International pet relocation costs: what you actually pay for

Why you will not find price ranges here

An international move is paid to several parties: your vet, a laboratory, the official veterinary services, the airline, sometimes a freight forwarder, the destination's authorities and, if you use one, a relocation service. Each sets its own prices, and airline charges change often. Rather than publish ranges we could not back up, we explain what the price is made of. The only amounts quoted below are official fees, taken from the authority's own site, with the unit and the date we read them.

The cost components

Not every item applies to every move. A vaccinated dog moving to Germany needs neither a titre test nor an official certificate; a cat moving to Japan needs nearly all of them.

How air cargo is charged

As cargo, a pet is not billed on its own weight alone. The airline charges whichever of two weights is higher:

• Actual weight: the animal and its crate weighed together.
• Volumetric weight: the crate's length × width × height in centimetres, divided by a factor, commonly 6,000.

Korean Air Cargo gives a worked example: a 10 kg dog in a 15 kg crate measuring 60 × 80 × 50 cm weighs 25 kg on the scales but 40 kg by volume (240,000 ÷ 6,000), so the shipment is charged at 40 kg. Surcharges (fuel, security and others) come on top and move over time.

For a large dog it is often the crate that sets the price. It cannot be made smaller, though: IATA's standard requires the animal to be able to stand, sit, lie down and turn around, and asks for a crate 10% larger for snub-nosed breeds. If the crate falls short of those minimum standards, the animal is not accepted for travel. See airline pet crates.

In the cabin and in the hold, each airline applies its own scale, per crate or by weight band. We read it on the airline's site for your flight when we quote. How the three ways of flying differ is covered in flying with a dog: cabin, hold or cargo.

Official fees: a few verified examples

Fees set by an authority are the only figures that can be given with confidence. Read on 19 October 2026:

• United States, dog entry: the CDC Dog Import Form is free.
• United States, departure for France: USDA endorsement of the health certificate costs USD 101 per certificate with no laboratory tests, or USD 160 with one or two tests for one animal (plus USD 10 for each additional animal on the same certificate). Page last modified 18 June 2026.
• Singapore: a pet import licence costs SGD 50 (normal service) or SGD 100 (express); without an appointment, the arrival inspection is charged SGD 133 per hour or part of an hour.
• France: the Paris DDPP shows no fee for veterinary certification, and we found no official published fee for titre tests at the approved labs. Ask when you book.

What makes the price go up or down

• Size and weight decide the crate, and so the chargeable weight as cargo, and which ways of flying are open to you.
• Route: direct or with connections, a required arrival airport, a destination that insists on cargo (Australia and New Zealand, for example).
• Season: busy periods mean fewer spaces, and heat or cold on the ground can rule some flights out.
• Number of pets: each animal normally needs its own crate. IATA allows sharing only for weaned puppies or kittens no older than six months (three at most) or two adults of comparable size, each up to 14 kg and used to living together. For entry into or travel within the EU, moving more than five pets is no longer a non-commercial movement (apart from shows and competitions), which brings heavier formalities.
• Lead time: planning early keeps the choice of flights open. For strict destinations, waiting periods cannot be shortened.
• Destination: permits, inspection and quarantine can cost more than the flight itself.
• Travelling with or without you: the European Commission explains that a pet in the hold or as cargo is still a non-commercial movement if the owner, or an authorised person, is on the same flight. On separate flights you need a person authorised in writing and no more than 5 days between the pet's and the owner's travel.

Comparing quotes

Two quotes can only be compared if they cover the same things. For each, check:

• The breakdown: vet, titre, certificates, crate, flight, ground charges, destination fees, coordination.
• What is included and what you pay separately, official fees and quarantine in particular.
• How and by which route the pet travels: cabin, hold or cargo, connections, arrival airport.
• The crate size assumed: a quote built on a crate that is too small will go up.
• Who does what: who books, who is the shipper, who handles road transfers.
• How long the quote is valid and what happens if the flight or date changes.

Warning signs

Our quotes

Pawgeot handles the research into the rules, the timeline, document preparation, bookings and coordination; road transport goes through partners, subject to availability. Our quote shows each item separately. See how our quotes are built, and pet air cargo for how cargo moves work.

Frequently asked questions

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