A practical 2026 guide to moving pets from Portugal to the United States — CDC low-risk pathway, DGAV’s simple export process, airline options, costs, and timeline.
Everything you need to navigate international pet relocation: import rules, customs, costs, timelines.
Easy
4–8 weeks
No authoritative total verified
None required (mainland US)
Check the requirements of your destination state. DGAV specifically identifies Illinois and Massachusetts as states with additional requirements, but confirm directly regardless of which state you’re flying into.
A practical 2026 guide to moving pets from Portugal to the United States — CDC low-risk pathway, DGAV’s simple export process, airline options, costs, and timeline.
Neither US federal agencies nor DGAV require an official certificate for this pathway. Your airline or destination state may still ask for standard veterinary health documentation.
Not Applicable (No Certificate Required)
DGAV’s own guidance states that no official Portuguese intervention or certificate is needed for the standard USA pathway — any veterinary health documentation your airline requests comes from your own treating veterinarian.
Not Required
Portugal is not currently under USDA’s temporary FMD restriction (only Cyprus, Greece, Hungary, and Slovakia are) and is not on the screwworm-affected list, so no extra APHIS disease certificate applies.
Set by Your Airline, If Documentation Is Requested
There’s no federal validity window for this pathway. If your airline requests health documentation, confirm its validity window with them directly.
Printed or Digital
The CDC receipt can be printed or shown on your phone — CDC doesn’t require a unique paper original. Carry the microchip record and any airline-requested documentation too, plus an offline backup either way.
→ Portugal is not on the CDC high-risk dog-rabies list
→ Portugal is not currently under any USDA FMD or screwworm restriction
→ DGAV requires no official certificate for the standard USA pathway
→ Every dog needs a readable microchip and CDC Dog Import Form receipt
→ The dog’s full 6-month travel history controls the pathway
→ Check your destination state’s requirements — DGAV names Illinois and Massachusetts as examples, but any state could have its own rule
→ Assuming Portugal requires an export certificate
→ Assuming the EU pet passport replaces the CDC form
→ Ignoring the dog’s 6-month travel history
→ Skipping the destination-state check
→ Assuming American Airlines carries pets like it does domestically
Cabin & Checked Hold
$183–$299
8 kg / 17.6 lbs (cabin, pet + carrier)
Nonstop Lisbon flights
Follow this timeline to make sure you complete everything on time for a smooth, stress-free travel day.
DGAV's own guidance is explicit: no official Portuguese certificate is needed for the standard USA pathway.
Some US states publish their own added entry requirements beyond the federal baseline.
Portugal's low-risk status only applies if the dog hasn't visited a CDC high-risk country in the prior 6 months.
Costs vary based on pet size, airline, season, and any additional Services.
No single authoritative Portugal-to-US total was verified. Costs depend on the airline, cabin vs. hold, and crate choice.
Typical total cost
Price in USD, Estimate only.
→ CDC Dog Import Form receipt — dogs
→ Microchip record — dogs
→ EU Pet Passport with current rabies vaccination (Portugal’s/EU’s own document — not a U.S. federal entry document and not a substitute for the CDC Dog Import Form; useful supporting paperwork)
→ Standard veterinary health documentation, only if required by your airline or destination state
→ Airline confirmation
Start with your origin country guide for route-specific requirements, timelines, and common pitfalls.
→ No. Portugal is not on the CDC’s high-risk list.
→ The dog’s complete 6-month travel history still controls which pathway applies.
→ No. DGAV’s own guidance states that no official certificate or intervention is required for the standard pathway.
→ This is a lighter process than some other EU countries.
→ Healthy appearance, minimum age of 6 months, readable microchip, and CDC Dog Import Form receipt.
→ This assumes exclusively low-risk travel history.
→ Yes. DGAV specifically identifies both states as having additional entry requirements beyond the federal baseline.
→ Check the requirements of your destination state regardless of which one you’re flying into — DGAV’s examples aren’t necessarily the only states with added rules.
→ No. Currently, only Cyprus, Greece, Hungary, and Slovakia carry a temporary FMD restriction.
→ Portugal is not on that list.
→ Not for a compliant mainland-US arrival.
→ Hawaii and Guam have separate programs.
Our pet relocation experts are here to guide you every step of the way.
If a regulation changes after this page was published, the official source always takes precedence over this guide — check the links above for the current rules before you travel.
Compared to routes with airline restrictions or a formal origin-country certificate process, Portugal to the US is close to the simplest case this site covers.
Portugal has a clean CDC low-risk pathway, no current USDA disease restriction, no DGAV certificate requirement, and a national flag carrier — TAP Air Portugal — that flies the route nonstop with clearly published pet rules.
DGAV’s own USA-specific information sheets say plainly that no official certificate or intervention is needed for this pathway — a lighter process than several other EU routes on this site, where the origin country’s veterinary authority issues or processes a formal export certificate. The one piece of paperwork worth planning around isn’t Portuguese at all: it’s checking the requirements of your destination state. DGAV specifically identifies Illinois and Massachusetts as states with additional entry requirements beyond the federal baseline, but that doesn’t mean every other state has none — confirm directly regardless of where you’re flying.
TAP flies nonstop from Lisbon to 7 US cities: Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Orlando, and Washington. Its published pet policy sets a lower hold weight cap for US-bound flights (32 kg/70 lbs) than for other destinations (45 kg/99 lbs), and it maintains its own list of breeds barred from the hold — worth checking before you book if you’re traveling with a brachycephalic breed.
For a straightforward cabin move with a healthy pet, most owners can manage this route themselves. Professional help becomes more valuable for a large dog needing hold transport, a multi-leg itinerary, or a restricted breed.
If a regulation changes after this page was published, the official source always takes precedence over this guide — check the links above for the current rules before you travel.
Select your origin and destination countries.
Select your pet type, size, and breed characteristics.
Select how your pet will travel and any additional services.
Review your itemized breakdown and quote below, then submit your details.
