Questions
Ask us anything. Most of it is here.
Every answer we publish, in plain words. If yours isn't here, write to pets@ikan.com and it reaches a founder.
Planning and timing
When should I start planning my pet's move?
Earlier than feels necessary, and these are the floors we plan on: 4 to 8 weeks within India, 2 months or more for most other countries, 4 months or more for the UK, USA and Europe, 6 months or more for Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong and South Africa, 10 months or more for New Zealand, and about 12 months for Australia.
Are those lead times promises?
No, they're floors, the least we'd plan on, and the real dates come from the rules for your pet, your route and the airline, which we check before anything is booked.
Which countries are hardest to move a pet to?
Europe, South Africa, the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand have the most involved processes. It's worth talking to us about those long before you have a date.
Is moving a pet abroad complicated?
It's a lot of steps with dates on them: vaccines, blood tests, microchips, permits, the crate, the airline, and papers at both ends. None of it is hard for us, but the order matters, which is why it's worth handing it to people who do it every week.
Can the timeline be rushed if I'm in a hurry?
Not really. Blood test waits, permits and quarantine places run on the destination's clock, and paying more doesn't shorten them. What we can do is find the earliest date that works, or a different route or way to fly.
How he's looked after
Will my pet be sedated?
No, we don't sedate pets for travel. IATA advises against it, because most sedatives lower blood pressure and a plane is pressurised to roughly 8,000 feet. If he needs medicine for a real condition, your vet writes it down and we agree it with the airline.
Do you really meet us in person?
In India, yes. Priya and Nikhil come to your home and meet your pet before a plan is written. A nervous ten year old Labrador and a bouncy two year old get different plans, and you can't tell which is which from a form.
Who's with my pet at each stage?
Someone from our team on the road from your door, at the airport up to the handover, and again after he lands. On the plane he's in the airline's care. A person is with him in flight only when he travels in the cabin.
Can I be on the same flight as my pet?
On an accompanied or excess baggage move, yes, because he travels on your booking. That needs the airline and the destination both to accept pets as excess baggage. In the cabin, where allowed, he's with you. As cargo, he flies on a booking made for him.
Does a founder ever fly with the pet?
On some routes, yes. A founder flies with them: the same flight, and the airport handling at both ends done personally.
My pet is on medication. What happens?
Talk to your vet first. If he needs it during the journey, ask your vet for written instructions: the condition, the dose, when to give it, and whether it's before, with or after food. Send them to us well before the flight so we can agree it with the airline.
How pets fly
What's the difference between cargo, excess baggage and the cabin?
Manifested cargo is air freight in the hold, on a booking made for him. Accompanied or excess baggage is on your booking, on your flight. The cabin is where the airline and route allow it, with him in a carrier beside a person. The airline, the destination and your pet decide which is open.
Can I take my pet as excess baggage?
If two things are true: the airline accepts pets as excess baggage, and so does the country or city you're flying to. We check both before you book.
Can you book my pet as excess baggage?
The airline booking has to be yours, made directly. We tell you which airlines are taking pets as excess baggage, connect you with their desk where we can, and handle the rest: the papers, the clearance and the delivery at the other end.
Can a flight be chartered?
Yes. A chartered flight is a separate premium service, and the one exception to nobody being with him in flight.
Breeds and airlines
My dog is snub-nosed. Does that change things?
Yes, a lot. Several airlines won't take snub-nosed dogs and cats at all. There's no single official list: IATA names no breeds, each airline has its own, and cats are on them too. Examples: Shih Tzu, Boxer, Bulldog, French Bulldog, Pug, Boston Terrier, Pekingese, Persian and Exotic Shorthair cats. IATA asks for a crate 10% larger for them.
Are some breeds refused by countries?
Yes. Many countries won't accept breeds such as Pit Bull, Staffordshire Bull Terrier, American Bull Terrier, American Bulldog, Japanese Tosa, Dogo Argentino, so if he's one of them, talk to us before you choose a city.
Do airlines have heat limits?
Yes, each sets its own by carrier, aircraft, airport and route, and snub-nosed breeds often get tighter ones. We check the whole route before choosing a flight.
The crate
Do you supply the crate?
Yes. We measure him and check the crate against IATA's container rules and the airline flying him, including what that airline accepts inside it. A crate that doesn't fit the animal or the airline can be refused at check-in.
How do I work out his crate size?
IATA's formula: inside length is nose to tail root plus half the floor to elbow height, width is twice his shoulder width, and height is floor to ear tip plus the bedding. Our crate helper does the sums and draws it.
How do I get him used to the crate?
