Moving with a dog or cat between France and Australia

At a glance

Australia → France

Bringing a pet from Australia to France

Australia is in Annex II to Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/636. A dog or cat arriving from Australia needs no rabies antibody titre test, provided its route only touches listed countries, or a transit declaration is signed for a stop in an unlisted one. It needs:

• A microchip and a valid rabies vaccination, with the primary vaccination at least 21 days old on the day of travel.
• The EU animal health certificate (the Annex III model in Regulation 2026/705), issued by DAFF and no more than 10 days old when the pet enters the EU.
• The written declaration that the move is non-commercial.
• Arrival through a travellers' point of entry, with the pet declared to customs.

DAFF's export process

Australia's Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) keeps destination requirements in its MICoR database. To export a pet, you email a Notice of Intention (NOI) to the DAFF regional office at least 10 working days before departure; DAFF charges a fee to assess it. A registered vet examines the pet within 72 hours of departure, or within the period the destination country sets; DAFF then issues the export permit and health certificate, and the pet must leave within 72 hours of the permit being issued. On the EU side, the certificate must be no more than 10 days old at entry, so the schedule has to satisfy both limits.

Might you move back to Australia one day?

DAFF has rules for pets returning to Australia. A pet coming back from a Group 3 country with its Australian export certificate may qualify for 10 days of quarantine, and a titre test done before leaving through Australia's national laboratory (ACDP), kept valid, avoids another 180-day wait. If you plan to return within 6 months, DAFF advises getting the import permit before you leave.

France → Australia

Moving to Australia with a dog or cat

DAFF puts France, Monaco, Réunion and every EU member state in Group 3: countries where rabies is present but well controlled. New Caledonia, French Polynesia and Wallis and Futuna are in Group 2, with different rules; for other French overseas territories, we check the case with you.

General conditions

• Residence: lived in an approved country for at least 180 days before export, counted from the day the titre sample reaches the laboratory.
• Microchip: ISO standard; numbers starting with 999 are not accepted. The chip is scanned at every visit, and a lab report cannot be amended afterwards for a wrong number.
• Rabies vaccination given at 84 days of age or older and kept valid without a gap from the titre sample until export.
• Banned dogs: Dogo Argentino, Fila Brasileiro, Japanese Tosa, American Pit Bull Terrier and Pit Bull Terrier, Perro de Presa Canario, and wolf hybrids (Czechoslovakian Wolfdog, Saarloos Wolfdog, Lupo Italiano, Kunming Wolfdog).
• Banned cats: Savannah, Safari, Chausie and, from 1 March 2026, Bengal.

The identity check: 10 days of quarantine instead of 30

This check is optional but makes a real difference. Done by the competent authority (in France, normally the official vet of the DDPP or DDETSPP; we check this for your case) before any other export preparation, at a separate visit ahead of the titre blood sample, at least 180 days before export, and sent straight to DAFF, it cuts the Mickleham stay from 30 to at least 10 days. An EU pet passport does not count as evidence. A blood sample taken before this check costs you the shorter quarantine.

Titre test and declaration

The titre test is covered below. Once the result is in, an official government vet signs and stamps the RNATT declaration for the exporting country: DAFF accepts only the country-specific declaration negotiated with each trading partner.

The import permit

You apply in BICON after the RNATT declaration. Most permits are issued in 20 to 40 business days, some take up to 123. The permit stays valid until the titre test expires. It costs AUD 626 for the first animal and AUD 299 for each additional animal in the same consignment (as of 19 October 2026; minimum, non-refundable fees).

Dog tests and treatments

Day 0 is the day of the treatment or sample, counted to the day of export.

• Leptospira Canicola: vaccination between 12 months and 14 days before export, or a negative MAT test within 45 days.
• Brucella canis (entire dogs): negative test within 45 days.
• Leishmania infantum (IFAT or ELISA): negative test within 45 days.
• External parasites: continuous treatment starting at least 30 days before export.
• Internal parasites: two treatments within 45 days, at least 14 days apart, the second within 5 days of export.

Cats follow the same rabies, titre, permit and quarantine rules; external parasite treatment starts at least 21 days before export, plus two internal parasite treatments.

Final exam and quarantine

Within 5 days before export, the official vet examines the pet and signs and stamps every page in ink; the original travels with the animal. On arrival, the pet goes into the federal post-entry quarantine facility at Mickleham, Victoria: at least 10 days with the prior identity check, at least 30 days without it.

Microchip and vaccinations

The microchip comes first: ISO standard, and for Australia never a number beginning with 999. If your pet has one, talk to us before anything else. The rabies vaccine must have been given at 84 days of age or older and must stay valid without interruption from the blood sample to departure; a booster missed during the 180-day wait can unravel the whole file.

