🇷🇺Taking a dog or cat to Russia: entry rules and flights

✓ Rules checked: August 18, 2026Official sources only

Preparing from scratch takes about 20 days, wherever you fly from.

Russia sets its own requirements for bringing in dogs and cats. From any departure country your pet needs rabies vaccination and veterinary health certificate. What is needed on top — additional vaccination and pet passport — depends on the country you fly from. The rules are the same for dogs and cats.

Pets may not enter through just any airport: there are 78 designated points. Order matters more than the list: the microchip goes in before the rabies vaccination, or the vaccination does not count. 42 carriers in our directory fly direct to Russia, and their pet conditions differ.

Check your own route

Free, no signup: timings, documents and airlines for your pet

🐕 🐈 Same rules for dogs and cats

Airlines with direct flights

42 airlines in our directory fly direct to and from Russia. 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
Aeroflot no snub-nosed breeds in the hold	✓ up to 8 kg	✓ up to 50 kg	3800 RUB per flight	from 34 cities in 18 countries
S7 Airlines	✓ up to 10 kg	✓ up to 50 kg	2500 RUB per flight	from 22 cities in 10 countries
Ural Airlines	✓ up to 8 kg	no pets	5000 RUB per flight	from 18 cities in 8 countries
Red Wings no snub-nosed breeds in the hold	✓ up to 8 kg	✓ up to 50 kg	—	from 17 cities in 10 countries
Rossiya Airlines	✓ up to 8 kg	✓ up to 50 kg	880 RUB per flight	from 16 cities in 7 countries
Azimuth Airlines no snub-nosed breeds in the cabin · banned breeds: 9	✓ up to 8 kg	✓ up to 50 kg	—	from 15 cities in 8 countries
Utair	✓ up to 10 kg	✓ up to 50 kg	3500 RUB per flight	from 14 cities in 8 countries
Nordwind Airlines	✓ up to 8 kg	✓	—	from 14 cities in 7 countries
Pobeda	✓ up to 15 kg	no pets	38 EUR per flight	from 13 cities in 6 countries
Uzbekistan Airways	✓ up to 8 kg	✓	—	from 11 cities in 1 country

Showing the 10 carriers serving the most cities out of 42 with direct flights. Schedules: AeroDataBox, AirLabs, Travelpayouts; pet conditions come from our airline directory.

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.

Quarantine Not stated in the rules

Banned breeds No bans +

These are the country's rules. Airlines refuse some breeds on their own — their limits are in the carrier table above.

Pets per person up to 2 +

A Rosselkhoznadzor import permit is needed only for non-standard imports — three or more animals, or when the pet travels unaccompanied (e.g. as separate cargo). For a personal pet carried by the owner (up to two animals) no permit is required — the vet passport/certificate is enough.

Minimum age no limit; vaccination from 12 weeks

Points of entry 78 airports +

A pet arriving from abroad may enter only through a border crossing point staffed by Rosselkhoznadzor veterinary control. Domestic flights are not affected.

What you need to enter Russia

The full list of documents and procedures for entering Russia. Every item carries its official source and last-checked date, and is marked as always required or required only from some departure countries.

Vaccination

Rabies vaccinationalways+

Valid rabies vaccination with a record in the veterinary passport. For issuing a veterinary certificate (if required) — no earlier than 20 days after vaccination.

«Если собаки и кошки вакцинированы против вируса бешенства в период действия предыдущей вакцинации, они могут вывозиться с территории Российской Федерации без ожидания завершения периода карантинирования (21 день), необходимого для формирования иммунного ответа к возбудителю вируса бешенства.»

Source ↗Rules checked: May 31, 2026government

Additional vaccinationdepends on origin+

Not required from every departure country — checking your own route gives the exact answer.

Dogs only. Dogs: vaccinations against canine distemper, infectious hepatitis, parvovirus and adenovirus, and leptospirosis. Done in advance, recorded in the vet passport.

«собакам – против чумы плотоядных, гепатита, парвовирусных инфекций и аденовирусных инфекций, лептоспироза (если не были обработаны с профилактической целью дегидрострептомицином или веществом, зарегистрированным в стране-экспортере, дающим эквивалентный эффект)»

Source ↗Rules checked: August 18, 2026government

Documents

Veterinary health certificatealways+

Veterinary passport with a rabies vaccination entry + clinical examination by a government veterinarian (SBBZH) no earlier than 14 days before travel. Form No. 1 is required only for unvaccinated puppies/kittens under 3 months of age.

«Перед поездкой, не ранее чем за 5 дней до отправки, необходимо оформить ветеринарное свидетельство формы №1 в районной Станции по борьбе с болезнями животных (СББЖ) по месту отправки животного в информационной системе «Меркурий»»

Source ↗Rules checked: May 31, 2026government

Pet passportdepends on origin+

Not required from every departure country — checking your own route gives the exact answer.

