Moving abroad with several dogs or cats: the five-animal rule, airline limits and the budget

Who sets the limits, and what they mean for you

The five-animal rule and the authorised person

EU law defines a non-commercial movement of a pet as one that accompanies its owner, with no sale and no change of ownership. The Animal Health Law sets the ceiling: at most five animals (dogs, cats and ferrets together) per non-commercial movement. Since 22 April 2026, Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/131 adds that such a movement takes place in a single means of transport, unless that transport is public. The European Commission puts it plainly: seven dogs in your own car is not a non-commercial movement; six cats split three and three between the owner’s car and a friend’s car on the same day is compliant.

That friend is, in the texts, an authorised person: a natural person who carries a written authorisation signed by the owner (the model is Annex V, Part 1, of Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/705) and whose own journey falls within five days before or after the owner’s. A boarding pass or ticket is enough to prove it. The Commission adds a point that matters to relocating families: that person may, where appropriate, be a member of the carrier’s staff authorised by the owner. In other words, a pet that leaves as cargo with a forwarder while you fly on another flight the same week is still a non-commercial movement if four conditions are met: no sale, at most five animals, the owner travelling within five days, and a named person authorised in writing and responsible for the animal throughout.

There is one exception to the ceiling of five: competitions, exhibitions and sporting events, for animals over six months old registered for the event, with proof. A relocation is not one. Above five animals without that exception, the movement falls under commercial rules, which for entry into the EU means a border control post and freight-forwarding formalities. These are EU rules: when leaving France, the destination country decides, but a family that one day comes back to France with its animals meets the rule of five again.

Documents (passport, certificate, non-commercial declaration) are per animal: there is no group passport. The French side of a departure is described on our page about leaving France with a dog or cat.

What airlines accept per passenger

The EU limit is counted per movement; the airlines’ is counted per passenger, and it is often lower. Airline rules as published and as we read them (the reading date is on our airline pet policies page):

• Air France: in the cabin, one animal per bag and per passenger, up to 8 kg including the bag; in the hold, dogs and cats of 8 to 75 kg, at most three animals per passenger, a number the aircraft type can reduce. Book at least 24 hours ahead for the hold, 48 hours for the cabin.
• KLM: one animal in the cabin; up to three animals in the hold, 75 kg including the crate; no hold on some aircraft (Boeing 787-9 and 787-10, Airbus A321neo).
• SWISS: at most two animals per passenger, cabin or hold.
• Air Canada: one cat or small dog per passenger in the cabin; in the hold, up to 45 kg and 292 cm in linear dimensions per crate; beyond that, Air Canada Cargo.

In practice, a couple leaving with four animals, two of them small cats, can on Air France put two in the cabin (one per passenger) and two in the hold, if the aircraft allows it and the destination accepts cabin and hold. A family with five medium-sized dogs almost always exceeds the flight’s quota: the extra animals go as air cargo, handed to a forwarder, often on another flight and sometimes another day. Into the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Dubai, Australia or New Zealand, cargo is the only permitted mode anyway, for one animal or five.

Two consequences to plan for. Per-passenger quotas apply to the flight actually operated: on a codeshare, the rule is the operating carrier’s, not the one that sold the ticket. And a cargo flight on a different day stays compatible with the EU rule as long as the owner travels within the five-day window and a person named in the written authorisation answers for the animal.

The countries that count your animals

• United Arab Emirates: MOCCAE limits a private individual to two pets per person per year, resident pets returning aside. A family with three animals needs two importers. See France ⇄ UAE.
• China: one pet per person, and the Shanghai municipality stresses that the rule is applied strictly. Two pets mean two travellers, each with their own file. See France ⇄ China.
• South Korea: no prior approval; advance notice is only required from ten animals. See France ⇄ South Korea.
• Hong Kong: the AFCD special permit covers one consignment; as of 30 October 2026, AFCD charges HK$432 for one animal and HK$102 for each additional animal on the same permit. See France ⇄ Hong Kong.
• Japan: the animals are named in the notice sent to AQS 40 days before arrival; none can be added or swapped afterwards. See France ⇄ Japan.
• Singapore: licences are per animal, and home quarantine, where it applies, is charged per animal and per day (S$29 as of 30 October 2026, according to AVS). See France ⇄ Singapore.

For permit-and-quarantine destinations (Australia, New Zealand, Taiwan), each animal has its own file, its own quarantine place and its own permit or line on the permit: the lead times do not add up, but the fees do.

One crate per animal, or two animals per crate?

The IATA rules airlines apply in the hold and as cargo allow two adult animals in one crate on three conditions: comparable size, no more than 14 kg each, and used to living together. Puppies or kittens from the same litter, up to six months old and 14 kg each, may travel up to three per crate. Above 14 kg, every animal has its own crate. IATA also notes that some national regulations require one crate per animal, and that the airline has the final say.

In the cabin the question does not arise on Air France: one animal per bag and per passenger. In practice we advise one crate per animal as soon as either weighs more than 10 kg or the flight is long: a shared crate is sized for the larger of the two, and two cats that get on at home do not always tolerate each other for twelve hours in the dark. Measuring and choosing a model is covered in our IATA crate size guide and on our airline pet crates page.

Vaccinations and titre tests for several animals: one timeline

A move’s timeline is set by the least advanced animal. Microchip, rabies vaccination at 12 weeks at the earliest, 21 days until it counts, blood drawn for the titre test at least 30 days after the vaccination for the EU and inside each destination’s window: every step applies to every animal, and the last one vaccinated or tested fixes the departure date for all. A kitten in the household imposes its age on the group: France does not admit an animal under about 15 weeks, and Australia, Japan or Taiwan push arrival months beyond the titre test.

• Draw the blood samples on the same day and send them to the same approved laboratory: one parcel, one turnaround, one set of results to forward.
• Expect that an insufficient titre in a single animal means revaccinating and retesting it, and delays its departure: either the whole group waits, or that animal leaves later, with an authorised person or as cargo.
• Group the vet visits and the DDPP appointment: certificates are individual, but the validity window is the same for all if the animals leave together.

The vaccine-by-vaccine timings are in our article on the rabies vaccine and titre test, and the month-by-month sequence in moving abroad with your dog.

What several animals change in the budget

Almost every item multiplies with the number of animals, but not in the same way:

• The airline charges a fee per bag in the cabin and per crate in the hold, on every flight segment.
• Cargo is charged by the chargeable weight of each crate, animal included, plus the forwarder’s fees and customs clearance on arrival; two crates on the same flight cost less than two separate shipments.
• Permits and licences are charged per animal (Singapore, Taiwan) or per consignment with a surcharge per animal (Hong Kong); each France ⇄ country guide gives the official amounts it verified.
• The vet and the laboratory bill each procedure and each analysis per animal; only the trip to the DDPP is shared.
• Crates are bought one by one, and a shared crate is not always the cheaper option once it is sized for the larger animal.

Our quote lists these items animal by animal, with our fees separate from every third-party cost, so one family can compare a grouped departure in the hold with a split between hold and cargo. How a quote is built: our pricing. For a dog or a cat specifically: international dog transport and international cat transport.

Frequently asked questions

Read next

More articles