Pet Transport from Australia to India
Start with what India does not ask for, because a good deal of guidance on this corridor invents both. There is no rabies antibody test. No titre appears anywhere in the AQCS or DGFT requirements; a current rabies vaccination is the …
Which India rules depend on a pet coming from Australia?
None of the India rules we have verified names Australia on its own.
The rules that apply to every pet entering India, whatever the origin, are listed with their official sources in our India guide.
What does Australia require before your pet leaves?
- Export permit: A Notice of Intention (NOI) to Export Live Animals (other than Livestock) must reach the regional office at least 10 working days before departure or the start of isolation. Applies to dogs and cats exported from Australia.
Exporting companion animals and other live animals, checked 1 October 2026 - Export permit: An export permit is issued and the animal must leave within 72 hours of issue; fees apply to the NOI, the health certificate and the permit. Applies to dogs and cats exported from Australia.
Exporting companion animals and other live animals, checked 1 October 2026 - Export permit: All exported cats and dogs, including assistance dogs, need an export permit and health certificate (industry advice 80-2023, 11 April 2023). Applies to dogs and cats, including assistance dogs, exported from Australia.
80-2023: Information on international travel with cats, dogs and assistance dogs, checked 1 October 2026 - Export permit: Export permit fee for non-livestock animals (which includes exported cats and dogs): AUD 305 per document in 2026-27 (DAFF live animal exports cost recovery implementation statement 2026-27, Table 7 'Fees, charges and volumes', columns: modelled revenue AUD 2,925,255, modelled volume 9,591, 2026-27 price AUD 305). Time-based assessment and inspection fees and the NOI fee are charged separately. Applies to dogs and cats exported from Australia.
Cost recovery implementation statement: live animal exports 2026-27, checked 1 October 2026 - Export health certificate: DAFF's certifying veterinary officer assesses documents and prepares the export health certificate; DAFF charges a time-based fee for this. Check importing country requirements in MICoR. Page last updated 27 August 2026. Applies to dogs and cats exported from Australia.
Exporting companion animals and other live animals, checked 1 October 2026 - Other conditions: Final health and welfare examination by a registered veterinarian within 72 hours of departure (or the period the importing country sets), before the DAFF appointment. Applies to dogs and cats exported from Australia.
Exporting companion animals and other live animals, checked 1 October 2026
Carriers approved for this route
Not all airlines accept live animals on this route. We know which carriers to use and how to book.
Transfer of Residence, or a licence application that meets once a month
Importing a pet into India is a restricted trade with a single exemption, and the exemption is the one you want.
Under Transfer of Residence, an owner relocating after two or more continuous years abroad may bring up to two cats or dogs as accompanied baggage with no DGFT licence at all. The animals travel on your ticket, and the residency is the qualification.
If you do not meet it, you need a DGFT authorisation on Form ANF 2M. The committee that grants it meets monthly. Miss a meeting and you wait for the next one, which is why two months of lead time is the floor rather than a comfortable margin.
Both routes still need the AQCS Advance NOC. It is free, and no airline will board your animal without it, so it belongs at the front of your planning rather than the end.
Six cities, and no others
India clears pets at six airports: Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Kolkata. These host the AQCS quarantine stations, and an animal cannot be cleared anywhere else.
For an Australian move that usually resolves itself, since the long-haul routings land at those cities anyway. It matters when your final address is somewhere else entirely. A family moving to Kochi, Pune or Ahmedabad flies the pet into one of the six, clears it there, and travels on domestically.
Book the international sector to a clearing city even when a cheaper or more direct option exists into a smaller airport. The saving disappears the moment the animal cannot be released.
The detail that stops pets at the counter
The owner’s name on the health certificate must match the name on the air ticket exactly.
It sounds trivial. It is the most common reason a compliant animal is refused at check-in on this route, because the two documents are prepared weeks apart by different people, and a middle initial present on one and absent on the other is enough.
Check them side by side before you leave for the airport, not at the desk. The certificate is issued by Australia’s competent veterinary authority in the AQCS Annexure format and travels with the microchip certificate, the vaccination record, and copies of your ticket and passport.
Common questions about Australia to India pet transport
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Sources
Requirements on this page were checked against the authorities below. Rules change, so confirm current conditions with the relevant authority before you travel.