Hello,
I heard that dogs are not allowed in Saudi unless they are deemed to be "guard dogs". I would love to take my cocker spaniel with me. Does anyone know how to get this started?

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I am in the process of trying to bring my dog with me to Saudi, and if you're coming from the U.S., here are a few websites to check out.www.moveoneinc.com/blog/europe/ensaudi-arabia-rules-pet-entry/

www.petrelocation.com and search for the blog on shipping to Saudi Arabia. It's best to use a professional pet transport provider to make sure you have everything exactly correct

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Thanks, I will check those sites out.

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00abuse

In order to take your dog just ask your vet to list the dog as a GAURD DOG, on the health cert he does for the dog... Explain how difficult Saudi is and that the vets in Dhahran (Saudi) say its the only way to get them in... They should be compassionate.... Good luck....

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00abuse

If u leave Saudi for vacation, u need an exit permit for the dog and health Certs etc..... To enter the country u will b going to. U will then have to go through the import system again....
A pet sitter whilst u r away is the best option.....

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Choosing an expat health insurance provider is an important decision. Get a quote from our trusted expat health insurance partner, CIGNA. With Cigna Global Health Options, you can create an international health insurance plan that's perfectly tailored for the needs of you and your family.

Hi
We may have some housing solution in jeddah ,that you can get approvel to put you pet with you
for more about our housing pls log on www.facebook.com/EbkarRental

Regards
latheef shan
0502625252

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We are currently living in Riyadh and have brought in two dogs over the last three years on two different occasions.

The first is a border collie. I organised the necessary paperwork from France, faxed th documents to my husband who was already in Saudi. He then arranged the import license through a local vet. When I arrived at the airport in Riyadh he had already arranged for the dog to be delivered with my luggage at the carousel. We then showed the paperwork at customs (who were totally uninterested) and came home.

The second dog, a yorkshire terrier cross, traveled with my daughter who came to visit. Again she arranged the necessary paperwork through a vet in France, faxed all the documentation to us. We then acquired the import license through our local vet. Again we arranged for the dog to be delivered along with her suitcase at the carousel.

Nine months later my daughter came back to Riyadh to collect her dog. We arranged an export certificate for the terrier. We paid for her transport to Switzerland in cash at the airport. The cost was that of one excess bag. She arrived at Geneva airport where the dog was delivered at a special carousel for awkward pieces of luggage. My daughter walked the dog through customs (nothing to declare) along with her suitcase and the dog carrier.

I am planning to take the border collie back to France for the summer holidays this year as we have friends who have done the same already with their Libyan mongrel last summer without incident.
Yes, one needs to deal with some paperwork. However, this is not an issue. Basically, it is cheaper to take the dog then to kennel it here or find someone to look after it for the summer months.

As for spaniels - we have several spaniel owners on the compound who have imported their pets without any problem.

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10abuse

Thanks so much for your information. Just one more question...so when you take your border collie to France for the summer holidays, are you bringing him back to Saudi with you when your holidays are over? If so, will you have to do all the same paperwork to get him back into Saudi as if he'd never been there before, or is there some other lesser hassle ingress/egress permit that you can get after the dog has already been imported to Saudi in the recent past? We are planning to live in Saudi, but will be taking several short trips out of the country with our dog and I'm just wondering if there's an easier way to travel in and out for short periods of time. Thanks again!

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10abuse

We plan to bring the dog back after the summer holidays. I am presuming that we will just have to get new export/import papers, but these are not difficult to arrange. I don't think I would do this procedure for short trips (weeks). I plan to take the dog home to France for the summer months, so that he too, can avoid the worst of the Saudi heat and catch up on some much needed running space.
Although we can walk the dog on the compound and we have a private garden, the dog also needs a more "normal" existence from time to time. I am presuming that once you arrive in Saudi this will be a more meaningful comment to you. One day in the desert on the weekend is not sufficient for our dog.

For shorter holidays we have friends who are always willing to take him in as a house guest. I have found that this is something quite a few dog owners do amongst themselves as everyone looks for a temporary home for their dogs at some point.