For the return to France, the usual EU rule applies: microchip before or on the day of vaccination, a primary vaccination at least 21 days old, or a booster given within the validity of the previous one.

Documents checklist

• Leaving France: identity check report sent to DAFF; titre laboratory report; RNATT declaration signed by the official vet; import permit; test results (Leishmania, Brucella, leptospirosis) and treatment records; health certificate signed and stamped on every page within 5 days before export; Mickleham booking; air waybill.
• Leaving Australia: export permit and EU animal health certificate issued by DAFF; non-commercial declaration; rabies vaccination record; transit declaration if the route stops in an unlisted country; proof that the owner travels within 5 days before or after the pet.

More on certificates and endorsements: vet documents.

Rabies antibody titre test

Going to Australia, the titre test (RNATT, by FAVN or RFFIT) must show at least 0.5 IU/ml. The sample must be taken between 12 months and 180 days before export and, crucially, no export is possible until 180 days after the sample arrives at the laboratory, with no exceptions. The date of the blood draw is not the reference. The result is valid for 12 months from sampling.

DAFF requires a laboratory recognised by the government of the exporting country but publishes no list. France's official list, from the Ministry of Agriculture, has three laboratories: ANSES Nancy (Malzéville), Laboratoire départemental 31 (Launaguet) and INOVALYS (Le Mans). Do not use a laboratory that has dropped off that list.

Coming to France, no titre test is required for a pet arriving from Australia.

Typical timeline (France → Australia)

1. Check breed, microchip and vaccine 8 months ahead

   An accepted breed and species, an ISO chip outside the 999 range, a valid rabies vaccine.

2. Identity check by the official vet before anything else

   This is what makes the 10-day quarantine possible.

3. Titre blood sample at the next visit

   The 180-day countdown starts when the sample reaches the laboratory.

4. RNATT declaration and permit once the result is in

   Usually 20–40 business days to process, sometimes more, so apply early in the wait.

5. Book Mickleham and the cargo flight once the permit is issued

   Flight to Melbourne as manifested cargo.

6. Tests and treatments within 45 days

   Leishmaniasis, brucellosis, leptospirosis, parasite treatments.

7. Final exam and official endorsement within 5 days

   Every page signed and stamped.

8. Arrival in Melbourne and quarantine at least 10 days

   Or at least 30 days without the prior identity check.

How pets travel

DAFF requires pets to travel directly to Melbourne International Airport, with no domestic transfer, as manifested cargo (never in the cabin), in an IATA-compliant crate. Transhipment is only allowed in an approved country, under the supervision of its competent authority. We found no nonstop service between France and Melbourne.

Qantas flies between Paris and Perth. As of 19 October 2026, it says that from 25 October 2026 to 31 January 2027 its Sydney–Paris service routes via Singapore instead of Perth in the Paris-bound direction, with the return unchanged. But that route cannot be used to bring a pet into Australia: Qantas Freight states that pets arriving in Australia must travel on a direct flight into Melbourne (unless coming from New Zealand or Norfolk Island) and be booked through a pet travel specialist. Qantas carries pets in the hold only; only service dogs fly in the cabin.

See air cargo for pets and travel crates.

Airports and checks

In Australia, there is one arrival airport: Melbourne. From there the pet goes to the Mickleham post-entry quarantine facility in Victoria, booked in advance.

In France, the pet enters through a travellers' point of entry such as Paris-Charles de Gaulle. You declare it and show its certificate to customs, who check the paperwork and the microchip; there is no appointment to book. A pet that does not comply can be isolated, sent back or, as a last resort, put down, at the owner's expense.

What drives the cost

Australian official charges, as of 19 October 2026:

The reservation, confirmation and husbandry charges come from the Australian regulations in force since 1 July 2026. DAFF's fees page for the period after that date (inspections, out-of-hours work, other services) could not be read, so we confirm the detail when we quote.

Other items have no published official rate: the titre test, disease tests and treatments, vet visits, DDPP certification, the crate and the cargo flight to Melbourne. Our quote lists each item separately.

Common mistakes

• Taking the blood sample before the identity check: quarantine goes from at least 10 days to at least 30.
• Counting the 180 days from the blood draw instead of the sample's arrival at the lab.
• Keeping a 999 microchip.
• Booking a passenger flight or any arrival other than Melbourne, including the Paris–Perth service.
• Planning to move with a Bengal cat: not accepted from 1 March 2026.
• Letting the rabies vaccine lapse during the 180-day wait.

Frequently asked questions

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More destinations: Oceania

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