A pet passport is accepted INSTEAD of the veterinary certificate. This cancels no procedure: the microchip, the rabies vaccination and — where required — the antibody titre remain mandatory. The passport merely attests that they were done, and takes the place of the document otherwise issued for the trip. That is exactly why it is more convenient: a certificate lasts days, a passport lasts years, and it shows the vaccination never lapsed.

Source ↗Rules checked: May 31, 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.

Rabies vaccination

pet at least 12 weeks old
Additional vaccination depends on origin
Veterinary health certificate

no earlier than 14 days before entry
Pet passport depends on origin

Steps marked “depends on origin” are not needed by everyone — see the table above or check your own route.

Compared by departure country

Lapaport's engine on six examples, counted from zero: a dog of no particular breed with nothing done yet — no microchip, no vaccination, no tests — starting preparation today. Columns marked “always” are required from anywhere.

From	Rabies jabalways	Other vaccines	Health certificatealways	EU pet passport	Earliest departurepreparing from scratch
🇬🇧 United Kingdom	✓	✓	✓	✓	October 15, 2026	Plan →
🇫🇷 France	✓	✓	✓	✓	October 15, 2026	Plan →
🇹🇷 Turkey	✓	✓	✓	✓	October 15, 2026	Plan →
🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates	✓	✓	✓	✓	October 15, 2026	Plan →
🇨🇳 China	✓	✓	✓	✓	October 15, 2026	Plan →
🇺🇸 United States	✓	✓	✓	✓	October 15, 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.

Arrival airports

Pets may not enter through just any airport. Below: where direct flights go and whether animals are accepted.

On the list of entry points12

SVOMoscow VKOMoscow LEDSt Petersburg SVXYekaterinburg KZNKazan OVBNovosibirsk DMEMoscow MRVMineralnye Vody UFAUfa AERSochi KUFSamara KRRKrasnodar

Leaving Russia

How to take a pet out of Russia: what is arranged at home before the flight.

How to take a dog or cat out of Russia when the owner travels with the pet (non-commercial). Steps run in order; some depend on the destination country.

1. Microchip (ISO 11784/11785)+

An ISO 11784/11785 microchip is required for most destinations, including the EU. For the EU the chip date must not be later than the rabies vaccination date — i.e. chip BEFORE the first vaccine (or at the same time). If vaccinated before chipping, the vaccination must be repeated.

2. Rabies vaccination+

Required for every destination. Primary vaccination: a 21-day wait is mandatory before travel. A booster given while the previous shot is still valid needs no wait. Any vaccine registered in Russia is accepted; revaccinate yearly unless the product label states otherwise.

3. Rabies antibody titer (serology test)+

Since 16 Sep 2024 Russia is no longer on the EU's 'listed' countries, so an antibody test is now mandatory to enter any EU country. Level must be ≥ 0.5 IU/ml. Blood is drawn no sooner than 30 days after the vaccine; entry to the EU no sooner than 3 months after the blood draw. The test is also required for Japan, Taiwan, USA, UAE, Israel, Korea, Singapore, Indonesia, Turkey and others. Not required for CIS/EAEU and Georgia. Two EU-accredited labs in Russia accept the blood: FGBU VGNKI (Moscow) and FGBU VNIIZh (Vladimir).

4. Veterinary certificate Form No. 1+

An internal Russian vet document. Issued ONLY at a state vet station (your local SBBZh) via the Merkuriy system — private vet clinics cannot issue Form No. 1. The vet records the animal, chip, vaccinations and treatments. This form is valid only for travel within Russia up to the airport — it is the basis for the international certificate issued at vet control.

5. Exchange for the international certificate (Form 5a)+

On departure day you bring the pet and the documents (Form No. 1, vet passport, titer report if needed) to the border vet control point (PKVP) at the airport. A state vet examines the animal, checks the chip and papers, and issues the international certificate — Form 5a or the EU health certificate — free of charge. The PKVP at Sheremetyevo, Domodedovo and Vnukovo operate 24/7.

Source ↗

FAQ

What documents do I need to enter Russia?+

From any country: rabies vaccination, veterinary health certificate. Depends on the departure country: additional vaccination, pet passport.

Is a rabies titre test required for Russia?+

No, a titre test is not required for entry.

How many pets can one person bring?+

No more than 2.

Which breeds are banned from entry?+

The country's rules list no breed bans. Individual airlines have their own restrictions — see the carrier table.

Which airlines take pets in the cabin?+

For example: Aeroflot, S7 Airlines, Ural Airlines, Red Wings, Rossiya Airlines, Azimuth Airlines. The full list with conditions is in the table above.

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