I will get more detailed information for you in the next week from someone who has direct experience with exit/re-entry process as they have already done it. Please be patient.
I will also inquire about the costs of the procedure.

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Thank you so much for all the info and the extra effort. It is very helpful! My dog is only 6 pounds and is more of a lap dog so doesn't really need much exercise. Years ago, my sister brought her border collie (great dog) into Riyadh without much hassle, but her husband worked for the U.S. Embassy. My husband actually works for a Saudi company so they don't really have much empathy for us! Thanks again, and I look forward to hearing from you.

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Ok, so this is what I have found out from someone who has travelled in and out and back into Saudi (Riyadh) with their dog...
For a dog to travel into and out of Europe one needs the test that indicates the anti-rabies.
Then one needs an import license from the Min. of Agriculture. The vet should be able to help with this (for a fee) as well as an up to date pet passport. This is the little book with all his vaccinations and medical history and chip number. If you travel out of the Kingdom, you get an export/import license from the Ministry. This is valid for a month. So if you travel back into the Kingdom within the month you don't need to get a new one. However, go past the month you need a new one. This license is easily obtainable. If you go to the Ministry yourself it is free, if you go through the vet, it comes with a fee.

Although it might sound complicated, apparently it isn't.

I hope this is of some help.

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good information. I hope to take my lab for cataract surgery in Germany, and was wondering how easy it was to get back in.

Do you now if the rules are any different if the surgery were to be done in Abu Dhabi?

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00abuse

I have no idea if the procedure is different within the GCC countries. Our experience is only between France and Saudi. Perhaps it would be an idea to get in touch with your local vet or the Ministry of Agriculture. I do know people who have come to Saudi with their dog from Dubai and there didn't seem to be any noteworthy issue.
Apologies for not having a more informative answer.

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We have friends who travel between Riyadh and Munich with their dog at least once a year and don't seem to have any issue.

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Thank you so much
Much appreciated

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Hi,

Thank you so much for sharing your experiences with traveling with your puppies to Riyadh. I was very happy to hear about your yorkie mix story as I plan to travel myself in 3 weeks to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and want to take my yorkie with me. I am confused on whether I should take it in cabin with me (my flight is from Boston, MA to Riyadh through Paris) or check it with the luggage or hire a transport service for that. I am a Saudi national so the language and culture isn't a problem for me I just want the safest and easiest way to get my puppy in. I assume the transport service would be the most expensive so I would prefer not taking that option if taking my puppy with me on the plane would work fine. Do you have experience traveling with your pets in cabin to Riyadh?

Would I still need to go through customs declaration if they were with me on the plane?

Any advice you have would be much appreciated!!

-Rana

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00abuse

Hello...my dog is only 6 lbs so I always take her in the cabin with me. I have traveled in the past with larger dogs, both with a transport company, and as excess baggage on my same flight - both were ok, but with a small, young dog, I would highly recommend bringing your puppy in the cabin with you. I bring puppy pads with me and put one on the floor in the plane bathroom and let her pee on the pad. You will still need to go through Customs upon arrival in Riyadh, with your Import Permit that you must get prior to leaving. If you don't already have the Import Permit, I would start researching that very soon, because the Saudi government does not like small dogs. However, since you are a Saudi National it may be easier for you. Good luck!

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Thank you so much for your thorough reply. One more question, now if I decide to take my puppy with me in cabin to Riyadh and my flight is through Paris (transit only), do you think I will have issues in the airport in paris during my transit? or will they just need to see the same docs I need to enter Saudi?

And when I reach Riyadh with my puppy in cabin or as luggage, do I just have to pass by customs, or do I need to go through cargo and the offices for stamps?

Thank you so much for helping out!

