Moving a pet bird into, out of or around India
A bird's move turns on one question before any other: what kind of bird is he? India's export policy lets budgerigars and three kinds of finch leave after an inspection. Parrots, cockatoos and macaws are on its list of birds that can't be exported.
The thing to know first
Planning a parrot's move before you know whether India will let him leave at all, which is why we ask about the bird first.
01 · Leaving India
Budgerigars and some finches can leave. Most other birds can't.
We check Whether your bird can leave India at all depends on its species and its papers. We check this for your route before anything is booked.
- DGFT's export policy lists birds of prey and Psittaciformes, which covers parrots, parakeets, macaws and cockatoos, as prohibited. Of live exotic birds, only albino budgerigars, budgerigars, and Bengali, white and zebra finches are free to export, subject to a pre-shipment inspection. Java sparrows need a licence, a certificate from the state's Chief Wildlife Warden that they're from captive bred stock, and a CITES certificate.DGFT, ITC (HS) 2023 Schedule 2 export policy, Chapter 01 (Notification 60/2023), checked 5 Oct 2026
- DGFT's export policy prohibits the export of wild animals as the Wild Life (Protection) Act defines them, except where ownership certificates have been granted or for education, research and management under that Act.DGFT, ITC (HS) 2023 Schedule 2 export policy, Chapter 01 (Notification 60/2023), checked 5 Oct 2026
- Europe takes up to five pet birds per movement. Each needs a permanent individual mark, and either a vaccination against avian influenza H5 and H7 between six months and 60 days before dispatch, or at least 14 days of isolation and a negative test. After arrival the birds stay under official control at home for at least 30 days. Birds that meet neither condition go to an approved quarantine for at least 30 days.EU, Delegated Regulation (EU) 2021/1933, pet birds entering from third countries, checked 5 Oct 2026
- A pet bird can enter Great Britain from outside the EU only through Edinburgh, Gatwick, Glasgow or Heathrow, with a birds health certificate from the country it's leaving, and APHA has to be told at least one day before travel.GOV.UK, bringing pets to Great Britain from outside the EU, checked 5 Oct 2026
- The USA asks for a USDA import permit applied for at least 7 business days before shipping, a veterinary export health certificate and a port inspection, and most pet birds then spend 30 days in a federal quarantine facility with tests for avian influenza and Newcastle disease.USDA APHIS, bring five or fewer pet birds into the United States, checked 5 Oct 2026
- A CITES-listed bird coming into the USA as a personal pet needs a US Fish and Wildlife Service permit, and the owner has to show they have lived outside the USA for at least a year.US Fish and Wildlife Service, Form 3-200-46, personal pets under CITES and the WBCA, checked 5 Oct 2026
- Emirates doesn't accept birds, apart from some falcons, in transit through Dubai as checked baggage or cargo between 1 May and 30 September.Emirates, rules for travelling with animals, checked 5 Oct 2026
02 · Coming into India
A DGFT licence, an Advance NOC and 30 days of quarantine.
We check Which port can clear your bird, and whether the country he's leaving meets India's avian influenza condition, we check for your route before anything is booked.
- AQCS says it plainly: no animal apart from a dog or a cat comes in under the baggage rule. A parrot, a rabbit or anything else needs a DGFT licence.AQCS, frequently asked questions, checked 5 Oct 2026
- Under the DAHD SOP for captive birds, the application for the Advance NOC goes in at least 7 days before embarkation, and the airline won't lift the birds without it. On arrival they go to the quarantine station for 30 days, with avian influenza tests on arrival and on day 21. A positive test means deportation at the owner's cost.DAHD, SOPs for import of live animals into India (OM of 31 Mar 2021), checked 5 Oct 2026
- India's health certificate for captive birds asks the official vet in the exporting country to certify that the country is free of avian influenza. It also has to say the birds spent at least 30 days in a quarantine station before shipment, and 45 days under veterinary supervision with treatment against psittacosis.DAHD, SOPs for import of live animals into India (OM of 31 Mar 2021), checked 5 Oct 2026
- For live animals other than pets, the import ports are Chennai, Kolkata, Mumbai and Delhi (notification S.O. 1495(E) of 10 June 2014, as the DAHD SOPs cite it).DAHD, SOPs for import of live animals into India (OM of 31 Mar 2021), checked 5 Oct 2026
03 · Within India
Legal birds only, with their papers, on an airline that takes them.
