Bringing Pets from Dubai to Vietnam: MOCCAE Export, Emirates Flights and Arrival (2026)

To bring pets from Dubai to Vietnam, you need to meet three sets of rules: the UAE’s export rules, Vietnam’s import rules and the airline’s conditions. The UAE asks for one document, an export health certificate from the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment (MOCCAE). Vietnam sets the health requirements, and the airline decides whether your pet can fly in the hold of your own flight.

Short Answer: Can You Bring a Pet from Dubai to Vietnam?

• Is it possible? Yes. One or two personal pets need no Vietnamese import permit and no quarantine.
• Can the pet fly with you? Yes, on Emirates from Dubai, as checked baggage in the hold. Pets flying alone, and very large crates, go as manifest cargo. No airline on this route takes dogs or cats in the cabin.
• How long does it take? About five weeks if the pet needs a new rabies vaccination. About two weeks if the current one is still valid.
• Who is involved? In the UAE: your vet, MOCCAE and the airline. In Vietnam: the airport quarantine station and customs, plus an agent if the pet flies as cargo.
• Can the pet return to the UAE later? Yes. A pet that lived in the UAE can skip the titer test if its rabies vaccination is still valid. See returning to the UAE.

The rules that apply to pets from every country are in our Vietnam pet import requirements.

What Does Your Pet Need Before Flying from the UAE to Vietnam?

Check these four things before you pay for anything. If one fails, the flight date moves or the airline says no.

• Microchip. Implanted before the rabies vaccination. The same number must appear on every document.
• Rabies vaccination. Given at least 30 days before the flight and no more than 12 months old on the day the pet lands in Vietnam. The UAE counts 21 days for pets coming in, but that number does not apply here. A three-year label still counts as 12 months for Vietnam. See how rabies vaccine validity is counted.
• Age. The rabies vaccine is given from 12 weeks old. With the wait before the flight, the earliest departure is at about four months old.
• Breed. The airlines set the limits, not Vietnam. Emirates refuses flat-faced breeds, such as Pugs, Bulldogs, Shih Tzus, Persians, British Shorthairs and Scottish Folds, except in winter (November to April) under extra conditions. Etihad and Qatar Airways keep their own lists. Several common cat breeds are on them, so get the airline’s answer in writing first. Our guide to flying flat-faced dogs and cats explains the risks.

Not needed: Vietnam does not require a rabies titer test (RNATT), an import permit or quarantine. This applies to one or two personal pets. Shipping three or more pets at once follows Vietnam’s commercial import process, explained in our guide to importing multiple pets to Vietnam.

How Will Your Pet Fly from Dubai to Vietnam?

The way your pet flies decides who books it and which documents go to the airline. Choose it before Step 2.

• Checked baggage, on your flight. Emirates flies non-stop from Dubai International to Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi. It carries a pet in the hold as checked baggage when three conditions are met: the journey starts in Dubai, the destination accepts pets as excess baggage, and the whole trip takes less than 17 hours. Vietnam accepts this. The crate may measure up to 300 cm (length, width and height added together). Emirates asks for the completed documents at least one week before the flight (Emirates: pets as checked baggage).
• Manifest cargo, without you. The pet flies on its own air waybill. Emirates SkyCargo flies from Dubai. Since November 2025, Etihad has also flown non-stop from Abu Dhabi to Hanoi, but only as cargo. Cargo bookings need the documents at least 72 hours before departure, including the MOCCAE certificate. In Vietnam, an agent must clear the pet.
• Via Doha. Qatar Airways flies through Doha and carries pets as checked baggage or cargo, depending on the route and weight. It does not accept pets transferring from another airline.

Flying to Da Nang? The Emirates flight to Da Nang (EK370) stops in Bangkok. Thailand lists an advance approval letter for animals in transit or transshipment (Suvarnabhumi Airport: pet travel). No official source says a pet staying on the aircraft is exempt. The simpler route is a non-stop flight to Ho Chi Minh City, clearance there, then a domestic flight or road trip. See domestic pet travel within Vietnam.

Summer in Dubai is very hot, and airlines can limit live animals in hot months. Ask about the dates when you book.

