Moving to Costa Rica with a dog

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One of the first things I looked at when we decided to move to Costa Rica is how are we going to get Pica there. She is a big part of our family, Luca truly feels she is a sibling and she feels the same about him, leaving her is not an option.

I googled it and of course there are numerous sites, blogs and suggestions some encouraging and some not! People had all sorts of things to say about it. It was confusing and anxiety inducing to say the least!

However, although there is red tape and numerous forms involved that need official signatures, it is a relatively simple process. Get onto it at least 3 months before you travel to give yourself time.

I wanted to do a post about it for others considering it, each country does it differently so I can only speak for Canada and for 2018 (things do change periodically), but the government vet will have the latest, they are your “go to”.

Firstly locate your Provinces CFIA (Canadian Food Inspection Agency) and within that agency find the government veterinarian. They are the one who will sign the forms.

Here in Newfoundland, I have had a great experience with the vet, he has been so helpful and provided me with everything I needed to know. Below is his email to me:

“The Costa Rican authorities require that the animal be vaccinated against rabies, distemper, hepatitis, parvovirus, and leptospirosis. I have read differing opinions on whether or not Costa Rica will accept the 3 year rabies vaccine, so I recommend contacting the government authorities in Costa Rica to see what their latest regulations are for import.

If the dog is travelling by Cargo or is unaccompanied, then an import permit from the Costa Rican government is required. If the dog is travelling with you (either in the cabin or as checked baggage) then there is no requirement for the import permit.

The endo/ecto parasitic treatments are to be given between 10 and 30 days before travel.

I have attached the official health certificate to be completed by your veterinarian ,(they will fill out the vaccination/treatment portion, as well as the licensed veterinarian information). After this is completed, the certificate will then be endorsed by us within 2 weeks prior to travel.

There is a $20 fee for endorsement, payable by credit card, cash, or cheque (made out to the Receiver Generor Canada).”

Below are the forms he sent me, they have to be printed out as specified, so I took them to Staples (I got 3 copies done as know the Costa Rican officials will keep one and I wanted to have official copies for myself).

Costa_Rica_Cri_2809_Dogs_&_Cats(1)

Format of Rabies Vaccination Certificate for Pets Exported (1)

I opted to give Pica another rabies vaccine to cover all bases. She will fly in baggage not cargo so no import permit needed. Essentially her crate is counted as one of our 6 pieces of luggage allowance.

Here is a link to pet requirements for flying in baggage for Air Canada:
https://www.aircanada.com/ca/en/aco/home/plan/special-assistance/pets.html

Then you need to go to your vet and start the vaccination process. Costly.

I estimate getting her down the Costa Rica will cost us around $800 all up, will confirm this in a later post.

Once done you make an appointment to see the government vet who will sign your papers for you to give the Costa Rican officials on arrival.

I will do another post about our arrival and how smooth the process goes. Hope this is helpful to those wanting to do the same thing.


UPDATE 8 July 2018

We have been here 3 weeks and happy to report the flights, transfers and arrival into Costa Rica then through customs went very smoothly with Pica, no problems at all.

The total cost to get Pica from Canada to Costa Rica was as follows:

Vet bills for vet filling in of paperwork, vaccinations, medications and consultations = $439.89
Flight for Pica (one way international baggage on Air Canada) = $270
Canadian Vet Govt Endorsement of paperwork = $25

TOTAL = 734.89

I do think if we had not been living in Newfoundland the vet fees would not have been so high. Having lived in 3 different Provinces now, we definitely have found Newfoundland vet fees the highest.

For those of you wanting to take a dog from Costa Rica to Canada:

Customs told us that if we are leaving Costa Rica with Pica to return to Canada we need the form filled out by a Costa Rican vet one week prior to leaving Costa Rica.

The Canadian Government Vet said Pica’s rabies vaccination had to be up to date for her return to Canada, that is all Canadian officials require at this time.