Early, at home, in five steps.
- Put the crate where the family is. Place the travel carrier box, the travel kennel, in the room the family actually uses. It becomes furniture before it becomes a container.
- Take the door off and make it worth entering. On a plastic travel carrier box, remove the door and put some treats and your pet's favourite toy inside.
- Put the door back, taped open. Once your pet is used to the box, put the door back on but tape it open so it does not swing back and forth. Very often it is the swinging that scares a pet, not the box.
- Close the door briefly, while you sit beside it. When your pet is comfortable inside, close the door for a short time while you stay next to the box.
- Build the time up. When your pet stays quietly inside, leave it alone for 5, 10, 15 and then 30 minutes, and if that goes well, for longer intervals. Your pet will be in the box for a long stretch on travel day, so the longer the practice runs, the better.
Is there a weight or size limit?
There's no single number. The crate has to fit him to the airline's spec, and that crate size decides which airlines and ways to fly are open. It's one of the first things we measure.
Vaccines, chips and blood tests
Which vaccinations does my pet need?
Dogs: Your dog's vaccination set is agreed with the treating veterinarian and checked against the destination rule. It commonly includes rabies and core canine vaccines; we do not present one marketing checklist as a prescription. Cats: Your cat's vaccination set is agreed with the treating veterinarian and checked against the destination rule. We do not present one marketing checklist as a prescription.
What's a rabies titre test?
A blood test that measures rabies antibodies after the vaccine. We take the sample with your vet or a government approved one and send it to a lab the destination accepts. Some countries then make you wait: Great Britain three months from the sample, Singapore wants the sample at least 90 days before export, and the United States dog route needs it at least 28 days before entry.
Does he need a microchip?
Many routes need an ISO 11784/11785 chip, and some need it in before the vaccine or blood test counts. We check the order for his route before anything is dated.
How young can a puppy or kitten travel?
IATA says weaned puppies and kittens under eight weeks must not be shipped. Destinations and airlines add their own minimum ages, so we confirm the live rule for your case.
Taking a pet out of India
What documents are needed to export my pet from India?
This is the standard file. Each destination adds its own on top.
- A copy of your passport
- A copy of the PIN, address and telephone number at origin
- The full address and telephone number at destination
- Microchip details and the doctor's certificate
- The vaccination booklet
- The Rabies Antibody Test, a titration test in accordance with Annex IV to Regulation (EU) No 576/2013
- A fit-to-fly veterinary health certificate from a local registered veterinarian
- The AQCS export certificate. The animal and the full document set go to the quarantine office seven days before embarkation, by appointment, and the certificate is valid for 10 days from the day it is issued
- Any additional permit, test, treatment or certificate required by the importing country
What happens in the last week?
After a local vet's fit to fly certificate, he and the whole file go to the AQCS quarantine office about a week before the flight, by appointment. The export certificate is good for 10 days.
Which destinations need extra work?
Europe, South Africa, the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand need extra documents and blood tests on top of the standard file. We advise on everywhere else.
Quarantine
Will my pet go into quarantine?
Only where the destination requires it: Singapore needs at least 30 days booked ahead, Malaysia puts a quarantine booking on the import permit, Australia and New Zealand quarantine on arrival, and for Hong Kong and South Africa the live permit decides.
What's a quarantine reservation?
A place held at an approved facility before he travels. It's part of the file, not something sorted out on landing.
Where would he actually stay?
At an approved facility we arrange and stay in touch with, not wherever has a free kennel. The same team runs the file right through it.
Bringing a pet into India
What do I need to bring my pet into India?
The right legal route first: the baggage rule if you're moving back after at least two years abroad (up to two pets), otherwise a DGFT import licence. Then a rabies vaccine more than a month and within 12 months before boarding, an official health certificate from the origin country, and an Advance NOC on ATITHI 2.0.
What's the Advance NOC on ATITHI 2.0?
Since the AQCS SOP of 10 August 2026, the Advance NOC for a pet under the baggage rules is applied for on CBIC's ATITHI 2.0 portal, at least seven days before embarkation. AQCS issues it within a working day, and airlines must not board a dog or cat without it.
Does my pet need a titre test to enter India?
No, India doesn't ask for one.
What papers go in for the import?
These go in for the first assessment, and anything else gets asked for after that.
- A copy of the owner's passport
- A copy of the pet's vaccination booklet
- The official health certificate from the country of origin
- Travel, ownership, residence or re-import evidence for the applicable baggage-rule or DGFT route
What does customs ask for when he lands?
These originals.
