and vaccination are already done, the wait is shorter: the clock runs from the vaccination date, not from today. Breed, weight and connections change the answer too — check your own route with the form above.
Arrival airports
The country's rules place no restriction on the arrival airport. Below are airports with direct flights; marked where we have documented the arrival procedure.
Not documented yet1
PBHParo
FAQ
What documents do I need to enter Bhutan?+
From any country: microchip, rabies vaccination, additional vaccination, rabies antibody titre test, veterinary health certificate, import permit.
Is a rabies titre test required for Bhutan?+
Yes, from any departure country. Entry is allowed no earlier than 90 days after the blood draw.
Which breeds are banned from entry?+
The country's rules list no breed bans. Individual airlines have their own restrictions — see the carrier table.
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