Bringing Pets to Taiwan

Note: The rules and requirements listed here are geared towards pets coming from the United States.

Requirements for Pet Transport to Taiwan

Dogs, cats, and other small animals imported into Taiwan must undergo import quarantine in accordance with the Rabies Prevention Law. When following criteria have been fulfilled, the quarantine period for a dog or cat will be at least 21 days. Any dog or cat that has not fulfilled these criteria will be kept at an Animal Quarantine Station for the necessary period – up to 180 days.

Timeline for Entry

At Least 210 Days Prior to Arrival

Microchip

Each pet shall be identified by means of a microchip. No other form of identification is acceptable. The microchip used should comply with ISO Standard 11784 or Annex A to ISO standard 11785. Taiwan currently accepts AVID 9 and AVID 10 in addition to ISO. The microchip must be implanted before the rabies vaccine is administered.

During import inspection at the time of arrival in Taiwan, if the microchip number is not confirmed or the microchip number is not the same as that on the inspection certificate, the pet will be subject to a 180-day quarantine period.

Make sure all microchip numbers match on every document.

Rabies Vaccine

After the microchip is implanted, the pet receives a rabies vaccination. This must be an “inactivated rabies vaccination.”

Be sure to obtain certification of the period of validity for the particular vaccinations you obtain (1, 2 and 3 year vaccines are all acceptable).

The rabies vaccine must be given within one year of departure.

In the case of a primary vaccination (given at the age of at least 90 days old), the period between the day of vaccination and the day of shipment shall be no less than 180 days and no more than one year.

In the case of a booster vaccination, the pet shall have been vaccinated no more than one year prior to shipment.

Pets must be at least 90 days old at time of first vaccination.

Inoculation by an inactive vaccine BEFORE microchip implantation OR inoculation by a live vaccine will not be recognized and re-inoculation will be necessary.

At Least 180 Days Prior to Arrival

The pet should be tested not less than 180 days and not more than one year prior to shipment using a neutralizing antibody titer test with a titer of at least 0.5 IU/ml rabies antibodies in the blood.

The test should be carried out in a rabies reference laboratory of the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) or a laboratory designated by the Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine (BAPHIQ) of Taiwan.

The date of the blood sampling, the laboratory used, and the test results shall be well noted on all health certificates. The matching of these numbers is critical.

At Least 30 Days Prior to Arrival

At least 30 days before arrival, submit the following documents:

• Rabies Vaccination Certificate written in English stating:
• Pet Details (breed, DOB, color/markings, sex, age)
• Microchip
• Date of inoculation and validity period
• Lot/serial number
• Manufacturer and product name
• ‘Inactive’ or ‘killed virus’ used

FAVN: no more than ONE year prior to shipment, no less than 180 days prior to shipment.

At Least 3 to 10 Days Prior to Arrival

Obtain a Veterinary Certificate for the export of your pet to Taiwan from the United States from your vet within 10 days of departure.

The certificate must be approved by the national government in the country of export (the USDA if coming from the US).

Additional Vaccines

Though not required, we strongly recommend that the following immunizations and parasite treatments be given to your pets.

Dogs: Distemper, Contagious Hepatitis (Adenovirus type II acceptable), Parvovirus Infectious Disease Trivalent Vaccine, Parainflueza, Leptospirosis, and Corona Virus immunizations.

Cats: Feline Viral Rhinotracheitis, Feline Caliccivirus, Feline Panleukopenia Trivalent Vaccine

Parasite Treatment: We recommend that all treatments are completed as close as possible to your departure date.

External Parasites: Treat with medicine effective against both mites and fleas. Ask your vet to do a clinical inspection to confirm that your pet is free from these parasites.

Internal Parasites: Administer medicine effective against nematodes and tapeworms.

Arrival Procedure

Any pet arriving without an original veterinary certificate will be re-exported at the discretion of the Taiwanese government.

Inspection Process: When conducting quarantine inspection of the pet, the animal quarantine authority at the port of entry shall check the veterinary certificate and detain the pet at the designated post-entry quarantine premise for 21 days. During quarantine detention, the blood of the pet may be sampled and tested again for the rabies antibody. If the antibody is under 0.5IU/ml, the dog or cat shall be re-vaccinated with an inactivated rabies vaccine.

Pets arriving without the appropriate health certificate, without advance notice, without a readable microchip ID, or without the proper blood test and 180 day waiting period will be subject to quarantine upon arrival in Taiwan.