Hong Kong is the one destination where the calendar beats the checklist. Quarantine depends entirely on where you are flying from, and for the strictest origins it runs to 120 days in a government kennel you have to book months ahead. Nala would have opinions. Get the origin group confirmed with AFCD first, because that single answer decides whether this trip is a fortnight of paperwork or the better part of a year.

Pet import to Hong Kong is regulated by AFCD. The core requirements are summarized below: a microchip, a rabies vaccine within the right window, and a government-endorsed health certificate. Some destinations also require a titer test or short quarantine — those are flagged in the table.

Your pet cannot travel in the cabin or as checked baggage to Hong Kong.

Hong Kong requires pets to travel as manifest cargo.

“Animals/birds must be transported by the fastest and most direct route as MANIFESTED CARGO”

Who sets the rules here

Hong Kong sets its own pet-import rules. The national rules of China do not apply here.

Official source
afcd.gov.hk
Relationship to China
sets its own rules

How Hong Kong handles your pet

Key points

  • Quarantine is the whole trip to Hong Kong, and the wait is for a KENNEL, not the paperwork
  • Quarantine period: AFCD confirmed to Pawgo on 2026-09-19 that animals from Group IIIA places do a minimum of 30 days and animals from Group IIIB places 120 days, and that "the quarantine period could not be shortened"
  • Nothing you do before departure buys a shorter stay
  • Ask AFCD which group your origin is in before you budget
  • Group I and Group II: an animal imported directly from a Group II country or place "may be exempted from quarantine subject to full compliance with the permit conditions", and Group I animals are normally exempt too
  • Most European travellers fall here
  • Booking the kennel is the long pole: AFCD told Pawgo on 2026-09-19 that the estimated average wait for a space is "approximately 3 months for dogs and 6 months for cats at present", varying with demand, and that the Special Permit "will be issued only when the quarantine facility is reserved for the pet"
  • The permit itself takes 5 working days; the queue in front of it is months
  • Start with the kennel
  • Animals per permit: a maximum of 4 animals can be listed on one Special Permit for an individual application
  • Health certificate: the original must travel with the animal, not a copy
  • Tapeworm: no tapeworm or echinococcus treatment is required for dogs or cats
  • Rabies in Hong Kong: AFCD states there has been no case of animal rabies recorded in Hong Kong since 1987
  • That is case history, not a formal rabies-free status, so check the rules of the country you are travelling TO
  • Pregnancy: dogs and cats more than 4 weeks pregnant must not be imported
  • Source: Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department, Import & Export Division (ICSENQUIRY@afcd.gov.hk), in writing to Pawgo on 2026-09-19

Downloadable forms

Each fact comes straight from the operator’s published policy. Tap the to read the exact wording; the opens the source page.

In the cabin Not accepted
In the hold / cargo Accepted

Cabin policy

Pets accepted Not acceptedverified 2026-09-07

Hold & cargo policy

Hold: Pets accepted Not acceptedverified 2026-09-07
Cargo: Pets accepted Acceptedverified 2026-09-07

