How to bring your cat to Australia from a Group 2 country

Importing a cat or dog to Australia is a complex process. It will take at least 6 months to complete. You will need to make sure your cat meets a range of import conditions. This includes multiple veterinary visits, checks and treatments.

Seek help from a pet transport agent with experience in importing cats to Australia. They will help guide you through the import process.

Or you can check industries associations such as:

• International Pet and Animal Transportation Association (IPATA).
• Animal Transportation Association (ATA) 

We cannot recommend one agent over another. We have no influence over any fees or charges an agent may require for their services.

This step-by-step guide is for cats exported from Group 2 countries. These are approved countries of origin for cat imports into Australia. Group 2 approved countries are rabies-free.

Check the list of Group 2 countries to make sure this is the right guide for you.

To be eligible for import to Australia, your cat must have either:

• lived in a Group 1 or Group 2 approved country since birth, or
• lived in a Group 1 or Group 2 approved country since it was exported directly from Australia, or
• lived in a Group 1 or Group 2 approved country for at least 180 days since its official identity check and immediately before the proposed date of export.

You must also meet:

• all requirements outlined in this guide
• all import conditions on your catdog’s unique import permit

You can apply for an import permit when you reach step 4.1 of this guide.

When you plan to export your cat, it must NOT be:

• under quarantine restrictions
• more than 30 days pregnant
• nursing kittens.

Hybrid cats NOT allowed into Australia include, but are not limited to, these breeds and any crossbred offspring derived from them:

• Savannah cats: domestic cat (Felis catus) crossed with serval cat (Felis serval)
• Safari cats: domestic cat crossed with Geoffrey cat (Oncifelis geoffroyi)
• Chausie cats: domestic cat crossed with Jungle cat (Felis chaus)
• Bengal cats: domestic cat crossed with Asian leopard cat (Prionailurus bengalensis)

Contact the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW) at exotic.species@dcceew.gov.au. They can provide more advice on hybrid animals.

If your cat is sick or old

We do not recommend importing sick or very old animals. International travel can cause them to de-stabilise and rapidly deteriorate. Even cats with well-managed chronic diseases can arrive in distress and poor health.

An import permit will not be refused based on an animal’s age. Consider your cat’s age and how they may handle the journey and quarantine in Australia. Seek advice from your veterinarian if you’re concerned.

Cats with special care requirements

There may be conditions that wethe department cannot manage during the post entry quarantine period. Or there may be medications we that cannot be administered. See Cats and dogs travelling to Australia with special care requirements.

Animals may be unable to get medication during transport. As a pet owner, you must consider if it’s in your pet’s best interests to travel the long distance and stay in quarantine.

Find the competent authority in your country

A competent authority is the government agency responsible for animal health. This may be a government veterinary service or similar. In Australia, it is us (Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry).

The competent authority must provide official documents for your cat before it leaves for Australia.

We check these documents when your cat arrives in Australia to ensure your cat has met all pre-export requirements.

Find an authorised veterinarian to prepare your cat for export 

All pre-export veterinary procedures must be:

• completed in the country of export 
• completed by a government approved veterinarian
• endorsed by an official government veterinarian
• completed before departing for Australia

This process ensures your cat doesn’t bring pests or diseases to Australia.

When you talk to the competent authority in your exporting country, they will let you know:

• which documents or forms you must use 
• any local procedures or requirements you must meet before you export your cat
• how to find a government approved veterinarian to prepare your cat for export to Australia
• how to find government approved laboratories for pre-export testing.

We recommend you read this whole guide before you start the import process.

This guide details important actions you must take. This includes applying for and being issued with an import permit. Your import permit outlines the preparations required for your cat. You must meet all these conditions before you bring your cat to Australia.

Share this guide and your import permit with your:

•  government  approved veterinarian
•  and pet transport company.

They will help you meet all import conditions.

Microchips are the only approved identification method. The competent authority in the country of export will use the microchip to verify your cat’s identity.

A government approved veterinarian must scan the microchip:

• at each vet visit
• before any pre-export blood sampling.

They must ensure that the microchip number is accurately recorded on all documentation, including test samples. This is how we match your cat to its preparations and documents.

Your cat must be implanted with a microchip that can be read by an ISO compatible microchip reader. Generally, microchips with 10 or 15 digits are ISO compliant.

Microchip numbers starting with 999 are not accepted because they are not unique. AVID microchips that are 9 digits long are not acceptable because they are not ISO compatible.

