Lead time needed
40-52 weeks
Quarantine
10 days
Route complexity
Very High
Airlines
3 carriers on this route
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PY
AU

Pet Transport from Paraguay to Australia

Shipping a dog or cat from Paraguay to Australia rewards owners who start planning early. Give yourself close to 40-52 weeks, as several stages run on fixed clocks that no agent can shorten. Factor in 10 days of quarantine at the destination. The sections …

In short: Preparing to move a pet from Paraguay to Australia typically takes around 40-52 weeks. Expect 10 days of quarantine on arrival.
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Step by step

The Paraguay to Australia import process

Every step must be completed in sequence. A single missed deadline can add months to your timeline. We own the entire process.

1
Before any other planning.
Confirm Paraguay's non-approved status directly with DAFF via BICON before spending anything on vaccinations or flights.

Responsible: Owner or pet transport agent

2
Start of planning.
Choose the stepping-stone country. The US and Canada are both DAFF-approved and both faster to enter from Paraguay than the UK, since Paraguay is off the CDC's high-risk list (checked 15 April 2026) and the CFIA's high-risk list (checked 13 March 2025).

Responsible: Owner

3
4-7 weeks.
Complete that country's own entry process from Paraguay: for the US, the CDC Dog Import Form and a working microchip, no titre test, roughly 4-6 weeks; for Canada, a correctly completed rabies certificate in English or French, no titre test, roughly 4-7 weeks.

Responsible: Owner and SENACSA-registered vet

4
From arrival in the stepping-stone country.
On arrival in the stepping-stone country, start the 180-day residency clock, and draw blood for the RNATT titre test as early as the vaccination schedule allows, so the two 180-day waits overlap rather than run back to back.

Responsible: Owner and local vet

5
Allow 4-8 weeks, ideally overlapping the residency and titre wait.
Apply for the DAFF import permit via BICON once travel dates are in view.

Responsible: Owner or agent

6
As soon as dates are fixed.
Pre-book the Mickleham quarantine slot as soon as the titre result and the 180-day date are confirmed.

Responsible: Owner

7
On arrival.
Fly into Melbourne and complete the minimum 10-day quarantine stay.

Responsible: Owner and DAFF quarantine facility

Requirements

What your pet needs to enter Australia

Every item must be verified before your pet can board. We track each one against current standards.

Microchip
ISO 11784/11785 microchip required, implanted before the rabies vaccination that …
Rabies vaccination
A full primary rabies vaccination course is required before any titre test blood …
Rabies titre test
Irrelevant on the Paraguayan side, because a direct Paraguay-to-Australia import …
Quarantine
Mandatory. Minimum 10 days, longer without complete identity documentation, at …
Import permit
Required from DAFF via BICON, applied for once the stepping-stone country's …
Health certificate
A government-issued health certificate in DAFF-approved format, completed by an …
Export permit
No separate export permit beyond the CVI. The CVI functions as the export …
Costs

What this route typically costs

SENACSA CVI and clinical inspection for the first leg: a modest local …
Cargo Asuncion to the stepping-stone country (Copa via Panama, or …
Ongoing costs of the 180-day residency period itself (accommodation, …
RNATT titre test at a DAFF-approved laboratory: USD 150-350
DAFF import permit via BICON: approximately AUD 500-1,500
Mickleham quarantine, minimum 10-day stay: approximately AUD …
Final long-haul cargo leg into Melbourne: USD 1,500-5,000 depending on …
Pet transport agent fees across both legs: often USD 1,000-3,000 …

Critical points

Paraguay isn't on DAFF's approved list at all, so there's no version of this move that skips the 180-day stepping-stone residency requirement. Confirm this directly with DAFF via BICON. A wrong assumption here wastes months of preparation, not days.

The stepping-stone country's 180-day residency clock and the RNATT titre test's 180-day post-blood-draw clock are two different things. Running them in parallel, by testing early in the residency period, is what keeps this route closer to a year than eighteen months, but the exact sequencing isn't published in one place. Confirm the plan with an agent who has actually handled this move before.

Every pet entering Australia lands in Melbourne. There's no other approved quarantine port, regardless of your final Australian destination.

Choosing the US or Canada over the UK as the stepping-stone country saves real time, since Paraguay is off both the CDC's and the CFIA's high-risk lists, while a UK entry needs its own 3-month titre wait before the pet can even get into the country in the first place.

Airlines

Approved carriers for this route

Not all airlines accept live animals. We book only with carriers that handle live animal cargo correctly.

Copa Airlines
The strongest single-carrier option for the first leg out of Paraguay: Asuncion to its …
Cargo Only
LATAM Airlines
Covers Asuncion to Sao Paulo or Santiago, useful if Canada, rather than the US, ends up …
Cargo Only
Qantas
Handles the final leg once the stepping-stone residency and titre process are complete, …
Cargo Only

What Australia requires

Getting a pet into Australia means meeting a demanding set of rules with no shortcuts. Start from the earliest deadline and work forward from there.

Avoiding the common mistakes

Work backwards from your travel date and add a buffer. Fixed waiting periods mean a single slipped appointment can push the whole move back by weeks.

Check the airline’s crate size and labelling rules early. An undersized or wrongly labelled crate is a frequent reason pets are refused at check-in.

Ask about temperature embargoes for your travel window. Summer and winter cargo restrictions can rule out certain routes and dates entirely.

Book the titre test laboratory well ahead. Approved labs have limited slots and the sample takes time to process, so this is not something to leave to the final weeks.

FAQ

Common questions

No. Paraguay isn’t on DAFF’s approved country list, so a direct import isn’t available regardless of vaccination or documentation. The pet has to reside at least 180 consecutive days in a DAFF-approved country first, then go through that country’s own titre test and import process into Australia.
Because Paraguay doesn’t appear on DAFF’s list of approved countries for cat and dog import. DAFF’s rule for pets from a non-approved country is a minimum 180-day residency period in an approved country before an import application can be lodged. There are no exceptions.
The US or Canada, in most cases. Paraguay is off both the CDC’s high-risk dog rabies list (checked 15 April 2026) and the CFIA’s high-risk list (checked 13 March 2025), so entry into either country from Paraguay takes about four to seven weeks with no titre test. Entering the UK instead needs a titre test and a three-month wait before the pet can even arrive there.
Yes. Every pet entering Australia, regardless of origin, completes a minimum 10-day stay at the Mickleham Post Entry Quarantine Facility near Melbourne. There is no other approved facility, and the cost is paid by the owner.
Airline guides
  • Copa Airlines
  • LATAM Airlines
  • Qantas
Breed guides

Check breed-specific airline rules and country bans.

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PY AUParaguay to Australia
International pet transport route
Lead time40-52 weeks
Quarantine10 days
ComplexityVery High
Airlines3
ServiceDoor to door
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