We check If your bird is CITES listed, the PARIVESH registration comes with him. We check this for your route before anything is booked.
- Anyone holding a living animal of a species listed in Schedule IV of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, which takes in the CITES appendices, has to register it on the PARIVESH 2.0 portal with the state's Chief Wildlife Warden. A transfer of possession has to be registered too.PIB, rules under Section 49M of the Wild Life (Protection) Act (Living Animal Species Rules, 2024), checked 5 Oct 2026
- Akasa Air carries only cats and dogs.Akasa Air, conditions of carriage ("Pets" means domesticated cats and dogs), checked 5 Oct 2026
- Air India says it ships birds as pet cargo.Air India, guide to travelling with pets, checked 5 Oct 2026
- IndiGo's own pages say it doesn't carry pets, apart from guide dogs.IndiGo, baggage policy, checked 5 Oct 2026
The longer version.
We'd rather tell you this on day one than in month three. Under DGFT's export policy, live exotic birds aren't permitted to be exported, apart from budgerigars, albino budgerigars, and Bengali, white and zebra finches, which are free after a pre-shipment inspection. Java sparrows need a licence, a Chief Wildlife Warden's certificate that they're captive bred, and a CITES certificate. Parrots, parakeets, macaws and cockatoos are listed as prohibited. So if your bird is a parrot, talk to us before you plan anything else, because the honest answer may be that he can't go.
Native Indian birds are wild animals under the Wild Life (Protection) Act, and their export is prohibited. We don't move them.
Coming into India is possible, and it's slow. A bird can't come in as baggage, so it needs a DGFT licence, then an Advance NOC from AQCS, then 30 days of quarantine at the AQCS station with avian influenza tests on arrival and on day 21. The health certificate from the country he's leaving has to say that country is free of avian influenza.
Abroad, every country runs its own bird rules. Europe takes up to five pet birds with a ring or a mark, a vaccination or an isolation and test, and 30 days under official watch after arrival. The UK takes them only through four airports. The USA quarantines most pet birds for 30 days at a federal facility. We check the bird, the country and the airline together, and Emirates doesn't take birds through Dubai in the summer.
Moving a bird?
Tell us where from, where to and roughly when. The message is written for you.
Hi, I'd like to move my bird.
Where every fact on this page comes from
- DGFT, ITC (HS) 2023 Schedule 2 export policy, Chapter 01 (Notification 60/2023)Checked 5 Oct 2026
- EU, Delegated Regulation (EU) 2021/1933, pet birds entering from third countriesChecked 5 Oct 2026
- GOV.UK, bringing pets to Great Britain from outside the EUChecked 5 Oct 2026
- USDA APHIS, bring five or fewer pet birds into the United StatesChecked 5 Oct 2026
- US Fish and Wildlife Service, Form 3-200-46, personal pets under CITES and the WBCAChecked 5 Oct 2026
- Emirates, rules for travelling with animalsChecked 5 Oct 2026
- AQCS, frequently asked questionsChecked 5 Oct 2026
- DAHD, SOPs for import of live animals into India (OM of 31 Mar 2021)Checked 5 Oct 2026
- PIB, rules under Section 49M of the Wild Life (Protection) Act (Living Animal Species Rules, 2024)Checked 5 Oct 2026
- Akasa Air, conditions of carriage ("Pets" means domesticated cats and dogs)Checked 5 Oct 2026
- Air India, guide to travelling with petsChecked 5 Oct 2026
- IndiGo, baggage policyChecked 5 Oct 2026