Write to us
Menu

A founder answers both of these

Email both founderspets@ikan.com
Or fill in your pet's pass

Pet moves for embassy families in India

A posting has a start date and an end date, and the dog comes both ways. India's pet rules are the same for a diplomat as for anyone else, so the work is in the timing, the legal route and the papers. We handle the animal side for the family and keep the mission's team in the loop.

ArriveDELThe posting, typically two to three yearsLeaveNEXT
One file for both moves. The papers for the second can start the week the first one lands.

“If you are going to be associated with 10 expats from an embassy, 7 will have a pet.”

Nikhil Bakaya Co-founder, from his own experience

Two moves, a few years apart

A diplomatic posting abroad typically runs two to three years. So the family that brings a cat to Delhi this summer will take her somewhere else in two or three summers, and the papers for that second move can start the week the first one lands. Keep the rabies vaccine in date and the chip number the same on every record, and the outbound move gets quicker. That matters most if the next posting is the UK, Europe or the USA, where a titre and a wait sit in the timeline.

01

Coming into India

India has two legal routes for a dog or cat coming in. The baggage rule covers up to two pets for an owner transferring residence to India after at least two years of continuous stay abroad. Everyone else needs a DGFT import licence first, and that includes a temporary import. DGFT advises starting about two months before travel, because the committee that approves it meets once a month. Which route fits an officer depends on their circumstances, so we check it for each family at the start rather than assuming.

Either way, the Advance NOC is applied for on ATITHI 2.0 at least seven days before boarding, under the passenger's own passport details, and the airline won't lift the pet without it. We check every document before the family submits. On arrival, AQCS examines the originals at the airport and issues the final NOC.

02

Duty and protocol

MEA's Protocol Division issues customs duty exemption certificates for goods imported for the personal use of entitled members of foreign missions. Whether a pet's clearance falls under the mission's certificate is something the mission confirms with Protocol. We prepare the animal side either way, so the health papers, the NOC and the airline booking are ready whatever the answer is.

03

Leaving at the end of a posting

Going out, every pet goes through the AQCS export check. In Delhi that's AQCS on the Old Delhi Gurgaon Road at Kapashera, by appointment about a week before the flight, and the export certificate is valid for 10 days. Then come the next country's rules, which are the long part.

For American families, the CDC's rules for dogs that have been in a high risk country like India apply. The CDC tells US government employees returning on official orders to contact the State Department's Office of Travel Management and Policy, and says Department of Defense vets can endorse a US-issued rabies certificate for service members' dogs. We work to whichever route the family's orders allow.

Delhi first.

The embassies are in Delhi, and Delhi has two hard seasons for a pet. IMD's averages for Palam, the airport's own station, put the daily high at 40.7°C in May and nearly 40°C in June, and January averages more than 20 days of fog. If a posting changes over in May or June, the airline's heat limits are the first thing we check, so we look at the date before we look at the fare.

Delhi is also one of four Indian ports where live animals other than dogs and cats can be imported, which matters for a family with a horse or a bird. IKAN Lola holds the GEM Pet Network seat for New Delhi, as well as Bengaluru, Mumbai and Hyderabad.

New Delhi (Palam), mean daily high, 1991 to 2020
  • 22.7°CDec, 15.4 fog days
  • 19.9°CJan, 20.7 fog days
  • 37.1°CApr
  • 40.7°CMay
  • 39.6°CJun

Two seasons shape a Delhi move: the summer heat that closes airline windows, and the winter fog that delays flights.

What the mission's team gets from us.

One contact for every family's pet, and a written timeline for each move, counted back from the posting date, so you know early if a pet can't make the officer's date. We meet the family and the animal before we write the plan. We check the papers before anything is submitted, book the airline that will actually carry that breed in that month, and do the road legs at both ends. When the posting ends, the same file becomes the outbound move.

  • One contact for the pet, for the whole posting
  • A timeline per family, counted back from the posting date
  • Papers checked before the family submits on ATITHI 2.0
  • The outbound move planned from the same file

Hi, I'd like to move my pet. I'm with an embassy or mission in India. (Found you via embassy)

Written for you. Change anything before you send.
Email both founderspets@ikan.com

Where every fact on this page comes from

  1. DGFT, FAQ on import of petsChecked 5 Oct 2026
  2. AQCS, SOP for import of pet dogs and cats through ATITHI 2.0 (10 Aug 2026)Checked 5 Oct 2026
  3. AQCS, import of pets under the baggage ruleChecked 22 Sep 2026
  4. MEA Protocol, Form 8, customs duty exemption certificate for goods imported for personal useChecked 5 Oct 2026
  5. AQCS, contact us (station addresses)Checked 5 Oct 2026
  6. AQCS, requirements for export of pets out of IndiaChecked 5 Oct 2026
  7. US CDC, frequently asked questions on dog importations (updated 27 Aug 2026)Checked 5 Oct 2026
  8. US CDC, dogs from high risk countriesChecked 1 Sep 2026
  9. IMD, New Delhi (Palam) climatological table, 1991 to 2020Checked 5 Oct 2026
  10. DAHD, SOPs for import of live animals into India (OM of 31 Mar 2021)Checked 5 Oct 2026
  11. GEM Pet Network, IKAN Lola New Delhi listingChecked 22 Sep 2026