How to bring your cat to Australia from a Group 2 country

Importing a cat or dog to Australia is a complex process. It will take at least 6 months to complete. You will need to make sure your cat meets a range of import conditions. This includes multiple veterinary visits, checks and treatments.

Seek help from a pet transport agent with experience in importing cats to Australia. They will help guide you through the import process.

To find a pet transport agent or shipper you can:

• search online (use terms like ‘pet transport agent Australia’)
• check the International Pet and Animal Transportation Association (IPATA).

We cannot recommend one agent over another. We have no influence over any fees or charges an agent may require for their services.

This step-by-step guide is for cats exported from Group 2 countries. These are approved countries of origin for cat imports into Australia.

Check the list of Group 2 countries to make sure this is the right guide for you.

You must import your cat to Australia from a department-approved country (includes Group 2 countries). Group 2 approved countries are rabies-free.

To be eligible, your cat must have either:

• lived in a group 1 or group 2 (rabies free) approved country since birth, or
• only resided in a group 1 or group 2 (rabies free) approved country since it was exported directly from Australia, or
• been in a group 1 or group 2 (rabies free) approved country for at least 180 days since an official identity check and immediately before the proposed date of export.

When you plan to export your cat, it must NOT be:

• under quarantine restrictions
• more than 30 days pregnant
• nursing kittens.

Hybrid cats NOT allowed into Australia include:

• Savannah cats: domestic cat (Felis catus) crossed with serval cat (Felis serval)
• Safari cats: domestic cat crossed with Geoffrey cat (Oncifelis geoffroyi)
• Chausie cats: domestic cat crossed with Jungle cat (Felis chaus)
• Bengal cats: domestic cat crossed with Asian leopard cat (Prionailurus bengalensis)

If you plan to import a Bengal cat, contact the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water at Exotic.Species@dcceew.gov.au. You’ll need to confirm your cat satisfies their requirements before you apply for an import permit.

If your cat is sick or old

We do not recommend importing sick or very old animals. International travel can cause them to de-stabilise and rapidly deteriorate. Even cats with well-managed chronic diseases can arrive in distress and poor health.

Animals may be unable to get medication during transport. As a pet owner, you must consider if it’s in your pet’s best interests to travel the long distance and stay in quarantine.

All pre-export veterinary procedures must be completed:

• by a government approved veterinarian
• while your cat resides in the country of export
• before departing for Australia.

This process ensures your cat doesn’t bring diseases to Australia.

When you talk to the competent authority in your country, they will let you know:

• any local procedures or requirements you must meet before you export your cat
• how to find government approved veterinarians to prepare your cat for export to Australia
• how to find approved laboratories for pre-export testing.

We rely on the competent authority to identify which vets can prepare cats for export in their jurisdiction. In many countries, this may simply be a registered veterinarian. In some countries, it may be specific vets. Contact the competent authority to check local requirements.

We recommend you read this whole guide before you start the import process.

This guide details important actions you must take. This includes applying for and being issued with an import permit. Your import permit outlines the exact preparations required for your cat. You must meet all these conditions before you bring your cat to Australia. 

Share this guide and your import permit with your approved veterinarian and pet transport company. They will help you meet all conditions.

Microchips are the only approved identification method. The competent authority in the export country will use the microchip to verify your cat’s identity.

A government approved veterinarian must scan the microchip:

• at each vet visit
• before any pre-export blood sampling.

They will check that the microchip number is recorded on all documentation.

Your cat must be implanted with a microchip that is ISO compliant. Generally, microchips with 10 or 15 digits are ISO compliant.

Microchip numbers starting with 999 are not accepted because they are not unique.

If your cat has 2 microchips

Both microchip numbers must be included on:

• the import permit application
• the final import permit
• all laboratory reports.

Both microchips must be scanned and recorded at each veterinary visit. They must match all import documents.

If your cat’s microchip stops working

The veterinarian should try multiple microchip scanners to read the microchip. An X-ray can be used to locate the microchip if it has moved from the implant site.

Your cat’s identity must be verified by the competent authority in the export country.

Approach the competent authority in the export country. Ask them to verify your cat’s identity so you can import your cat to Australia.

They will provide an identification declaration directly to us.

Identity declarations are valid for as long as the animal:

• can be identified by the verified microchip on the declaration, and
• resides in the group 2 approved country.

Apply for your import permit through our Biosecurity Import Conditions System (BICON).

Be aware that applying for an import permit does not guarantee you will be issued with one.

How to apply for a permit

If your permit is issued, you must make sure you meet all your import permit conditions.

The conditions will be specified on the permit. This includes specific pre-export veterinary procedures required for your cat. These conditions are mandatory.

Make sure you read all import permit conditions and understand what you need to do.

If you fail to comply with your permit conditions, your cat may be:

• held longer in post entry quarantine
• subject to additional testing
• exported
• euthanised.

You will also be liable for any costs involved.

Cats must spend at least 10 days at the Mickleham post entry quarantine facility. Our quarantine facility is designed to comfortably accommodate cats and meet their needs.

See more about the quarantine facility and how to book.

We have specific rules for travel that include stops in other countries.

These rules depend on whether the cat will:

• remain on the plane (transiting)
• be unloaded from the plane and moved to another plane (transhipping).

Make sure you understand these rules when choosing flights.

