Flying with Pets – How To Travel with Your Pets from the Philippines to USA

Off to the USA for a long time or immigrating there to live permanently but you have babies along you don’t want to leave? What I mean of precious babies are your lovely pets. I have Captain Ahab and Zissou, and they’ve been traveling with us and can’t seem to leave them for a long time. As pet parents, if we relocate, we bring the whole family, including our fur babies.

Bringing a pet to the United States is not an easy venture. It’s a bit more challenging than getting your own US visa because you need requirements and your pets must be in good condition to travel too.

So if you’re planning to travel with your pets from the Philippines to the USA, you’re in the right course as we will be discussing with you this issue.

Decide

When you decide to go to travel with your pet, consider the options on how to transfer him/her: via air travel (via 13 to 16 hours max) or via ship. You can go together on the same flight, you both have different ones, or you use a carrier to bring your baby to the US.

Discuss also with your veterinarian if it is okay to travel with your pet. They will be there to give you good advice if they are healthy to do so or if they are not, maybe give them vitamins or medicine to make them better recommend another timeline.

I highly suggest doing a non-stop flight as your pet as your pets will be more stressed in transferring from a plane to another and your pet might be placed in a hot place with all the luggage, plus might you might need to pass documents in the country you are in transit.

Requirements

Here are the Requirements in exporting dog and cats as per Bureau of Animal Industry

• Valid health certificate issued by NVQS (National Veterinary Quarantine Services Division) or Licensed Private Veterinary Practitioner
  • The Veterinary Health Certificate form must be printed. Likewise, the entries must be typewritten.
  • If the dog or cat was vaccinated against rabies by the veterinarian issuing the health certificate, the space provided for the vaccination details must be duly accomplished.
  • If the dog or cat was vaccinated by a veterinarian other than the one issuing the health certificate, the phrase provided. However, a photocopy of the rabies vaccination record should be attached to the health certificate and with the original vaccination certificate presented to the NVQS.
  • The health certificate should bear the name (typewritten or computerized) and signature of the veterinarian. Other pertinent information which includes the PTR, PRC number with its expiry date and TIN must be indicated.
• Updated vaccination record against distemper, hepatitis, leptospirosis, and parvovirus for dogs; and feline panleukopenia for cats
  • The animal should have been vaccinated against rabies not earlier than 91 days since birth. Likewise, they should have been vaccinated not more than one year but not less than 30 days
• ISO 15 digit non-encrypted microchip identification number
• Rabies Neutralization Antibody Test
• The animal must be presented to the office for inspection. In lieu of this, the applicant must present a valid health certificate using the form that you can download at www.bai.da.gov.ph and issued by a licensed private veterinary practitioner not more than three days from the date of presentation. The original copy shall be submitted to NVQS.
• In filling up the application form the flight details which include the name of the airline, flight number, and the date and time of departure, must be indicated.
• All dogs for export to the USA must be accompanied by a certificate signed by an Official Veterinarian stating that the dog has been inspected and found to be free from screwworm within five (5) days before the date of departure. This will be the basis on the issuance of the Veterinary Health Certificate (Export Certificate) which will be valid for Ten (10) days. The only screwworm certified free dogs will be allowed to enter the USA.

Please also check the additional requirements per state of the USA.

Additional requirements for dogs or cats traveling to Hawaii or Guam from the Philippines from the BAI Memorandum 12/13/2011:

• The pet must have been vaccinated at least two times for rabies.
• They must be administered more than 30 days apart.
• The most recent rabies vaccination must be done not more than the vaccine’s booster interval and not less than 90 days before the pet’s date of arrival.
• The dog must have an electronic microchip implanted (required before a Rabies blood test is performed).
• An OIE-FAVN Rabies blood test is required. It must be done at an approved lab (Kansas State University or the DOD Food Analysis and Diagnostic Laboratory in Texas).
• The day after the KAU’s or DOD’s receipt of the blood sample must not be more than 38 months and not less than 120 days before the date of arrival. The result must be greater than or equal to 0.5 IU/ml.
• Following a successful OIE-FAVN test result, animals must wait at least 120 days before arriving in Hawaii. If arrival occurs before 120 days has elapsed, the animal is subject to quarantine until 120 days is completed.
• The pet must be treated by a veterinarian for ticks with a product containing Fipronil or an equivalent long-acting product within 14 days of arrival.

As for the airline, Philippine Airlines is recommended as they have non-stop flights to the USA, which is less stressful for pets.

The following data are from the Philippine Airlines website.

Pets such as dogs, cats, and birds, if and when they are acceptable for carriage as baggage should:

• Be placed in a secure and leak-proof container
• Have valid vaccination certificates and exit and/or entry permits from the Philippine Bureau of Animal Industry, Animal Health Division (AHD), Diliman, Quezon City. Visit their website kach.howe@gtravelgurus.com
  
  

  DISCLOSURE: Please note that some of the links above are affiliate links. So when you make a purchase we sometimes make a small commission, at no extra cost to you. The cost to you remains the same, sometimes even cheaper if we have negotiated a special deal for our readers.We use all of the companies we have listed here and that’s why they are in this list, but of course we need to keep GTravel Gurus running as well as it can, which is exactly what you’re helping with if you do decide to buy or book something through an affiliate link! If you have any more questions about the companies we use or any other companies you’re looking at, just email us and we’ll be happy to help.Please see our full disclaimer page for more information.