- The applicable DGFT authorisation, customs permission or baggage-rule evidence
- The original official health certificate from the country of origin
- The original vaccination booklet or pet passport
Where can a pet land in India?
Pets are cleared at six AQCS stations: New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad.
Do I need to register my pet after arriving?
Pet registration after arrival is municipal, and each city sets its own rule. We check the current requirement for the city where the animal will live and handle it where the local authority asks for registration.
Moving within India
Do you move pets between Indian cities?
Yes. Where cities have flights, it depends on which airlines will carry him on that sector. Where a city is far from a main airport, we arrange the road leg to the nearest one, with our people.
How long does a move within India take to plan?
We advise 4 to 8 weeks.
The day, and the week after
How do I prepare him for departure day?
Most of it is about the hour before collection.
- Clip your pet's nails before the move.
- Follow the written feeding and hydration plan agreed with your veterinarian and the operating airline for this animal and itinerary.
- IATA asks for absorbent bedding suitable for the animal, so a blanket goes in, along with an old article of your clothing that smells like home. The water container is fixed inside the box and fillable from outside. If bedding gets soiled in transit the airline may remove it and replace it.
- Put your pet in the travel carrier box before it is collected. Usually the pet moving team will load your pet into the box.
- Secure a small supply of your pet's favourite food on top of the box, so the airline can feed your pet in transit if there is time.
- Toys and bones are not banned by IATA, but some airlines do not allow loose items in the box, so we check it against the carrier operating your flight before you pack anything.
- Remove the collar and lead and secure them on top of the box. Keep expensive collars and leads with you and substitute cheaper ones, because they are frequently lost in transit.
- Certain airlines require additional steel meshing on pet travel crates.
What should I expect when he arrives?
The first week matters more than people think. He's tired and everything smells wrong.
- Your pet has had a long journey. Give it time to adjust to the new home and surroundings.
- Follow the animal-specific feeding and hydration plan agreed with your veterinarian; ask for veterinary help if anything looks wrong.
- In a warm climate, keep it from overheating. Put it in a cool room with fresh water and keep it in the cooler parts of the house for a few days.
- No vigorous exercise for several days to a week.
- Outdoors, make sure your pet has access to a protected area in the garden.
- Keep your pet in a separate room at first, particularly if movers are delivering household effects. Lock the door so nobody can open it accidentally and let your pet escape.
- Keep the same routine as before, so your pet is fed, walked and played with at the same times of day.
- Register with a nearby vet as soon as possible. If your pet is already microchipped, register the details in the local database. If it is not, have it done straight away so that a lost pet can be traced back to you.
Cost
What does a pet move cost?
It depends on the route, his size, how he flies and what the destination asks for, so we quote after we've met him, not before. A range wide enough to cover all of that would tell you nothing.
What drives the number?
Six things, and distance on a map isn't one of them.
- The destination's own conditions. Import permits, endorsements and any advance quarantine place. Singapore's Schedule III route and the current Malaysia route from India make the place explicit; Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa follow their live permit and pathway.
- The travel mode. Manifested cargo, accompanied baggage and in-cabin are three different things to arrange. Someone with your pet, door to door, comes with accompanied baggage moves only. A founder flies with them is the separate white-glove line.
- The laboratory work. The rabies antibody titration test means blood serum collected with a vet, dispatched to an approved international laboratory, and clearance certificates returned. It is a real cost with a real clock on it.
- The crate. The travel container is measured for your animal and checked against IATA Container Requirement 1 and the operating carrier; some carriers add construction requirements.
- The route and the airline. Which airlines will carry your breed, in the month you want to travel, on a routing chosen for the animal rather than the fare. Snub-nosed breeds and carrier-specific temperature embargoes can narrow that list, and a narrow list costs more than a wide one.
- The airline ticket itself, on excess baggage. On an excess baggage move the airline booking is made by you directly with the airline, so that part of the cost is settled between you and them rather than through us.
Is the airline ticket included?
On excess baggage, no: the airline booking is yours to make directly, and we handle everything else.
About us
Which animals do you move?
Dogs, cats, birds, rabbits and horses. Each one has its own rules, crate and handling, and some routes are closed to some animals: most pet birds can't leave India under DGFT's export policy, and Europe doesn't take horses from India. We check your animal and your route before anything is booked.
Where do you move pets to and from?
Out of India to the Americas, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Asia and Australasia, into India, and between Indian cities. We hold all four India seats in GEM Pet Network.
How do I start?
Write to pets@ikan.com with where you are, where you're going, roughly when, and who's coming. That's enough for us to come back with a plan and a date for the home visit.