Pet Transport from Ukraine to Canada

If you are relocating a pet from Ukraine to Canada, the process is manageable once you know the sequence. Plan for approximately 10-16 weeks. This is a rigorous route with little room to compress the …

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10-16

Weeks lead time needed

Start this early minimum

None

Quarantine on arrival

Very High

Route complexity

Airlines on this route

Lead time needed

10-16 weeks

Quarantine

None

Route complexity

Very High

Airlines

3 carriers on this route

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In short: Preparing to move a pet from Ukraine to Canada typically takes around 10-16 weeks. There is no routine quarantine on arrival for compliant pets.

Regulations checked July 2026

Prepared and reviewed by Pet Transport Global Editorial Team

Step by step

The Ukraine to Canada import process

6+ months before travel, given the overland leg and the age rule.

Microchip your pet with a 15-digit ISO 11784/11785 chip, before any rabies vaccination.

Responsible: Vet in Ukraine

As early as practical, factoring in the certificate's own timing rules.

Administer the rabies vaccination.

Responsible: Vet in Ukraine

Confirmed well before booking any flight.

Check the dog's age against Canada's 7-month minimum for high-risk-country entry. If the dog is younger, delay travel.

Responsible: Owner

Once the age and vaccination requirements are both satisfied.

Obtain VET-1 in Ukraine, cross overland into Poland or Romania, and exchange it for an international veterinary certificate.

Responsible: Owner or transport agent

Ahead of the flight booking window.

Complete the international veterinary certificate with an accredited vet on the Polish or Romanian side of the border.

Responsible: Vet in Poland or Romania

As soon as the flight is confirmed.

Book the CFIA port-of-entry inspection appointment, at least 24 hours before arrival in Canada.

Responsible: Owner

2-4 weeks ahead.

Book cargo space on LOT's Warsaw-Toronto nonstop.

Responsible: Owner or agent

Day of arrival.

Fly Warsaw to Toronto, then present documents to CBSA and the CFIA port veterinarian.

Responsible: Owner, CBSA and CFIA officers

Requirements

Canada entry requirements

Every item below must be in place before your pet can enter. We verify and track each one.

Microchip

15-digit ISO 11784/11785 microchip mandatory for a dog arriving from a CFIA-designated high-risk rabies country, implanted before or on the same day as the rabies vaccination. Source: CFIA, inspection.canada.ca/en/animal-health/terrestrial-animals/diseases/reportable/rabies/countries-high-risk-dog, 2026.

Rabies vaccination

Valid rabies vaccination certificate, signed by a licensed vet, identifying the dog's breed, colour, weight and microchip number, along with the vaccine's stated duration of immunity.

Rabies titre test

CFIA's published guidance for a personal pet dog from a high-risk country doesn't require a rabies titre test, unlike the equivalent CDC or MOCCAE pathways. Instead, a dog must be at least 7 months old at entry if it originates in, or has resided in or transited, a country on the high-risk list within the 6 months before arrival. Ukraine is on that list, so this age rule applies to every Ukraine-origin dog.

Quarantine

No routine quarantine for a compliant personal pet. CFIA's high-risk-country entry restriction targets commercial dogs, meaning those for resale, adoption, fostering, breeding, show, exhibition or research, which have been refused entry from high-risk countries since 28 September 2022. A family pet travelling with its owner isn't classed as commercial and isn't subject to that ban.

Import permit

No import permit required for a personal pet dog or cat. A CFIA veterinarian inspection is required at the first Canadian port of entry, and the owner must arrange the appointment at least 24 hours ahead of arrival.

Health certificate

The Ukrainian-issued international veterinary certificate (see origin side), presented to CBSA and the CFIA port veterinarian on arrival, along with proof of the dog's age if the 7-month high-risk-country minimum applies.

Leaving Ukraine

Export requirements

Export permit

No standalone export permit for a personal pet. The owner obtains Veterinary Certificate Form No. 1 (VET-1) from a Ukrainian state veterinary clinic, then exchanges it at the Polish or Romanian border for an international veterinary certificate, since no operating vet post exists at any Ukrainian airport.

Veterinary inspection

Standard clinical exam, plus rabies vaccination and microchipping if either isn't already current, from a licensed vet in Ukraine.