If your cat has 2 compliant microchips

Both microchip numbers must be included on:

• the identity check
• the import permit application
• the final import permit
• the veterinary health certificate.

Both microchips must be scanned and recorded at each veterinary visit. They must match all import documents.

If your cat has a compliant microchip and a non-compliant microchip, we will only use the compliant microchip.

If your cat’s microchip stops working

The veterinarian should try multiple microchip scanners to read the microchip. 

If the microchip cannot be read, a new ISO compatible microchip must be implanted. Then the pre-export process must begin again. This includes all tests, treatments, examinations, and the official identity verification.

Your cat’s identity must be verified by the competent authority in the export country.

This step is required to import your cat to Australia. You must complete this step before starting any other pre-export preparations.

An official government veterinarian must:

• verify your cat’s identity
• complete the identity declaration form
• send the form directly to us.

Each approved country has its own country-specific forms and processes. You must contact the competent authority in your country of export for guidance.

Pet passports, vaccination cards, or microchip certificates are not accepted as equivalent documents.

Returning Australian animals

If your cat is returning to Australia directly from the country they were exported to, their health certificate may be used to verify their identity. We must have issued this certificate before your cat departed Australia.

Your cat’s microchip must remain valid and be able to be scanned. The microchip must be recorded for every test, treatment and examination. This includes scans on arrival into our quarantine facility.

See more on returning Australian animals.

Apply for your import permit through our Biosecurity Import Conditions System (BICON).

We cannot expedite an application for any reason. We understand this may be difficult. To ensure fairness to all applicants, we process permits in the order they are received.

Import permits are valid for 12 months from the date the permit is granted.

See more on how to apply for a permit

Assistance cats

We are reforming the import pathway for assistance animals to include cats.

In the interim, we can consider import permit applications for assistance cats.

Contact us for guidance on travelling with your assistance cat at imports@aff.gov.au.

Once you are granted an import permit, you must make sure you meet all your import permit conditions.

The conditions will be specified on the permit. This includes specific pre-export veterinary procedures required for your cat. These conditions are mandatory.

Make sure you read all import permit conditions and understand what you need to do.

If you fail to comply with your permit conditions, your cat may be:

• held longer in post entry quarantine
• subject to additional testing and treatment
• exported
• euthanised.

You will also be liable for any costs involved.

Cats must spend at least 10 days at the Mickleham post entry quarantine facility. Our quarantine facility is designed to comfortably accommodate cats and meet their needs.

See more about the quarantine facility and how to book.

We have specific rules for travel that include stops in other countries.

These rules depend on whether the cat will:

• remain on the plane (transiting)
• be unloaded from the plane and moved to another plane (transhipping).

Make sure you understand these rules when choosing flights.

Transiting

During transport to Australia, cats may transit in all countries. This means the plane can touch down in a country, but your cat must stay on the plane on the international side of the airport.

Transhipping

Your cat may only tranship (change aircraft) in:

• an approved Group 1 or Group 2 country, OR
• these cities in Group 3 countries:
  • Amsterdam
  • Frankfurt
  • Copenhagen
  • London
  • Dubai
  • Hong Kong.

Your cat must not leave the international side of the airport. It must stay under the supervision of the competent authority in the country of transhipment. It must be in a place that restricts contact with other animals.

It is your responsibility as the importer to contact the competent authority in the country of transhipment. You need to find out:

• whether they allow animals to tranship
• whether they have a facility to hold animals during transhipment
• how long the animals can be held
• if additional conditions apply.

Your cat must arrive directly into Melbourne International airport from your country of export. We do not permit domestic transfers.

If you cannot get a direct flight into Melbourne International airport, contact us at imports@aff.gov.au.

Travelling as manifested air cargo

Your cat must travel:

• as manifested cargo (not in the cabin)
• in a crate that meets the International Air Transport Association (IATA) guidelines.

We are not responsible for your cat while they are under the care of the aircraft operator.

Travelling via private or chartered flight

Find out more if you plan to import your cat via private or chartered flight.

Plan early. You need to make sure you complete all treatments and tests in the correct timeframes before export.

All veterinary preparations must be done by a government approved veterinarian in the country of export.

Your cat must be fit and healthy enough to:

• travel to Australia
• undergo post-entry quarantine without ongoing veterinary intervention.

All testing must be done by a laboratory approved by the competent authority in the country of export.

To find a government approved veterinarian or laboratory, contact the competent authority in the country of export.