5 Steps to Bring a Pet from Dubai to Vietnam (About Five Weeks)

The plan assumes the pet needs a new rabies vaccination. If the current one is still valid, start at Step 2. The move then takes about two weeks.

• Day 1: rabies vaccination.
• Day 7: book the flight and the crate.
• Days 27–28: MOCCAE exam and certificate, documents sent to the airline.
• Day 33: Form 3 filed in Vietnam.
• Day 35: departure from the UAE, then quarantine and customs on landing.

A day-by-day plan that covers every origin country is in our pet import timeline for Vietnam.

Step 1 (Day 1): Rabies Vaccination, and Decide Whether the Pet May Return to the UAE

Who: your vet in the UAE and you.

The vet scans the microchip and gives the rabies vaccine. On the same day, decide whether the pet may come back to the UAE. A pet that keeps this vaccination valid can return without a titer test. The vaccine’s validity therefore matters for the way home too.

Step 2 (Day 7): Book the Flight and the Crate

Who: you and the airline. For cargo, a shipper (pet transport agent) books the space.

• Checked baggage: contact Emirates when you book your ticket. It confirms the procedure for your pet and charges by the weight and size of pet and crate together.
• Cargo: the shipper requests a space, receives a quote based on chargeable weight, and sends the documents for approval. Emirates and Etihad publish their own acceptance rules.
• Crate: choose an IATA-compliant crate in which the pet can stand, turn and lie down. Start crate training now. See how to size an IATA-compliant pet crate.

Step 3 (Days 27–28): The MOCCAE Export Health Certificate

Who: you or your UAE agent, and a MOCCAE official vet.

MOCCAE issues one document for a departing pet: the veterinary health certificate for exporting or re-exporting live animals. There is no separate export permit. The steps are on MOCCAE’s export health certificate service page:

• Apply online: sign in with a UAE Pass account, upload the vaccination record and pay. The fee is AED 100 for one or two pets travelling for personal reasons, and AED 400 for a standard request. Processing takes one working day.
• Bring the pet: a MOCCAE official vet examines it and signs the certificate. A routine city clinic cannot issue it.
• Check the certificate: it shows the microchip, the rabies vaccination and the port of arrival in Vietnam. It is valid for 30 days from issue.

Time this step against the airline. Emirates asks for the completed documents at least one week before a checked-baggage flight, and 72 hours before a cargo flight. Book the MOCCAE exam early enough to send the certificate with them.

Step 4 (Day 33): File Form 3 in Vietnam

Who: you or your agent in Vietnam.

Form 3 is the quarantine declaration for the arrival airport. File it about 48 hours before landing, with copies of the UAE documents. It asks to have the pet inspected. It is not an import permit. See our guide to Vietnam’s Form 3.

Step 5 (Day 35): Departure and Arrival in Vietnam

Who: you and the airline; in Vietnam, the quarantine station at Noi Bai or Tan Son Nhat, customs, and your agent for cargo.

The original documents must travel with the pet. For checked baggage, the person who carries the pet should also carry the folder. For cargo, the originals are attached to the crate.

• Checked baggage: you collect the pet at the baggage belt and take it to the animal quarantine office in the arrivals hall. At Noi Bai, the office is at the end of baggage belt No. 3.
• Cargo: the pet is cleared at the cargo terminal. A cargo customs declaration must be filed by a declarant with a customs account. An individual owner has none, so an agent files it.
• Inspection: the quarantine officer checks the original documents, scans the microchip and examines the pet.
• Form 15a: a pet that passes receives Form 15a, the import quarantine certificate, valid for 60 days.
• Fees and duty: you pay the quarantine fee and import duty. Duty applies to one or two pets as well. Customs then releases the pet.

If the pet does not pass: no fixed list of outcomes exists. The quarantine officer decides, based on the pet and its documents. Pets arriving without their original documents can be refused entry.

What Does Bringing a Pet from Dubai to Vietnam Cost?

No single price covers the trip, because several parties charge along the way. Costs fall into three groups:

• In the UAE: vet visits and vaccination, the MOCCAE certificate (AED 100 for one or two personal pets) and the IATA crate. With a UAE agent, add the agent’s fee.
• Airfare: Emirates charges checked baggage by pet and crate together: USD 500 up to 23 kg and 150 cm, USD 650 for 24–32 kg, and USD 800 above 32 kg. These apply even if you have no other bags. Cargo is charged on the chargeable weight of the crate.
• In Vietnam: the quarantine fee and import duty. For cargo, add the agent’s clearance fee and terminal handling.

