Canada sets its own requirements for bringing in dogs and cats. From any departure country your pet needs rabies vaccination and veterinary health certificate.
Order matters more than the list: the microchip goes in before the rabies vaccination, or the vaccination does not count. 34 carriers in our directory fly direct to Canada, and their pet conditions differ.
Free, no signup: timings, documents and airlines for your pet
34 airlines in our directory fly direct to and from Canada. Their conditions differ — the cabin weight limit, whether they carry pets in the hold, the fee and breed restrictions — so it is worth choosing the carrier before buying the ticket.
| Airline | Cabin | Hold | Cabin fee | Direct flights |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Air Canada no snub-nosed breeds in the hold |
✓ | ✓ up to 45 kg | 50 CAD | from 125 cities in 51 countries |
| WestJet no snub-nosed breeds in the hold |
✓ up to 16 kg | ✓ | 59 CAD per flight |
from 69 cities in 23 countries |
| Air Transat A.T. banned breeds: 17 |
✓ up to 8 kg | ✓ up to 45 kg on 43 of 44 routes |
50 USD per flight |
from 44 cities in 24 countries |
| Porter Airlines (Canada) Limited no snub-nosed breeds in the hold |
✓ | no pets | 50 CAD per flight |
from 16 cities in 4 countries |
| United Airlines | ✓ | no pets | 150 USD per flight |
from 15 cities in 4 countries |
| American Airlines no snub-nosed breeds in the hold |
✓ up to 9 kg | no pets | 150 USD per flight |
from 10 cities in 1 country |
| Delta Air Lines | ✓ | no pets | 150 USD per flight |
from 9 cities in 2 countries |
| Japan Airlines banned breeds: 2 |
no pets | ✓ up to 32 kg | — | from 8 cities in 2 countries |
| Korean Air no snub-nosed breeds in the hold · banned breeds: 12 |
✓ up to 7 kg | ✓ up to 45 kg | — | from 5 cities in 2 countries |
| Caribbean Airlines | no pets | ✓ up to 32 kg | — | from 4 cities in 4 countries |
Showing the 10 carriers serving the most cities out of 34 with direct flights. Schedules: AeroDataBox, AirLabs, Travelpayouts; pet conditions come from our airline directory.
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.
These are the country's rules. Airlines refuse some breeds on their own — their limits are in the carrier table above.
There is no post-import quarantine in Canada — from any country in the world. The regulation states this in a separate line, and it is unusual: most countries with a comparable level of requirements do impose quarantine.
The full list of documents and procedures for entering Canada. Every item carries its official source and last-checked date, and is marked as always required or required only from some departure countries.
A current rabies vaccination — for a cat aged three months or over. Cats under three months are not restricted at all. The vaccination can be replaced by either of two things: six months of residence in a country Canada designates as rabies-free, or an antibody titre of ≥0.5 IU/ml taken no earlier than 30 days after the vaccination.
A rabies vaccination certificate issued by a licensed veterinarian in the country of export, in English or French. It must clearly identify the cat and show that the vaccination is current. Canada sets no 'not older than N days' window — what counts is the validity of the vaccination itself. Endorsement by a government veterinary service is not required.
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.
Steps marked “depends on origin” are not needed by everyone — see the table above or check your own route.
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.
| From | Rabies jab | Health certificate | Earliest departurepreparing from scratch | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | ✓ | ✓ | September 24, 2026 | Plan → |
| 🇫🇷 France | ✓ | ✓ | September 24, 2026 | Plan → |
| 🇹🇷 Turkey | ✓ | ✓ | September 24, 2026 | Plan → |
| 🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates | ✓ | ✓ | September 24, 2026 | Plan → |
| 🇨🇳 China | ✓ | ✓ | September 24, 2026 | Plan → |
| 🇺🇸 United States | ✓ | ✓ | September 24, 2026 | Plan → |
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.
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.
From any country: rabies vaccination, veterinary health certificate.
No, a titre test is not required for entry.
The country's rules list no breed bans. Individual airlines have their own restrictions — see the carrier table.
For example: Air Canada, WestJet, Air Transat A.T., Porter Airlines (Canada) Limited, United Airlines, American Airlines. The full list with conditions is in the table above.