Taking a dog or cat to China, and bringing it home to France

At a glance

China → France

Bringing a pet from China to France

Mainland China is listed in neither Annex I nor Annex II to Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/636 (Hong Kong is in Annex II, but it is a separate entry on that list). A dog or cat arriving from China therefore needs:

• An ISO microchip, implanted before or on the same day as the rabies vaccine.
• A rabies vaccination given at 12 weeks or older, with the primary course at least 21 days old on arrival.
• A titre test of at least 0.5 IU/ml on blood drawn at least 30 days after vaccination and at least 90 days before the health certificate is issued, run by an EU official lab or an EU-designated lab in China.
• An EU animal health certificate (the Annex III model of Regulation (EU) 2026/705) issued by Chinese customs within 10 days of arrival, with the owner's non-commercial declaration.
• Arrival through a travellers' point of entry, where the pet is declared and presented to customs.

Three situations on the way back

• Short stay, pet living in France, titre done before leaving and recorded in the passport, no booster given in China: the pet re-enters on its EU pet passport, with no 90-day wait.
• Booster given in China, or settled in China for good: the passport alone is no longer enough; the pet needs an official certificate issued in China. A titre test done in France before departure still counts if vaccination was never interrupted.
• Pet with no titre test: vaccination, a blood draw at least 30 days later at an EU-designated lab, then at least 90 days before the certificate. Allow at least four months.

EU-designated labs in China

The European Commission lists five: the Changchun Veterinary Research Institute (CVRI, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences), the Military Veterinary Research Institute in Changchun, Sino Tech World Biologicals (Beijing), the Institute of Animal Health of the Guangdong Academy of Agricultural Sciences (Guangzhou) and the Shanghai Customs Technical Centre.

The customs-issued certificate

In China, customs issue the health certificate for export. We found no published national text on this step. In Shanghai, the municipal government says the health check takes place 7 to 10 days before departure (7 to 9 days for European countries), that the certificate is issued 3 working days after the application, and that certificates for the EU are valid for 10 days. For other cities we check the local procedure. Certificates on the old model (Regulation 577/2013) are accepted only if issued before 1 October 2026.

France → China

Moving to China with a dog or cat

Entry conditions are set by Announcement No. 5 of 2019 of the General Administration of Customs (GACC), in force since 1 May 2019. As the Chinese customs website could not be reached during our checks, we read them in the official copies published by China's international trade single window and by the Beijing and Shanghai municipal governments.

Chinese customs designate 19 countries and regions: New Zealand, Australia, Fiji, French Polynesia, Hawaii, Guam, Jamaica, Iceland, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Liechtenstein, Cyprus, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland, Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong and Macao. France is not one of them.

What China requires

• One dog or cat per person per entry. The Shanghai government stresses that the rule is applied strictly. Two pets mean two travellers.
• An ISO 11784/11785 microchip; with another type of chip, the owner brings a reader.
• Rabies vaccination with an inactivated or recombinant vaccine; the vaccination certificate shows the product, the maker and the validity.
• A rabies antibody titre test of at least 0.5 IU/ml, from a lab recognised by Chinese customs, on blood drawn after the second vaccination, which means at least two vaccinations. The result is valid for 1 year from the draw.
• An official health certificate from the exporting country (in France, endorsed by the DDPP or DDETSPP) plus the rabies vaccination certificate, with a clinical examination by the exporting authority within 14 days before arrival. No visible alterations.

A pet arriving without these documents is sent back or destroyed.

Thirty days' quarantine without a valid titre test

A pet from a non-designated country with no valid titre test from a recognised lab, or no microchip, spends 30 days in quarantine at a customs-designated facility. It can then only enter through an equipped point of entry: Shanghai customs list ten, including Beijing Capital, Shanghai Pudong, Shanghai Hongqiao and Guangzhou Baiyun airports. A compliant pet can enter through any point of entry.

Microchip and vaccination

• Into China: ISO chip, at least two inactivated or recombinant rabies vaccinations, then the blood draw. China's rules set no interval between the two doses.
• Into France: chip before the vaccine (or the same day), vaccine at 12 weeks or older, primary course at least 21 days old on arrival.