Current ranges by route and pet size are in our pet shipping cost guide for Vietnam.

Can Your Pet Return to the UAE from Vietnam Later?

Yes. The UAE has a rule for pets that lived there before. The US Department of Agriculture publishes the UAE’s conditions on its UAE pet travel page:

• No titer test, if the vaccine holds: a returning pet skips the rabies titer test (RNATT) if it was vaccinated before leaving the UAE and that vaccination is still valid on return.
• Keep the exit certificate: the pet must arrive with a copy of the MOCCAE certificate issued when it left. Keep the original and a copy.
• If the vaccine lapses: the pet is vaccinated again and needs a titer test of at least 0.5 IU/ml. Blood is taken at least 21 days after the vaccination. The UAE sets no waiting period after the test.
• Everything else still applies: a MOCCAE Import Permit before the flight, a parasite treatment within 14 days, and Vietnam’s export certificate with the UAE annex stamped by Vietnam’s veterinary authority. Breeds banned from the UAE cannot return.

If you plan to stay in Vietnam longer than the vaccine lasts, plan for the titer test. Ask MOCCAE before your pet gets a booster in Vietnam, because the official text does not cover boosters given abroad. From Vietnam, pets fly into the UAE as cargo, unless they take a cabin route through Bangkok with Etihad. The full rules are in our guide to the UAE’s pet import rules.

Two Moves on the Dubai–Vietnam Route

Milka, September 2026. Milka is a ten-year-old Chihuahua weighing 3 kg. She flew to Hanoi with her owners on Emirates EK394, as checked baggage.

• 29 June: rabies booster, recorded in her pet passport.
• 2 September: MOCCAE issued her export certificate, valid until 1 October.
• 7 September, 16:07: landing at Noi Bai. Form 3 was filed with the airport quarantine station that day.
• 17:49: the family left the airport with Milka, after quarantine and customs.

Most of that time went on the visa queue, not the inspection. Milka reached the belt with one owner while the other waited for a visa with her original documents. Give the folder to whoever carries the pet.

A dog and a cat, March 2026. They flew as cargo to Ho Chi Minh City. Their owner, a Vietnamese national working abroad, could not travel. Conflict in the region was cancelling flights out of Dubai. Emirates still held the booking: both pets flew on EK392 on 23 March, 24 kg on one air waybill, and landed at Tan Son Nhat at 19:38. After quarantine and customs, they continued by road to the family’s home in Vinh Long.

FAQ: Bringing a Pet from Dubai to Vietnam

Can my pet fly on the same flight as me from Dubai to Vietnam?

Yes, on Emirates, as checked baggage in the hold. The journey must start in Dubai and take less than 17 hours, and the crate must not exceed 300 cm. Pets cannot fly in the cabin on this route.

How do I get the MOCCAE export health certificate in Dubai?

You apply online with a UAE Pass account and pay AED 100 for one or two personal pets. A MOCCAE official vet then examines the pet and signs the certificate. It is valid for 30 days.

Does Vietnam require a rabies titer test, an import permit or quarantine for pets from the UAE?

No. For one or two personal pets, Vietnam requires a microchip, a valid rabies vaccination and the MOCCAE export certificate. No titer test, import permit or quarantine is needed.

How long does it take to bring a pet from Dubai to Vietnam?

About five weeks if the pet needs a new rabies vaccination. About two weeks if the current one is still valid, mostly to book the flight and send the documents a week ahead.

Can my pet fly from Dubai to Da Nang?

The Emirates flight to Da Nang stops in Bangkok, and Thailand asks for an advance approval for animals in transit. The simpler route is a non-stop flight to Ho Chi Minh City, clearance there, then onward travel to Da Nang.

Can my pet return to the UAE later without a rabies titer test?

Yes, if the rabies vaccination given before leaving the UAE is still valid on return. Keep the MOCCAE export certificate. If that vaccination lapses, the pet needs a new vaccination and a titer test.

For questions about Vietnam’s side that apply to every route, see our Vietnam pet import FAQ.