Moving with a dog or cat between France and the United Arab Emirates

At a glance

UAE → France

Bringing a pet from the UAE to France

The United Arab Emirates is listed in Annex II to Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/636. A dog or cat arriving directly from the UAE, or that has only been in listed countries, is therefore exempt from the rabies antibody titre test. Watch the stopovers: Qatar and Türkiye are not on the EU lists. When connecting in Doha or Istanbul, the owner signs a declaration that the pet stayed on board or inside the airport's international zone, without contact with animals susceptible to rabies.

• An EU health certificate (the model in Annex III to Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/705), in French and English, issued by an official vet, or by an authorised vet and then endorsed by the competent authority of the departure country. MOCCAE does not explain how this certificate is issued and endorsed in practice in the UAE: we check it for your case.
• No more than 10 days between the certificate's issue (or endorsement) and the check on arrival in the EU. MOCCAE offers an export health certificate valid for 30 days; to enter France, the EU's 10-day limit is what counts.
• The owner's declaration that the move is not commercial, attached to the certificate; at most five pets, travelling with their owner or a person authorised in writing, within 5 days before or after the owner.
• Entry through a travellers' point of entry, where the pet is presented to customs.

MOCCAE notes that no certificate of origin is needed for dogs and cats unless the destination country asks for one, which France does not. Nor does France issue any prior import permit for pets.

Coming back to France on the EU passport

A pet that lived in France and returns after a stay in the UAE can come back on its EU passport if the rabies vaccination recorded before departure is still valid on return. A booster given in the UAE cannot be entered in that passport: if the EU vaccination has lapsed, the pet needs the EU health certificate, as on a first trip. If you are resident in the UAE, your pet counts as coming from the UAE.

If you may move back to the UAE one day

MOCCAE has rules for resident pets returning: a MOCCAE veterinary health certificate obtained before leaving the UAE, a microchip, a certificate from the departure country and a rabies vaccination kept valid until the return. If the vaccination lapses, first-import rules apply. The Arabic version of the page also requires an import permit for that return: we check this point for your case.

France → UAE

Moving to the UAE with a dog or cat

Dog and cat imports are handled by MOCCAE, the federal Ministry of Climate Change and Environment. Its starting point often surprises French owners: France is not on its list of low-risk countries. The list includes Spain, Belgium, the Netherlands, Portugal, Switzerland, the UK and even French Polynesia and New Caledonia, but not metropolitan France (nor Germany or Italy). A pet leaving France therefore follows the high-risk rules. The list is undated and changes without notice, so we re-check it before every departure.

What MOCCAE requires

• An import permit, applied for online before travel. It is valid for 90 days; a pet cannot enter on an expired permit.
• No more than two pets per person per year, resident pets returning aside.
• A permanent microchip whose number matches the one on the health certificate.
• Vaccinations: rabies (first dose no earlier than 12 weeks) and, for dogs, distemper, parvovirus, infectious canine hepatitis and leptospirosis; for cats, panleukopenia, rhinotracheitis and calicivirus. The vaccination record or passport shows the microchip number, species, colour, sex, date of birth, vaccine name, manufacturer, batch and date.
• A rabies antibody titre test of at least 0.5 IU/ml (see below).
• A minimum age of 15 weeks for pets from high-risk countries.
• Treatment against internal and external parasites within the 14 days before shipment, recorded on the certificate or passport.
• A health certificate issued by the departure country's competent veterinary authorities. MOCCAE states neither its validity period nor, for France, who issues and endorses it: we check both points for your case.

Banned breeds

The UAE bans the import of these dogs: Staffordshire Bull Terrier, American Pit Bull Terrier, American Staffordshire Terrier, American Bully, Fila Brasileiro, Dogo Argentino, Tibetan Mastiff, Neapolitan Mastiff, Dogue de Bordeaux, Boerboel, Bullmastiff, Cane Corso, Bully Kutta, Presa Canario and Japanese Tosa. Service, emotional-support and medical dogs are exempt. Bengal and Serval cats need a pedigree going back five generations. A Staffordshire Bull Terrier, which has no category in France, is therefore refused in the UAE.

Arriving in the UAE

To release the pet, MOCCAE asks for the customs declaration or air waybill, the vaccination record or passport, the health certificate and the titre certificate. A visual inspection follows, with lab tests if needed, and then a release permit. The pet must be shipped directly from the departure country under IATA conditions; if it passes through another country, it must not be mixed with other animals. A non-compliant pet is sent back at the owner's expense or confiscated.

Identification and vaccination

To enter France, the pet needs an ISO-standard microchip (or a readable tattoo applied before 3 July 2011), implanted before the rabies vaccine. The vaccine can be given from 12 weeks of age; the primary vaccination must be at least 21 days old on the day of travel, and a booster given before the previous one expired is valid immediately. In practice, a pet cannot enter France before about 15 weeks of age.

To enter the UAE, rabies vaccination and the core vaccines listed above are required, with the first rabies dose no earlier than 12 weeks. Validity is whatever the vaccine manufacturer states. We advise never letting the rabies vaccination lapse: a late booster means a new titre test.

Documents to prepare

• From France: the MOCCAE import permit, the EU passport or a complete vaccination record, the titre result, the health certificate, proof of parasite treatment and the air waybill issued by the forwarder.
• From the UAE: the EU health certificate in French and English with the owner's declaration; the transit declaration if the routing goes through an unlisted country; your boarding pass.
• Authorised person: if the pet is not travelling with its owner, the owner's signed written authorisation.
• Bengal or Serval cat: a five-generation pedigree for the UAE; for France, proof of a Bengal's breed (pedigree or birth certificate).