Health & documents

Microchip · Required Yesverified 2026-09-07
Microchip · StandardISO 11784/11785 or AVIDverified 2026-09-07
Microchip · Must be done before vaccination Yesverified 2026-09-07
Quarantine · TypeAFCD Animal Management Centre or Licensed Quarantine Centreverified 2026-09-07
Quarantine · Required Yesverified 2026-09-07
Quarantine · Reducible Noverified 2026-09-19
Quarantine · Duration120 daysverified 2026-09-19
Quarantine · Pre-approval required Yesverified 2026-09-19
Quarantine · Approved facility required Yesverified 2026-09-07
Rabies titer test (FAVN) · Required Yesverified 2026-09-07
Rabies titer test (FAVN) · Minimum level iu ml0.5verified 2026-09-07
Rabies titer test (FAVN) · Test validity months12 monthsverified 2026-09-07
Rabies titer test (FAVN) · Approved laboratory required Yesverified 2026-09-07
Rabies titer test (FAVN) · Waiting period after test days90 daysverified 2026-09-07
Rabies titer test (FAVN) · Test must follow vaccination days30 daysverified 2026-09-07
Import permit · Cost$432verified 2026-09-07
Import permit · Required Yesverified 2026-09-07
Import permit · Lead time5 daysverified 2026-09-07
Import permit · Issuing authorityAFCDverified 2026-09-07
Import permit · Permit validity180 daysverified 2026-09-07
Import permit · Documents required to obtained by AFCD. Original vaccination record (rabies and other diseases). Original RNATT report. Original veterinary health certificate issued/endorsed by a  government veterinary officer Official escort to quarantine facility Applicant is responsible for arranging transportation of the animal from the border to the quarantine facility. AFCD staff will escort the animal during the transportation. Complverified 2026-09-07
Health certificate · Required Yesverified 2026-09-07
Health certificate · Endorsed bygovernment veterinary officerverified 2026-09-07
Health certificate · Validity days14 daysverified 2026-09-07
Health certificate · Original required Yesverified 2026-09-19
Health certificate · Government endorsed Yesverified 2026-09-07
Other vaccinations · Distemper Yesverified 2026-09-07
Other vaccinations · Adenovirus Yesverified 2026-09-07
Other vaccinations · Parvovirus Yesverified 2026-09-07
Rabies vaccination · Required Yesverified 2026-09-07
Rabies vaccination · Booster required Yesverified 2026-09-07
Rabies vaccination · Approved vaccines list
  • inactivated or recombinant vaccine
verified 2026-09-07
Rabies vaccination · Waiting period after vaccination30 daysverified 2026-09-07
Rabies vaccination · Max vaccine age at travel12 monthsverified 2026-09-07
Tapeworm treatment · Required Noverified 2026-09-19

Other rules

Pets accepted Acceptedverified 2026-09-07

Service & assistance animals

Advance notice hours24 hoursverified 2026-09-07
Documentation required Yesverified 2026-09-07
Recognized organizations
  • Assistance Dogs International
  • International Guide Dog Federation
verified 2026-09-07

Timing chain

Day -90 microchip implant · Day -30 rabies vaccine deadline · Day -14 health certificate issued · Day 0 arrive at customs

Conditional requirements

These rules apply only to some travellers — where the pet is departing from, where it has been, or who is travelling with it. Most people can ignore them, but if one applies to you it can change what you need, or mean denied entry if you skip it.

Pet arriving from a Group III country (high rabies risk) — If your pet has been in one of 104 higher-risk countries in the last 6 months:

  • Quarantine: Up to 4-month quarantine for dogs from Group III countries.
  • Rabies titer (blood) test: Rabies neutralising antibody titre ≥ 0.5 IU/ml.
  • Import permit: Special permit from AFCD required.

Breed restrictions

Banned breeds: Pit Bull Terrier, American Staffordshire Terrier, Japanese Tosa, Dogo Argentino, Fila Braziliero verified 2026-09-07

Hong Kong accepts dogs and cats only as manifested cargo, transported by the fastest and most direct route. The cabin and checked baggage are not options, whatever the airline sells on other routes. Book the flight through a carrier's cargo desk or a pet shipper, and confirm the routing is direct enough to satisfy that condition before paying for anything else.
Hong Kong prohibits fighting dogs listed in Schedule 1 of the Dangerous Dogs Regulation: the Pit Bull Terrier, known there as the American Staffordshire Terrier, the Japanese Tosa, the Dogo Argentino and the Fila Brasileiro. Crossbreeds are covered too. A microchip and a clean record change nothing. Check the breed named on the pedigree before applying, because a listed dog cannot be imported at all.
The Special Permit costs 432 HKD for a single animal. That is the smallest number in this move: quarantine detention runs 90 HKD per day for a dog and 46 HKD per day for a cat on top, and the permit fee buys the paperwork, not the kennel. Budget the quarantine days first and treat the permit as a rounding error.
Do this in the right order and Hong Kong is completely manageable: confirm your origin group, book the quarantine space, then apply for the permit, because it is only issued once the kennel is reserved. Everything else, the microchip, the rabies titre, the certificate, fits around those dates. Build your plan with Pawgo and you will see the whole sequence against your actual departure, kennel queue included.
Get YOUR personalized plan for Hong Kong →

Glossary

ISO chip
ISO 11784/11785 — the universal microchip standard.
FAVN
Fluorescent Antibody Virus Neutralization — a rabies serology test required by rabies-free destinations.
Brachycephalic
Snub-nosed breeds (French Bulldogs, Pugs, Persians, Himalayans) with restricted airline acceptance due to heat-stress risk.
AVIH
Animal Vehicle In Hold — IATA's term for cargo pet shipment, with fees that vary by carrier and route.