We recommend you share this step-by-step guide and your import permit with your government approved veterinarian.

Your government approved veterinarian will help make sure you meet all import conditions. This information is also useful to share with pet transport companies.

Recommended vaccinations 

We recommend that your cat is also vaccinated against:

• feline enteritis (also known as feline panleukopenia or feline distemper)
• rhinotracheitis
• calicivirus.

These vaccinations are not required to import your cat to Australia.

A government approved veterinarian must treat your cat with an acceptable product that kills ticks and fleas on contact. The chosen product must remain effective against new flea and tick infestations until the date of export to Australia.

The government approved veterinarian may need to repeat the treatment to maintain continuous protection until export. They must follow the manufacturer’s directions. Reapplication periods for fleas and ticks (or species of tick) may differ. If so, adhere to the shortest reapplication interval.

At each step of the export preparation, the government approved veterinarian must:

• scan the cat’s microchip
• examine the cat for signs of external parasites.

If fleas or ticks are found they must be removed, and the preparation must be restarted.

See acceptable external parasite treatments.

A government approved veterinarian must treat your cat for nematodes and cestodes (internal parasites).

See acceptable internal parasite treatments.

Your cat must be examined for external parasites and clinical signs of infectious or contagious disease. This must be done within 5 days of export by a government approved veterinarian or an official government veterinarian.

You will need these documents for the final examination:

• a valid import permit
• evidence of external parasite treatments
• evidence of internal parasite treatments
• the veterinary health certificate, if required by your competent authority.

The veterinary health certificate is specific to your country of export. Different countries may use different certificates and processes. 

You must get the veterinary health certificate required for export to Australia from the competent authority in your country of export. The competent authority can provide the certificate and advice on how it must be completed. DAFF does not issue or provide veterinary health certificates.

Depending on the requirements in your country of export, the certificate may be completed by a government approved veterinarian, an official government veterinarian, or both. The competent authority can tell you who must complete the certificate.

This may be done during the final pre-export clinical examination (see Step 7.1).

An official government veterinarian must:

• endorse every page of the veterinary health certificate 
• give you a seal to be placed on your cat’s crate at the time of export
• record the seal number on the veterinary health certificate.

Endorsement of the import permit is not required.

Corrections

Corrections to the veterinary health certificate must be struck through. Corrections must be legible and must be signed, stamped, and dated by the official government veterinarian.

Your cat must arrive in Australia with these documents:

• a valid import permit
• a veterinary health certificate.

On the day of travel:

• place your cat in a crate that meets the IATA standard recommended container requirements, including any bedding or other comfort requirements.
• don’t place any items, including toys, medication or items of value in the crate (these will be destroyed as biosecurity waste upon arrival)
• seal your cat into the crate using the seal supplied by the official government veterinarian.

In most cases, you will check your cat in at the freight terminal, not the passenger terminal.

You can find general information on the IATA website, or the website of your chosen airline.

Your cat’s crate must remain sealed. The seal must be intact on arrival in Australia.

Your cat’s crate may only be opened in exceptional circumstances. Opening the crate will cause the tamper-evident seal to be broken.

If this occurs, the crate must be resealed by:

• an official government veterinarian, or
• airport authority, or
• the captain of the aircraft.

They must also provide a certificate detailing the circumstances. The certificate should be attached to the outside of the crate before departure from the port where the seal was broken.

You can find more information on the IATA website.

One of our biosecurity officers will collect your cat on arrival. They will transport your cat directly to the Mickleham post entry quarantine facility.

You will be notified via email that your cat has arrived safely, within 24 hours of arrival. We will contact you immediately if there is an issue with your cat on arrival.

We will:

• We’ll help your cat settle in and get comfortable after theirits flight
• We will check your cat to make sure they’re healthy and free from diseases or pests of biosecurity concern
• We’ll assess your cat’s import documents to check theyyour cat complyies with our import conditions.

Your cat will be housed in a large, individual, climate-controlled enclosure. They’ll be fed quality food, groomed, and provided with enrichment. We will send you updates on your cat’s health and wellbeing.

If your cat does not comply with the permit conditions, further tests, treatments or quarantine may apply.

Read more about our state-of-the-art quarantine facilities.

You are responsible for meeting local requirements for cats in Australia. We recommend that you register your cat with a national microchip registry.

Contact your local Australian council or state government for advice on:

• how to register your catdog
• microchipping
• yearly fees
• other legal requirements.