Planning a move to the United States with a dog or cat? Browse our country-specific pet travel routes for information on government requirements, documents, airlines, timelines, and other considerations for your origin country.
Not sure where to start? These guides help you map out an international pet move from the very first step. Our International Pet Travel Timeline shows how far in advance to begin preparing, and our Pet Relocation Checklist turns that timeline into a step-by-step list. Bringing a Dog to the United States and Bringing a Cat to the United States walk through the CDC and USDA APHIS requirements for each species, our CDC Dog Import Requirements guide breaks down the CDC Dog Import Form step by step, and Pet Health Certificates for International Travel explains what a certificate needs to include and who’s authorized to issue one. Read these alongside your destination country’s route page.
Foreign Service pet relocation runs on a different rulebook than a military PCS move: the Foreign Affairs Manual (FAM) and the Department of State Standardized
Moving pets during a military PCS move (Permanent Change of Station) involves rules that don’t apply to a civilian pet move: a real but capped
Moving a pet to the United States doesn’t have one fixed price — it depends on your pet’s size, your route, and how much you
USDA APHIS requirements for pets are narrower than most people expect — and knowing exactly where APHIS’s role starts and stops clears up a lot
Search for pet travel insurance and you’ll find a confusing mix of products all using the same name. Here’s the part that actually matters: it
International pet relocation comes with its own dense vocabulary — government agency names, document names, and airline-industry jargon that don’t always get defined in the
Once you know the requirements, these guides help with the practical decisions of getting your pet there. Choosing Cabin vs. Cargo for International Pet Travel walks through how airlines, aircraft, and your pet’s size determine which option is even available, Airport Crate Requirements covers the IATA sizing formula every cargo crate has to meet, and Preparing Your Pet for a Long Flight covers the practical side of the trip itself. If you’re not moving solo, Moving Multiple Pets and How to Choose an International Pet Mover cover the added logistics.
It’s a natural instinct: your pet is anxious about flying, so a sedative feels like the kind way to get them through it. Veterinary guidance
If you’re traveling with pets through connecting flights, there’s one CDC rule that catches people off guard more than almost anything else in this process:
If you’re moving multiple pets internationally at once, understanding moving multiple pets internationally correctly starts with one key fact: the federal paperwork doesn’t get simpler
Understanding airport crate requirements for pets starts with a single formula, not a breed chart: IATA’s Live Animals Regulations calculate the minimum crate size directly
If you’re wondering whether pets can travel internationally by ship, train, or bus instead of flying, here’s the surprising part: the federal government mostly allows
Bulldogs, pugs, boxers, and other flat-faced (brachycephalic) breeds face real restrictions when it comes to international air travel — restrictions that catch a lot of
Choosing the right gear matters as much as knowing the rules — a crate or carrier that doesn’t meet your airline’s requirements can mean a rejected booking at the gate. Our Best Airline-Approved Dog Crates guide compares specific, currently-sold cargo crates directly against IATA’s own current requirements, checking real manufacturer specs rather than relying on marketing claims alone. This is the first in a growing series of hands-on product comparisons — a guide to the best in-cabin pet carriers is next.
This guide compares the best cat travel accessories we could verify directly — six products that go with a cat’s travel carrier, not the carrier
This guide compares the best airline pet carriers for flying in the cabin with a small dog or cat. There’s no single universal size standard
This guide compares the best airline approved dog crates available today. None of the verified manufacturer materials we reviewed cited IATA’s actual current standard, Edition
Beyond our country-specific route pages, these guides step back to look at requirements across an entire region at once. International Pet Travel Requirements by Country is the best overview, and our continent guides — covering Europe, Asia, Africa, and more — compare how CDC and USDA classifications play out across every country we’ve researched in that region.
Every African route this site covers — Egypt, Kenya, Morocco, and South Africa — is CDC high-risk for dog rabies. That’s not true of any
Moving pets from South America to the United States involves two separate federal classifications that don’t move together — and missing that is the easiest
Moving pets from Asia to the United States looks different depending entirely on which country you start from. Every continent this site has covered so
Moving pets from Europe to the United States looks, on paper, like it should be the site’s most uniform region — “the EU” suggests one
Moving pets from Oceania to the United States shares one defining trait no matter which country you’re starting from: it’s a long-haul move, and that
Moving pets from North America to the United States is, route for route, the fastest and least complicated move this site covers — and the
Airline policies can matter as much as government requirements — a pet can meet every import rule and still be unable to book a specific flight because of breed restrictions, size limits, or cargo-only policies. Airlines That Allow Pets to Fly to the United States is the best starting point for a full survey, and we maintain dedicated policy guides for individual carriers — including Delta, United, and American Airlines — covering their current pet acceptance rules, fees, and carrier requirements.
If you’re used to flying pets on a U.S. carrier, the Qatar Airways pet policy will surprise you: there is no cabin option at all
Like several other major international carriers, the Emirates pet policy has no cabin option for ordinary pets — dogs and cats travel as checked baggage
The KLM pet policy is more layered than most U.S. carriers’: pets can travel in the cabin, in the hold as checked baggage, or via
The Air France pet policy gives you two passenger-facing options — cabin and hold — both bookable directly through a standard reservation. True cargo, through
The Lufthansa pet policy is more accessible than several other international carriers’: both cabin and cargo-hold travel are open to the general public through a
If you’re planning to fly your pet on United, here’s the single most important thing to know upfront: the United Airlines pet policy today only
Borderless Moves guides and route pages are produced by the Borderless Moves Research Team. We research pet-travel requirements using official government, airline, and veterinary sources and translate those requirements into practical guidance for pet owners. We do not claim veterinary, legal, or government authority.
We prioritize primary sources, including the CDC, USDA APHIS, origin-country government authorities, state agencies, and official airline policies. When we can't verify a requirement from an authoritative source, we make the uncertainty clear rather than presenting an assumption as fact.
We periodically review published pages and display a Last reviewed date to show when the information was most recently checked. Pet-travel rules can change at any time, so travelers should confirm critical requirements with the relevant government authority, airline, or veterinarian before travel.
This site's guides currently focus on dogs and cats, since these are the pets most federal and airline pet-travel rules are written around. If you're moving a different type of pet, confirm requirements directly with CDC, USDA APHIS, and your airline.
Yes, they're free to read, with no account or paywall required. Borderless Moves retains copyright over all guide content — you're welcome to read and link to our guides, but the content itself may not be copied or republished without permission.
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