Importing Your Pet to Taiwan

Taiwan’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Agency (APHIA, part of the Ministry of Agriculture) runs import quarantine for dogs and cats. The old Group 1/2/3 scheme no longer applies. APHIA now recognises a short list of rabies-free countries, and every other country or area is treated as rabies-infected.

Every pet needs a microchip, a rabies vaccination and an import permit, whichever list its country is on. From a rabies-infected country, which includes the United States outside Hawaii and Guam, a rabies antibody test is added, and compliant animals spend 7 days in quarantine unless they meet one of the waiver conditions.

Import permit and quarantine booking

An import quarantine permit is required for every dog and cat. Apply online through APHIA’s pet e-permit system at least 20 days before import, uploading your ID or passport, the rabies vaccination certificate and, for rabies-infected origins, the antibody report. APHIA says applying for the permit is currently free of charge.

From a rabies-infected country, quarantine space must be checked and reserved before you apply for the permit. If you want quarantine-free entry through early application, file at least 120 days before import.

Animals are inspected at the APHIA unit at the port named on the permit, which can be Taoyuan, Taipei Songshan, Kaohsiung or Taichung airport, or Taipei Port. APHIA cannot receive animals on weekends or public holidays, so avoid arriving then.

Approved origins and titre test requirements

APHIA’s rabies-free list is Japan, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, Hawaii and Guam (US), the United Kingdom, Sweden, Iceland, Norway (excluding Svalbard), Estonia and Czechia. Pets from these countries need a microchip and rabies vaccination, with no antibody test, and compliant animals are released without quarantine. To use this route the animal must have lived in the rabies-free country for the 180 days before import, or since birth if younger.

From anywhere else, a passing rabies antibody test is required: at least 0.5 IU/ml, at a WOAH rabies reference laboratory or an APHIA-designated laboratory, on blood sampled between 90 days and 1 year before import. A sample taken 180 days to 1 year before import, with early application or a report sent directly to APHIA, allows quarantine-free entry.

Breeding and import of Pit Bull Terriers (American Pit Bull Terrier and American Staffordshire Terrier) have been banned since 1 March 2022.