Transiting

During transport to Australia, cats may transit in all countries. This means the plane can touch down in a country, but your cat must stay on the plane on the international side of the airport.

Transhipping

Your cat may only tranship (change aircraft) in:

• an approved group 1 or group 2 country, OR
• these cities in group 3 countries:
  • Amsterdam
  • Frankfurt
  • Copenhagen
  • London
  • Dubai
  • Hong Kong.

Your cat must not leave the international side of the airport. It must stay under the supervision of the competent authority in the country of transhipment. It must be in a place that restricts contact with other animals.

It is your responsibility as the importer to contact the competent authority in the country of transhipment. You need to find out:

• whether they allow animals to tranship
• whether they have a facility to hold animals during transhipment
• how long the animals can be held
• if additional conditions apply.

Your cat must arrive directly into Melbourne International airport. We do not permit domestic transfers.

Your cat must travel:

• as manifested cargo (not in the cabin)
• in an International Air Transport Association (IATA) approved crate.

We are not responsible for your cat while they are under the care of the aircraft operator.

All veterinary preparations must be done by a government approved veterinarian.

Any testing must also be done by a laboratory approved by the competent authority in the country of export.

To find a government approved veterinarian or laboratory, contact the competent authority in the export country. This is the government veterinary service or equivalent.

We cannot give advice on treatments for diseases. Seek advice from a veterinarian if your cat tests positive to an infectious disease listed in the import conditions.

We recommend you share this step-by-step guide and your import permit with the approved vet.

Your vet will help you make sure you meet all import conditions. This information is also useful to share with pet transport companies.

This is an optional step.

We recommend that your cat is vaccinated against:

• feline enteritis (also known as feline panleukopenia or feline distemper)
• rhinotracheitis
• calicivirus.

These diseases exist in Australia. Vaccination is not mandatory.

A government approved veterinarian must treat your cat with an acceptable product that kills ticks and fleas on contact. The chosen product must remain effective against new flea and tick infestations until the date of export to Australia.

The veterinarian may need to repeat to maintain protection until export. They must follow the manufacturer’s directions.

At each visit after the treatment has started, the veterinarian must examine the cat for external parasites. If fleas or ticks are found they must be removed, and the treatment restarted.

See acceptable external parasite treatments.

A government approved veterinarian must treat your cat for nematodes and cestodes (internal parasites).

See acceptable internal parasite treatments.

Your cat must be examined for external parasites and clinical signs of infectious or contagious disease. A government approved veterinarian or official government veterinarian must do this.

You must bring these documents to the examination:

• a valid import permit
• a copy of the veterinary health certificate for the government approved vet to complete at this visit. You’ll need to get a blank copy from the competent authority. 

The veterinary health certificate is an agreed document between the department and your competent authority.

You will need to get a blank copy from your competent authority. The approved vet completing your cat’s preparations will then complete the certificate.

An official government veterinarian must:

• complete, sign and stamp all pages of the Veterinary Health Certificate (endorsement)
• give you a seal to be placed on the cat’s crate at the time of export. The official vet must record the seal number on the Veterinary Health Certificate.

Any corrections to the Veterinary Health Certificate must be struck through. Corrections must be legible and signed and stamped by the official government veterinarian. Do not use correction fluid.

Your cat must arrive in Australia with these documents:

• a valid import permit
• a Veterinary Health Certificate
• laboratory test reports (if relevant).

Each page of the veterinary health certificate and laboratory reports (if relevant) must bear the original (‘wet ink’) stamp, signature and date of the endorsing official government veterinarian and competent authority.

Only the first page of the import permit needs to be endorsed.

Your cat must arrive in Australia before your import permit expires.

On the day of travel:

• place your cat in an International Air Transport Association (IATA) approved crate for cats (see Step 5)
• don't place any items, including toys, medication or items of value, in the crate (these will be destroyed as biosecurity waste upon arrival)
• seal your cat into the crate using the seal supplied by the official government veterinarian.

In most cases, you will check your cat in at the freight terminal, not the passenger terminal.

The cat’s crate must remain sealed. The seal must be intact on arrival in Australia. 

Your cat’s crate may only be opened in exceptional circumstances. Opening the crate will cause the tamper-evident seal to be broken.

If this occurs, the crate must be resealed by:

• official government veterinarian, or
• airport authority, or
• captain of the aircraft.

They must also provide a certificate detailing the circumstances. The certificate should be attached to the outside of the crate before departure from the port where the seal was broken.

You can find more information on the IATA website.

One of our biosecurity officers will collect your cat on arrival. They will transport your cat directly to the Mickleham post entry quarantine facility.

We’ll help your cat settle in and get comfortable after its flight. We will check your cat to make sure they’re healthy and free from diseases or pests of biosecurity concern. We’ll assess your cat’s import documents to check your cat complies with our import conditions.

Your cat will be housed in large, individual, climate-controlled enclosure. They’ll be fed quality food, groomed, and provided with enrichment. We will give you updates on your cat’s health and wellbeing.

Read more about our state-of-the-art quarantine facilities.

If your cat does not comply with the permit conditions, further tests, treatments or quarantine may apply.

You are responsible for meeting local requirements for cats in Australia.

Contact your local Australian council or government. They can tell you what you must do. This might include registering your cat and their microchip and paying yearly fees.