Rabies antibody titre test

The UAE requires it for pets leaving France. The blood sample is tested by a laboratory accredited by the competent authorities of the exporting country, and the result must reach at least 0.5 IU/ml, showing the sampling date, test date and method. After a first vaccination, or one that had lapsed, wait at least 21 days before the sample; after a booster given on time, there is no wait. The result stays valid for 365 days as long as vaccination is continuous and no new booster is given; otherwise the test must be repeated. MOCCAE's text gives no waiting period between the blood sample and travel: we check this for your case before fixing the date.

To come back to France, no titre is needed for a pet arriving directly from the UAE or after stopovers in listed countries. For pets that lived in an unlisted country, see bringing a pet into France.

Typical timeline

France → UAE (first vaccination)

1. Microchip, then rabies vaccine from 12 weeks

   Check the breed against the UAE list at the same time.

2. Blood sample for the titre test at least 21 days after the vaccine

   The result stays valid for 365 days with continuous vaccination.

3. MOCCAE import permit valid 90 days

   Apply once the travel date is known.

4. Parasite treatment and health certificate within 14 days of shipment

   Book the cargo space with a forwarder in parallel.

5. Arrival and release permit 15 weeks old minimum

   At the arrival airport's quarantine centre.

UAE → France

1. Valid rabies vaccination at least 21 days before departure if primary

   With an ISO microchip implanted first.

2. EU certificate no more than 10 days before arrival

   In French and English, with the owner's declaration.

3. Arrival, customs, then I-CAD within 7 days

   For stays of 3 months or more.

Ways to travel

Airline rules weigh heavily on this route. This is what the airlines publish on their official pages as of 19 October 2026:

• Emirates carries no animals in the cabin (guide dogs and falcons on some routes aside). On any itinerary ending in Dubai, the pet travels as cargo, through Emirates SkyCargo or a cargo agent. From Dubai, to a country that accepts pets as baggage, a dog or cat can travel in the hold as checked baggage if the whole journey, including connections, takes less than 17 hours: USD 500 up to 23 kg and 150 cm (pet plus crate), USD 650 for 24–32 kg, USD 800 above 32 kg (up to 300 cm); beyond 17 hours or 300 cm, cargo is mandatory.
• Air France states that cargo is, until further notice, the only way pets can travel to Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Its cargo arm, AFKL Cargo, does not accept animals directly from private individuals: shipments go through a forwarder, with a minimum age of 15 weeks.
• Etihad announced in April 2026 that small cats and dogs can travel in its cabin. We could not read its current conditions (weight, routes, arrival in Abu Dhabi): we check them for your journey.
• For a routing through North America, United refuses pets to, from or through Dubai, and Delta takes no cabin pets to or from the UAE.

From France, plan on a cargo shipment arranged by a forwarder. For snub-nosed breeds, we advise checking Emirates SkyCargo's winter window before booking. See pet air cargo and travel crates.

Airports and checks

In the UAE, pets enter through MOCCAE's quarantine centres: Dubai Airport Cargo Village, Dubai Airport Free Zone, Zayed International Airport (Abu Dhabi), Sharjah and Ras Al Khaimah airports, plus some sea ports and land borders. A pet in transit that stays in the same UAE airport needs no transit permit but must be kept apart from other animals; transit through UAE territory needs a transit permit issued in advance by MOCCAE.

In France, a pet coming from the UAE enters through a travellers' point of entry; the main airports (Paris-CDG, Paris-Orly, Lyon, Nice, Marseille, Toulouse, Bordeaux) are on the list the European Commission refers to. According to its official page, Nice airport has flights to Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Doha. You declare and present the pet to customs before leaving the international zone, with no appointment. The check happens at the first EU airport: with a stopover in Frankfurt, it happens in Germany, and the certificate must be in German and English.

A pet arriving as cargo within 5 days before or after its owner remains a non-commercial movement; how it is cleared at an airport without a veterinary border post for live animals (Orly, Lyon, Marseille, Bordeaux) is not established, so we check with the airline and customs before booking. See French airports.

What affects the cost

MOCCAE's official fees, read on 19 October 2026 (the page shows no update date):

• Import permit: AED 200 per animal.
• Release permit on arrival: AED 500 per dog, AED 250 per cat.
• Export health certificate (leaving the UAE): AED 100 for a consignment of up to two animals for personal purposes, AED 400 otherwise.

On top of these come the laboratory titre test, vet visits, the forwarder and cargo charges (into Dubai) or the airline's published baggage charge (out of Dubai), and a compliant travel crate. On arrival in France, I-CAD registration carries a fee shown by the database operator. Our quote lists each item separately.

Common mistakes

• Assuming France is "low risk" for the UAE because Spain, Belgium or the Netherlands are: it is not, and the titre test is mandatory.
• Importing a third pet in the same year: the limit is two per person.
• Setting off with a Staffordshire Bull Terrier, which has no category in France but is banned in the UAE.
• Booking the pet in the cabin or hold to Dubai on Air France or Emirates: cargo is mandatory.
• Relying on the 30-day validity of MOCCAE's export certificate to enter France, where the limit is 10 days.
• Flying back via Doha or Istanbul without signing the transit declaration.
• Moving on to the US or Canada soon after leaving the UAE: both list the UAE as high-risk for dog rabies, and the CDC applies its strict rules to a dog that was there in the past 6 months. See France ⇄ USA and France ⇄ Canada.

Frequently asked questions

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