Mozambique pairs a health certificate valid for a full 30 days with a 40-day quarantine stay on arrival, the longest hold I've documented on this list so far. Pixel makes friends with every customs officer she meets, but even she can't talk her way out of a mandatory 40-day stay once it's required.

Pet import to Mozambique is overseen by DINAV (Direcção Nacional de Veterinária). Confirmed against an official source so far: a rabies vaccination, a health certificate, an import permit and quarantine. Anything else — commonly a microchip, rabies vaccination and health certificate — is not yet confirmed for Mozambique against an official source, so it's flagged in the table below rather than assumed.

How Mozambique handles your pet

Key points

  • Mozambique requires a 40-day quarantine for all imported pets at facilities determined by the Veterinary Authority
  • An import permit must be obtained in advance from DINAV (Direcção Nacional de Veterinária)
  • Pets must be accompanied by an international health certificate issued by the official veterinarian of the exporting country

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

Health & documents

Quarantine · Required Yesverified 2026-10-10
Quarantine · Reducible Noverified 2026-10-10
Quarantine · Duration40 daysverified 2026-10-10
Import permit · Required Yesverified 2026-10-10
Import permit · Issuing authorityDINAV (Direcção Nacional de Veterinária)verified 2026-10-10
Health certificate · IssuerVeterinary Authority of the exporting countryverified 2026-10-10
Health certificate · Required Yesverified 2026-10-10
Health certificate · Endorsed byGovernment veterinary authority of origin countryverified 2026-10-10
Health certificate · Validity days30 daysverified 2026-10-10
Health certificate · Government endorsed Yesverified 2026-10-10
Rabies vaccination · Required Yesverified 2026-10-10
Rabies vaccination · Booster required Yesverified 2026-10-10

Other rules

Pets accepted Acceptedverified 2026-10-10

Timing chain

Day -30 health certificate issued · Day 0 arrive at customs

Mozambique's health certificate stays valid for 30 days after the date it's issued, a longer window than most countries allow for the same kind of document. A certificate issued more than 30 days before arrival has already expired for entry purposes by the time you land. Time the certificate appointment to fall within that 30-day window before the actual travel date.
Live animals entering Mozambique are placed under isolation, quarantine, for 40 days, at either permanent or temporary facilities depending on what's available. Entry is only authorized afterward if the inspection results come back satisfactory at the end of that period. Plan the arrival date around a full 40-day hold, not a shorter stay than that.
That same 40-day quarantine period in Mozambique means budgeting for over a month of facility fees, on top of the health certificate and import permit costs already required beforehand. The quarantine cost ends up as the largest single line item on this entire trip, bigger than the paperwork itself. Factor a full 40 days of facility charges into the total trip budget from the start.
The science here is simpler than it sounds: a 30-day certificate window and a 40-day quarantine both have to be planned around the arrival date, not worked out after booking flights you can't easily change. Get a personalized plan from Pawgo to map that full timeline before you commit to any travel dates at all.
Get YOUR personalized plan for Mozambique →

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.