Bring Your Cats: From UK to KSA

Ensure your cats are up-to-date on all required vaccinations, including rabies, feline panleukopenia, feline calicivirus, and feline rhinotracheitis.

• A microchip has to be implanted BEFORE the rabies vax
• The rabies vaccination has to be administered no more than 6 months before your travel date, and no less than 30 days before your travel date.
• The vaccinations should be logged in a stamped/vet-signed document (to act as a pet pessport)

Ask your vet for a separate signed Rabies Vaccination Certificate which outlines the manufacturers name, batch number and expiry date of the vaccine.

Cost: £417

Reserve your flights and then submit a Carriage of Pets request to your chosen airline, providing your reservation reference number.

Once the airline approves your pet carriage request, pay the required fees for each cat.

I used Qatar Airways as they are known for being the best for pet travel. Cost: £530

Purchase IATA-approved cat carriers along with essential travel accessories like puppy pads, vet bedding, food dishes, zip ties and funnels.

Cost: £95

Have your cats examined by your vet to obtain Fit-to-Travel Health Certificates required for the Saudi Import Permit application.

Cost: £140

Once you have the necessary documents listed below you will need to find a Saudi sponsor for your application to act as the “importer”. They must be a resident of KSA. You will act as the exporter on the application.

• A vaccination record showing microchip number (Must include Rabies vax)
• Pet’s Fit-to-Travel Health Certificate
• Picture of the pet (front and side)
• Scan of Exporter Passport
• Exporter’s address, mobile and email
• Scan of Importer’s Iqama
• Importer’s mobile number (registered to ABSHER), email, address
• Scan of Iqama/Passport of importer (must have active NAFATH app)

The import permit is valid from 30 days from the date of issuance. It takes approx 7-10 working days to get it issued.

I used an organisation called Animal’s Matter KSA to apply for my KSA Import Permits – although this part is actually free, I paid them a fee to apply on my behalf. They can also act as your importer for an additional fee. A very kind lady from an Expat Facebook group offered to act as the importer for my cats as she had recently been through the process.

Cost: £400

Schedule an appointment with an Official Veterinarian specialising in pet travel to obtain the Export Health Certificate (EHC).

• This appointment must be within 96 hours of your travel date.
• You will need to present all vaccination history and rabies certifcate at this appointment

I used a company called Furry Pet Travel. Cost: £240 (for both cats)

Once you have your EHC appointment secured, submit an application to DEFRA for the Export Health Certificate (form 2914), noting the reference number for tracking.

Submit an application to the FCDO for legalisation of the required documents and pay the associated fees.

Now this legalisation part is outlined in the EHC guidelines, however the legalised document wasn’t checked by the airline, or by Saudi customs at the airport in my case.

The EHC guidelines also outline the need for the Saudi embassy to stamp the EHC after it has been legalised but this is def an outdated guideline as FCDO document legalisation is now accepted by Saudi Arabia.

Cost: £90

Send the legalised documents to the FCDO Legalisation Office using a prepaid return envelope. You need to call them and ask them to expedite your legalisation as it is a pet health certificate. They will need your Application number and Royal Mail tracking number.

There is an extremely tight turnaround for this as you have to have the EHC signed, posted, legalised and delivered back to you all within 96 hours of flying! We opted for a Saturday flight to ensure this part took place during Mon-Fri.

Ps: Your OV’s signature must be registered with the FCDO. Check this beforehand.

Cost: £17

• Apply “Live Animal” and “This Way Up” stickers to the carrier.
• Attach bowls on inside for food and water
• Attach funnel on outside leading into bowl for water
• Line inside of crate with vet bedding or puppy pads
• Attach a clear document wallet to the top of the crate to include:
  • “Hi, my name is” page with essential details.
  • Original Vaccination Records
• Secure a small bag of dry food to the top of the crate.
• Secure extra puppy pads to the outside
• Consider attaching an AirTag for tracking.
• Pack zipties to secure the door after airline inspection