Taking Your Pet Home When You Leave Shanghai (2026)

Taking your cat or dog out of China is doable, but it runs on a clock you cannot rush: microchip, rabies shot, a blood test if your destination needs one, then an export health certificate from Shanghai Customs in the last two weeks before you fly. The blood test is the trap. For the EU or the UK your pet cannot enter until three months after a passing result, and for Japan or Australia it is six, so the single most important thing is to start months before you leave, not weeks.

How does taking a pet out of Shanghai actually work?

The order matters, so follow it exactly. First, an ISO 15-digit microchip, then a rabies vaccination (China does not accept foreign three-year vaccines, so your pet needs a current China-administered shot, given no fewer than 30 days and no more than 12 months before travel). If your destination requires it, a rabies antibody blood test comes next. Then, in the final two weeks, you apply to Shanghai Customs through its online outbound-pet quarantine system (live since April 2025, reachable through the customs 通关宝 mini-program), bring the pet in person for a clinical exam, and collect the animal health certificate (动物卫生证书). That certificate is valid for 14 days in general, and only 10 days for the EU, so it is deliberately the last thing you get before you fly. If you already read our Shanghai exit checklist, slot the pet timeline in first, because it is the longest lead time on the whole list.

Why does the blood test decide your flight date?

Because most countries treat China as a rabies-risk origin, so they require a rabies antibody titer test (the FAVN or RNATT test, passing at 0.5 IU/mL or above), and then make you wait a fixed period after the blood is drawn before the pet may enter. That waiting period, not the paperwork, is what sets your earliest possible departure. Here is how long each destination makes you wait.

The blood can only be drawn about a month after the rabies shot, and then the clock above starts, so the total lead time stacks up fast. Australia and New Zealand do not allow pets to arrive directly from mainland China at all: the animal must first spend six months in an approved country and re-test there, which is why those moves are planned close to a year ahead.

What is the mistake that resets the whole clock?

Getting the microchip and the rabies vaccine in the wrong order. The chip must go in before the rabies shot, because most countries only count a vaccine given after the pet was already chipped and identifiable. If your dog was vaccinated first and chipped later, that vaccine is often ruled invalid, and you restart with a fresh shot and a fresh waiting period. This one sequencing error is the reason people miss flights, so confirm your pet's records read chip first, then vaccine, then blood test.

What does it all cost?

Less than most people fear for the health prep, and far more if you hand the whole thing to a relocation agent. The blood test is the swingiest line, from about ¥800 at a domestic lab to ¥2,800 for a destination that demands a specific approved lab. Your regular clinic can handle the chip, shots and exam; our guide to English-speaking vets in Shanghai lists clinics used to export paperwork.

How do you get the pet on the plane?

This is where you book early, because airline pet spaces are limited and the rules are strict. Air China carries pets in the hold only, not the cabin, and will refuse the flight if any airport on the route is forecast above about 29 degrees or below 7. China Eastern has expanded an in-cabin service on many routes, but the carrier must fit under the seat (roughly 35 by 28 by 24 centimetres), so it suits a small cat or dog, with a muzzle and absorbent liner required. Snub-nosed breeds (pugs, bulldogs, Persians and the like) are widely restricted or banned in the hold because they overheat, and summer heat embargoes can suspend hold transport entirely. Decide cabin versus cargo before you commit to a route, and if your pet is a flat-faced breed, sort the airline out first of all.

What else goes wrong?

Two things, mostly. People underestimate the blood-test waiting period and book a flight the pet legally cannot make, and people trust an agent who promises to skip the inspection. Ignore anyone selling guaranteed clearance or no-inspection shortcuts; incomplete paperwork can get a pet turned back at the border. A good agent is worth it for a complex move, but they follow the same rules you would, they do not bypass them. And for an EU or UK move, confirm that the lab doing your titer is currently recognised by your destination, because that list changes and it is the one fact worth double-checking before the needle goes in.

Laozi wrote 千里之行始于足下, a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. With a pet, that first step is the microchip and the calendar, taken months before the flight you have not yet booked.

Common questions

How long does it take to take a dog out of China?

For most destinations, plan on 3 to 4 months of lead time, driven by the rabies blood test. The EU and UK require a 3-month wait after a passing test; Japan, Australia and New Zealand need about 6 months and extra steps, so those need 8 to 12 months. The USA and Canada are faster, but still need a microchip and, for dogs, a CDC import form. Start the moment you know you are leaving.

Does my pet need a rabies blood test to leave Shanghai?

It depends on where you are going. The EU, UK, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore and South Korea all require a rabies antibody titer test, and so does the USA for dogs. The USA and Canada do not require it for cats. The test must be drawn about a month after a valid rabies shot, and the waiting period after it is what sets your travel date.

How much does it cost to fly a pet home from Shanghai?

The health paperwork (microchip, blood test, certificate and exam) runs about ¥2,000 to ¥3,000 per pet if you do the legwork yourself. A full move handled by a relocation agent, including international air cargo, starts around ¥15,000 and climbs with the pet's size and the destination. The airline fee on top is roughly US$100 to $175 in-cabin, or a few hundred dollars as excess baggage or cargo.

Can I take my pet in the cabin on a flight out of Shanghai?

Sometimes. China Eastern offers in-cabin pet travel on many routes for small animals that fit under the seat, with a muzzle and liner required. Air China is hold-only. Space is limited to one or two pets per flight, so book as early as you can, and check the temperature embargoes, which can ground hold transport in a hot Shanghai summer.

Where do I get the export health certificate in Shanghai?

From Shanghai Customs, through its online outbound-pet quarantine system, reachable via the customs 通关宝 mini-program. You apply in the final two weeks, bring the pet in person for a clinical exam, and collect the animal health certificate, valid 14 days (10 for the EU). Book the appointment 7 to 14 days before departure, because it must be timed to your flight.