Bringing Your Dog or Cat to Singapore: Import & Quarantine Rules by Country

Whether your pet needs quarantine when you move to Singapore depends entirely on which country you're coming from. AVS sorts every country into one of three Rabies Risk Schedules — Schedule I countries (like Australia, the UK and New Zealand) generally need no quarantine at all, while Schedule III countries (most of the world) require a minimum 30-day stay at Singapore's Animal Quarantine Centre. The US currently sits in the middle, in Schedule II.

Here's how the system works and what to prepare, by schedule.

Singapore has been rabies-free since 1953, and the country's import controls are the main reason it's stayed that way — there's no wildlife reservoir of rabies here, unlike much of the region, and AVS treats border control as the primary line of defence. That context is worth understanding before the rules feel arbitrary: they're built around keeping a genuinely rabies-free country that way, not generic bureaucracy.

Schedule I (lowest risk) — currently includes Australia, New Zealand, the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom. Pets from these countries do not require rabies vaccination or a serology (blood antibody) test, and generally face no post-arrival quarantine if all other conditions are met.

Schedule II (moderate risk) — includes the United States, Canada, Japan, and most EU countries, along with several others (checked against AVS's current list, 2026-08). Pets need:

• A valid rabies vaccination (inactivated or recombinant vaccine)
• A blood sample for rabies serology testing, taken at least 28 days after vaccination
• Testing completed at least 90 days before, and within 12 months of, export
• A 10-day quarantine, either at home (if conditions are met) or at a facility

Schedule III (highest risk) — every country not listed under Schedule I or II. Requirements mirror Schedule II on vaccination and serology, plus a minimum 30-day quarantine at the Animal Quarantine Centre (AQC), with rabies vaccination administered on arrival if needed.

• Microchip: must meet ISO 11784/11785 standards — older 9- or 10-digit chips used in some countries may not be readable by Singapore's scanners, so confirm your pet's chip is compliant well before travel
• Core vaccinations: dogs need distemper, adenovirus and parvovirus coverage; cats need calicivirus, herpesvirus-1 and panleukopaenia coverage, alongside leptospirosis protection where applicable
• Minimum age: pets must be at least 12 weeks old
• Import licence: required before travel, and time-limited — apply with enough runway before your move
• Breed restrictions: Singapore's Part 1 Specified Dogs (Pit Bull–type breeds, Akita, and several others) are barred from import entirely, regardless of which country you're coming from or what schedule it's in

Because the serology test has to happen 28 days after vaccination and at least 90 days before export, realistic planning starts at least 3–4 months before your move if your pet isn't already vaccinated and tested. Leaving this until a few weeks before departure is one of the most common ways relocations get delayed.

Quarantine (if applicable) is only the first step. Once your pet is in Singapore, you'll still need to:

1. Get a local vet check-up — a good time to establish a relationship with a Singapore clinic; you can find one on the PetHealthMap Singapore clinic directory
2. Apply for a local dog or cat licence — see our PALS licensing guide for the process and current fees
3. Budget for both the import process itself and ongoing local vet care — our guide to vet visit costs in Singapore covers what to expect

If you want to understand the disease context behind all of this, our rabies overview explains why the schedule system exists in the first place.

Pet relocation companies handle a lot of this paperwork for a fee, and can be worth it if you're managing an international move on a tight timeline. That said, they're commercial services with an obvious incentive to sell their own package — cross-check anything they tell you about current requirements against AVS's own published rules rather than taking a relocation company's summary as the final word, especially on quarantine duration and schedule classification, both of which can change.

This article summarises publicly available regulatory information for general planning purposes and has not yet been reviewed by a Singapore-licensed veterinarian — PetHealthMap is working on establishing local veterinary review for SG-market content. It is not a substitute for confirming current requirements directly with AVS before travel.