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00abuse

You should not have any issues in Paris. I'm pretty sure you don't have to do anything special for your dog, you will just go through immigration as you would for any other flight. (You would only need French documentation if you were actually leaving the airport and staying in Paris for more than just your layover.) As far as being in the airport with your puppy, they should have a "Pet Relief Area" you can take her to go potty. Most Parisians love dogs, so no problem having yours in the airport while you wait for your next flight. And then in Riyadh, if she flies with you in the cabin, there is no need to go to Cargo. You will just go through Customs and present your Import Permit to the officials. I believe if your puppy travels as excess baggage, she will come out with the rest of the baggage, or with oversized baggage. (I've done this with my dogs in other airports, but not in Riyadh, so they could be a little different, but that's how most are.) Hope this helps...good luck and safe travels!

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00abuse

this is a topic that seem to have a lot of questions and nowhere to get answers I also urgently need to bring my dogs to Saudi Arabia I found out I need a certificate from the vet in my country but what then where do you apply for the dog to come into the country and is it true that only certain tipes of dogs are allowed

If any one can help me with information please

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Nickey24,

Please read all the messages in this feed. There is a lot of information there. As far as I know there are few restrictions on which breed of dogs one is allowed to bring into the Kingdom. I am presuming, perhaps wrongly, that your spouse is already here. If so, visit one of the pet clinics and you will find a poster of banned breeds for import.

Also, where are you traveling from. Not all departing airports have pet facilities. Do you have a transfer in your flight plan.

If you read my earlier posts you will find just about all the information you require.

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00abuse

Hi kikker, at the present I am applying for a position in Aramco and I am crossing my fingers to get it. Initially me and my family were happy and with expectations about this opportunity but now we are really concerned about the possibility that our Yorkshire terrier don´t be allowed to travel in. I took contact with a vet center in Khobar and he asked to the Ministry about that and he answered me that this breed of dogs were not allowed and he suggested me to contact the Ministry about my case. Do you know how could I get the authorization to take my dog to KSA? Thanks in advance for your collaboration.

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00abuse

Hi would it be possible to get the riyadh vet name and contact details from you please.

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Hi. I'm in Pakistan right now and my parents are in Saudi. I am planning to travel to Jeddah with my dogs this time as I will be staying there longer than before. I have 3 dogs and all are mix breed terriers. I wanted to know if there is any restriction on taking 3 dogs with me into the Kingdom. Everyone here keeps saying that they are too many.

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Hi Kikker,

may i ask what is the name of your local vet who transported your 2 dogs?

Thanks

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00abuse

The paperwork was done by the Advanced Pet Clinic in Riyadh. Tel. No. +9661263 7144. They can help you with the certificates and licenses

We primarily did the transport ourselves. I know there is an agent in Riyadh, however, as I am not in the country at the moment I can't find out who that would be for you. I will return to Riyadh in September.

Are you transporting into or out of Saudi? Where are you travelling from or to.

As we travelled between Riyadh and Geneva with our pets we chose to fly with Saudia. Their care was excellent. Our dogs travelled in the same plane as us in the hold of the aircraft.

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00abuse

Hi, I was told terriers are completely banned in Saudi Arabia. He's a mix, what should I do?

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00abuse

Your dog was on the "banned" breed list? I am planning on bringing my dog, how did you get it in the country?
Yorkshire's

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00abuse

I have a Facebook page called Pet Imports Saudi Arabia.. all the latest information is there- they do have banned breeds but sometime you can get around that!

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00abuse

you can bring your specific breed int o saudi look up PET IMPORTS SAUDI ARABIA on Facebook.. all the steps are there- all dogs are truly guard dogs if they bark at the door!!!

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00abuse

Pet re- locators are very pricey!! You can do it a lot cheaper as Excess baggage- Look up Pet imports Saudi Arabia on Facebook- that is my site and I help 100s of people get their dogs in...

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00abuse

any dog can actually qualify as a guard dog- if they bark at the door or window they have alerted you of something.....they do have banned breeds in saudi- meaning you can't bring them in but that doesn't mean they are not here in saudi.. you can also get around the banned breed thing if you change the breed name ( not just calling it a MIXED breed but many vets wont do this!!)

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