Pet Transport from Australia to India: Permits, Health Certs and Airline Routes

Moving a pet from Australia to India is a route many Australians of Indian origin or corporate transferees navigate. The journey is operationally straightforward – direct flights are plentiful – but the paperwork requires careful coordination between two distinct regulatory systems.

Australia’s Export Requirements

Before your pet can leave Australia, the Australian Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF, formerly known as DAFF or AQIS under previous naming) must issue an export health certificate. To obtain this:

1. Book an appointment with an accredited export veterinarian in Australia; not all vets are accredited for export certification
2. The vet conducts a health inspection and completes the export health certificate in the approved format
3. The certificate is endorsed by DAFF; this endorsement is done online via the DAFF export certification system; timing is typically 2 to 5 business days after the vet submits the paperwork
4. The endorsed certificate is valid for a limited period – confirm the current validity window with your exporting vet

Your pet also needs:

• ISO microchip (Australia-chipped pets typically have compliant chips, but confirm the number is 15-digit ISO)
• Current rabies vaccination (Australia is rabies-free but India requires this; arrange the vaccination in Australia before departure)
• Core vaccinations current (distemper, parvovirus for dogs; panleukopenia, herpesvirus, calicivirus for cats)

India’s Import Requirements

India requires:

1. Import permit from the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying (DAHD) – apply at least 3 to 4 weeks before travel; the permit specifies the permitted port of entry
2. Endorsed health certificate – the Australian DAFF-endorsed certificate is accepted
3. Current vaccinations including rabies

No titre test is currently required for Australia-to-India moves.

Approved Indian Entry Airports

The import permit will specify which Indian airport your pet may enter through. Currently designated ports include Delhi (DEL), Mumbai (BOM), Bengaluru (BLR), Chennai (MAA) and Kolkata (CCU).

Airlines on This Route

Direct flights between Australia and India operate with:

• Air India – Sydney, Melbourne, Perth direct to Delhi and Mumbai; cargo policies vary by route
• Qantas (via codeshare, sometimes operated by partners) – confirm live animal cargo acceptance
• Singapore Airlines / Scoot (via Singapore SIN) – a popular transit routing that adds Singapore as a connection; confirm whether Singapore transit rules affect live animal transit
• IndiGo, Vistara (now merged into Air India) – primarily domestic India but some international routes

For cargo shipments, contact Air India Cargo directly for the Australia-India route. Not all aircraft types on this route accept live animals in hold.

Timeline

• Allow 4 to 6 weeks for the India import permit
• The Australian DAFF export certificate cannot be issued more than 10 days before departure
• Rabies vaccination must be complete and within valid period before the export certificate is signed

The tightest part of the timing is the DAFF endorsement and the India permit running in parallel. Start the India permit application first, then align the DAFF export certificate appointment close to your departure date.

Sources: Australian DAFF export certification process; Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying, India; IATA Live Animals Regulations; Air India Cargo live animals policy.