Kuwait Pet Import Requirements

Required 

•    Your pet must be vaccinated for Rabies between thirty (30) days and twelve (12) months prior to arrival, whether it is a primary vaccination or booster.
•    Kuwait honors 3-year vaccines as long as it is duly certified, signed, and stamped by a certified veterinarian and is not primary vaccination.  Once in Kuwait, rabies boosters have to be done yearly to comply with Kuwait regulations.
•    The vaccination booklet or vaccination certificate must contain all the pet's information (breed, color, age, sex, including the microchip number). It should also include all vaccine details (product name of the vaccine, manufacturer, batch number, expiration date), date of administration, date of the next booster, and the vaccines must be signed and stamped by the certified veterinarian who administered them.
•    Puppies and kittens must be vaccinated against Rabies no earlier than three (03) months of age and must have been vaccinated for at least thirty (30) days before entering Kuwait.

Rabies Blood Test: Effective from 14 June, pets coming from the following countries will require a Rabies Blood Test:
1.    Malaysia
2.    Lebanon
3.    Indonesia
4.    Hungary
5.    Slovenia
6.    France
7.    Poland
8.    Ukraine
9.    Armenia
10.     Kazakhstan

There is no waiting period after the test. The import permit can be processed, and the pet can enter Kuwait once it receives a satisfactory result, and the permit is approved.

No quarantine

• Below is a list of breeds that the State of Kuwait (and many other countries and/or airlines) have banned from entry: All kinds of Pit Bull/Bull Terrier All kinds of Mastiff including Fila Brasileiro Bulldogs Rottweiler Tosa (Tosa Inu; Tosa Fighting Dog Wolf, Wolf Hybrid (or any dog mixed with a wolf) Staffordshire Terrier or cross-breed Boxer Bully Dogo Argentino Dogue de Bordeaux Shar Pei Cane Corso Canary Dogs Caucasian Alabai Any cross/mixed breed with the above listed breeds.

  •    The entry of pets to Kuwait requires an Import Permit from The Public Authority of Agricultural Affairs & Fish Resources - Animal Health Department.
  •    Typically it takes 3-5 working days to process the import permit, once issued it is valid for 30 days.

  •  
• ENTRY OF PETS TO KUWAIT REQUIRES AN IMPORT PERMIT FROM THE PUBLIC AUTHORITY OF AGRICULTURE AFFAIRS & FISH RESOURCES (PAAAFR) – ANIMAL HEALTH DEPARTMENT. The following regulations are imposed by the local government authorities: Kuwait Import permits are subject to approval by PAAFR & are restricted as follows: ● 1 Importer may bring 2 cats (max), or ● 1 Importer may bring 1 Dog (max), or ● 1 Importer may bring 1 Cat, & 1 Dog (max). IMPORTANT: Only 1 dog can be imported per person. If you intend to import multiple dogs, you will need multiple importers & these will be handled as separate transactions. If you have more than 2 cats, you’ll need multiple importers as well. IMPORT PERMITS ARE VALID FOR 30 DAYS FROM THE DATE OF APPROVAL FROM THE MINISTRY

• Countries banned from importing puppies
  • Serbia
  • Ukraine
  • Russia

• Countries banned from importing dogs and cats
  • Irak
  • Malaysia 
  • Lebanon
  • Indonesia
  • Hungary
  • Uruguay

Customs Broker/ Destination Agent/ Receiving Rules Requirements: No, however they are recommended as customs can take many hours to complete and it’s very hot, especially in Summer. 

• The AWB (Airway bill) consignee information must be the named importer's name and address.
• Customs clearance can take a minimum of 4-5 hours; oftentimes more.
• The original passport for the importer will be required to perform customs clearance.

• The following regulations are imposed by the local government authorities: 

  Kuwait Import permits are subject to approval by PAAFR; Each person may only have 1 import permit per year and are restricted as follows: 

   

• 1 Importer may bring 2 cats (max), or 
• 1 Importer may bring 1 Dog (max), or
• 1 Importer may bring 1 Cat, & 1 Dog (max).
• Important: Only 1 dog can be imported per person. If you have multiple dogs you’ll need multiple importers & these will be handled as separate transactions. If you have more than 2 cats, you’ll need multiple importers also.
• The Ministry does not have an online service and the permit must be processed directly at the Ministry by the client or by a pet import agent.

ARRIVAL TO KUWAIT

Pets may enter Kuwait by road, or by plane as manifested cargo, or excess/in-cabin baggage. Please note that some departure countries may have restrictions on how pets leave their country. Please review your departure country’s guide to confirm their exit requirements.

● Arrival at Kuwait Airport with pets can be a lengthy process, regardless of method of travel (accompanied baggage or manifested cargo).

● Do note that there may be fees required at certain offices when clearing your pet. It is preferable to have cash available with you.

 DIRECTIONS TO THE CARGO BUILDING:

If you are exiting the main airport passenger terminal with this building behind you, at the roundabout to join the highway, take a left to the cargo department buildings.

 ACCOMPANIED BAGGAGE

(IN-CABIN/EXCESS BAGGAGE) ARRIVALS We have been informed by the airport authorities of the following procedures on arrival.

 You must inform the immigration officer (the person who checks your visa and stamps your passport before you are able to collect your luggage) that you are bringing your pet with you. They (or an office nearby) will issue you with a document relating to you bringing your pet in.

 ● Upon arrival at Kuwait International Airport all animals, regardless of the method of shipment, will be transferred to the cargo building for clearance and collection. Once at the cargo department, go to the NAS office. There they will issue a letter, signed and stamped.

● With this letter, another signature is required from the customs department office. This letter should then be taken to the agricultural department office along with the pets where a vet will check the pets and sign and stamp another document.

● All documents should then be taken to the global customs department office where they will take a copy of your passport (they will need to see your original passport) and issue another document which then needs to be taken back to the customs department office to obtain a signature from the customs officer.

● All remaining paperwork then needs to be taken back to the agricultural department office where they will then sign and stamp them.

● Take all documents to the office located in front of the NAS building to issue a release document. This must then be taken to the NAS office to issue a final release document.

 However, different information about the procedures involved of where and how to collect your pets will be given from different members of staff at the airport. It can also be dependent on the day or time of day and the person that is on duty! Sometimes a hefty amount of paperwork can be involved, obtaining stamps and signatures from various offices then going back to the same offices for verification of stamps and signatures from the other offices. Be prepared for a lot of waiting and to-ing and fro-ing. Perhaps pick up a coffee from Starbucks on your way out of the arrivals hall, it may help!

 For those of you who are new to Kuwait, the process can potentially be quite daunting and somewhat frustrating. Even for those who have traveled into Kuwait with their pets before, may not face the same procedures each time. It is not likely that in-cabin pets, as they will come off the plane with you directly, will be taken to the cargo building. Many of our previous in-cabin clients have advised us that their papers were checked at immigration or after their luggage collection and things went generally quite well.

 For excess baggage, some of our previous clients have told us they found their pets waiting for them in the luggage hall.

 Others have had to go to the cargo building. We advise that you check the luggage hall before proceeding to the cargo building, just in case. We mention sometimes, can and may due to the uncertainty of outcomes and unfortunately we are unable to advise you of the exact processes that are involved on arrival; but only possible scenarios.

 MANIFESTED CARGO ARRIVALS

Cargo customs clearance can be undertaken yourself (by the named importer), though do be prepared for it to take (on average) 3 to 6 hours.