Government endorsement

The international certificate is countersigned by an official state veterinarian at the border crossing point.

Health certificate

International veterinary certificate recording the microchip number, rabies vaccination date, and rabies titre result, completed in the general format CFIA accepts for a country without a bilateral certificate template.

Costs

What this route typically costs

Ukrainian vet fees for microchip and vaccination: roughly 650-1,000 UAH (about USD 15-25)

Overland transfer from Ukraine to Warsaw or Bucharest: USD 300-900

International certificate completion at a border-area clinic: USD 80-150

IATA-compliant travel crate: USD 100-350

Warsaw-Toronto cargo fare on LOT: USD 1,200-2,800 depending on crate size

CFIA port-of-entry inspection: arranged with the local CFIA Animal Health office; confirm whether a fee applies at the specific port before travel

Critical points

Ukraine's civilian airspace remains closed as of mid-2026, so every pet begins this route by road into Poland or Romania before any flight is possible.

Canada's CUAET-linked work permit measures, most recently extended in March 2026 to give holders until 31 March 2027 to apply for a further extension, cover people only. There is no equivalent pet fast-track: a Ukrainian family arriving under those provisions still needs the standard CFIA high-risk-country dog process described here, with no waived age rule and no shortcut on the microchip timing.

A dog younger than 7 months that has lived in or transited Ukraine within the past 6 months cannot currently meet CFIA's minimum age rule for high-risk-country entry. Check the date arithmetic carefully before booking a flight; there is no exception for puppies.

The CFIA's commercial-dog ban on high-risk countries, in force since 28 September 2022, does not apply to a personal pet travelling with its owner. It's still worth confirming that distinction with the CFIA port office in advance, since documentation from a high-risk country gets closer scrutiny on arrival.

Airlines

Approved carriers on this route

Airline	Notes	Type
LOT Polish Airlines	Flies nonstop from Warsaw Chopin to Toronto Pearson six times a week on a Boeing 787 Dreamliner, roughly nine and a half hours. The only leg of this route that's genuinely simple to book, once the pet has already crossed overland from Ukraine into Poland.	Cargo Only
Air Canada Cargo	Operates a freighter link from Frankfurt to Toronto, an option for owners routing through Germany rather than Poland after crossing the Ukrainian border.	Cargo Only
Lufthansa Cargo	Connects Frankfurt, where a dedicated Animal Lounge handles layover care, onward to Toronto or Montreal, an alternative to the direct LOT booking for owners closer to a Romanian crossing point.	Cargo Only

Canada import rules, explained

Canada runs a strict import regime, so every document is checked closely on arrival. Build your plan around the fixed waiting periods, because they set the pace for everything else.

Practical tips for this move

Get your pet used to the travel crate weeks in advance. A calm, crate-familiar animal travels far better than one meeting the crate for the first time at the airport.

Confirm live animal acceptance on every flight segment before booking. Not all aircraft or connections take pets, and cargo terms can differ leg to leg.

Keep every original document together and take copies. Border officials want originals, and a missing signature or date can hold up clearance.

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.

FAQ

Common questions about this route

Yes. The CFIA includes Ukraine on its list of countries considered high-risk for dog rabies. That triggers a 15-digit ISO microchip requirement and a minimum age of 7 months for any dog that originated in, lived in, or transited Ukraine within the 6 months before entering Canada.

No. CFIA’s published requirements for a personal pet dog from a high-risk country don’t include a titre test, unlike the equivalent US CDC or UAE MOCCAE processes. The safeguard instead comes from the 7-month minimum age rule and a mandatory CFIA inspection at the port of entry.

No. Ukrainian civilian airspace has been closed to commercial flights since 24 February 2022 and remains closed as of mid-2026. Pets travel overland into Poland or Romania first, then fly from a working airport, most directly Warsaw, on to Toronto.

No. CUAET-linked measures, extended again in March 2026, cover work permits for people. They don’t waive or simplify any part of the CFIA’s pet entry process. A Ukrainian family’s dog or cat still needs to meet the standard high-risk-country requirements described here.

Airline guides

LOT Polish Airlines
Air Canada Cargo
Lufthansa Cargo

Breed guides

Check breed-specific airline rules and country bans.

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