Keep vaccination up to date without a break throughout the stay: that is what keeps a titre test done in France valid for the return. For China, on the other hand, the test is only valid for a year, so a pet making several trips will need it redone.

Puppies and kittens: to enter France from China, with the vaccine at 12 weeks, 30 days before the blood draw and 90 days before the certificate, a pet cannot arrive before it is about six and a half months old.

Documents to prepare

• Leaving France: the official health certificate endorsed by the DDPP, with the clinical exam within the last 14 days; the rabies vaccination certificate; the titre report from ANSES or Inovalys; the EU passport; your own passport, since each pet is attached to one traveller.
• Leaving China on the passport: an EU passport showing a titre test done before leaving the EU and a valid vaccination with no booster given in China.
• Leaving China on a certificate: the EU health certificate issued by Chinese customs within 10 days of arrival; a certified copy of the titre report; the non-commercial declaration; your boarding pass.

See veterinary documents.

Rabies antibody titre test

The test is required both ways, but the accepted labs differ:

The Chinese list is the one published as of 15 August 2025, in the Shanghai municipal government's copy: the latest version we could consult. For Inovalys, the Chinese list gives an Angers address rather than Le Mans, so we confirm with the lab which site runs the test. We recommend ANSES Nancy, which both lists recognise without ambiguity.

For the EU, blood must be drawn at least 30 days after vaccination; for China, after the second dose and less than a year before arrival. A draw after the second vaccination meets both.

For more on titre timing and pitfalls, see rabies vaccination and the titre test.

Typical timeline

France to China, without quarantine

1. Microchip and first vaccination

   If your pet has already had several rabies vaccinations, we check with you whether its record already meets the two-vaccination rule.

2. Second vaccination

   China's rules set no interval.

3. Blood draw after the second vaccine, less than a year before arrival

   Sent to ANSES Nancy; result recorded in the passport.

4. Clinical exam and DDPP endorsement within 14 days before arrival

   DDPP Paris asks for the appointment request at least 15 days before departure.

5. Arrival in China

   One pet per traveller.

Allow 2–3 months, depending on vaccinations already done and lab turnaround. The other way, without a titre test done before leaving, allow at least 4 months: 30 days, blood draw, 90 days, certificate.

How pets travel

China accepts pets in the cabin (where the airline allows it), in the hold or as cargo, but only one pet per traveller, whatever the airline's own limits. Hainan Airlines' winter 2026-27 timetable (updated 13 October 2026) lists flights to Paris from Shenzhen, Xi'an and Jinan via Chongqing. Airline rules as published on 19 October 2026:

For other airlines, Air France included, we check the conditions on the chosen route and date before booking. A pet travelling without its owner goes as air cargo; in the hold, the travel crate must meet IATA standards.

Airports and border checks

In China: a compliant pet can enter through any point of entry. A pet that has to be quarantined can only enter through one of the ten equipped points listed by Shanghai customs, including Beijing Capital, Shanghai Pudong, Shanghai Hongqiao and Guangzhou Baiyun.

In France: a pet from China must enter through a travellers' point of entry. France refers to the border-crossing list published in 2021, which includes Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Paris-Orly, Lyon-Saint-Exupéry and Nice-Côte d'Azur; customs note that not every post can check animals. Document and identity checks are systematic, including for a pet coming home on its EU passport. See French airports.

A pet that does not comply: in France the authorities can isolate it until it complies, send it back outside the EU or, as a last resort, order it to be put down, at the owner's expense.

What drives the cost

Towards China, the deciding item is the titre test: done in time at a recognised lab, it avoids 30 days of quarantine. Add the vaccinations, the clinical exam, DDPP certification, the crate and the flight, which varies a great deal between airlines (see the table above). Towards France, without a prior titre test, budget for a test in China and three months' delay.

Chinese customs quarantine fees, DDPP fees and French lab fees are not published in the official sources we read: our quote lists each item separately.

Common mistakes

• Travelling alone with two pets: China admits only one per person.
• Having the titre test done at LD31, which is not on the Chinese list.
• Drawing blood after a single vaccination.
• Arriving with a non-compliant pet at an airport with no quarantine facility.
• Assuming the return to France needs no titre test: China is not exempt.
• Coming home on the passport alone after a booster given in China.

Frequently asked questions

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