Einreise mit Tier: Israel (2026)

Official sources

• The procedure and its annexes are published at gov.il/BlobFolder/policy/moag-pro-061/en/import_pet-import_imp_cats_dogs1.pdf . The ministry's forms-and-guidance page carries "תאריך פרסום: 05.05.2019 תאריך עדכון: 19.05.2025" (published 05.05.2019, updated 19.05.2025) and lists supplementary clarification circulars from 2022
• The ministry states the cumulative conditions: "היבוא של עד שני כלבים או חתולים. הכלב או החתול מגיע עם בעליו באותה הטיסה. הכלב או החתול היה בהשגחתו האישית של בעליו לפחות ב-90 הימים שלפני הטיסה לישראל." (import of up to two dogs or cats; the pet arrives with its owner on the same flight; the pet was in its owner's personal keeping for at least the 90 days before the flight to Israel) — gov.il/he/service/import_pets_cats_dogs
• Note the trap for anyone re-checking this: the gov.il page titled "הנחיות מיוחדות בכניסת חיות מחמד לישראל" ("Special instructions on the entry of pets to Israel", gov.il/he/pages/import-pets-regulation) is NOT about the war — it is dated 08.06.2020 and concerns COVID-19: "עקב התפרצות נגיף הקורונה נקבע בתקנות החירום כי על אזרח או תושב ישראל שהגיע ארצה לשהות בבידוד מטעם המדינה. מאחר והכנסת חיות מחמד למלוניות אסורה, ולשם מניעת הסיכון לנטישת בעלי החיים, הוחלט לקבוע הוראות נוספות בעניין כניסת חיות מחמד לישראל בתקופה זו." (owing to the outbreak of the coronavirus the emergency regulations required a citizen or resident arriving in the country to stay in state-provided isolation; since bringing pets into the quarantine hotels is prohibited, and to prevent the risk of animals being abandoned, additional provisions were set for pets entering Israel in that period)
• What the ministry DOES publish for the security situation is pet WELFARE guidance, not movement rules: "השירותים הווטרינריים במשרד החקלאות וביטחון המזון מנחים את בעלי חיות המחמד כיצד לטפל בהם בעת משבר ביטחוני וכיצד למגנם במקרה של אירוע חירום. היערכות מראש להגנת בעלי החיים בעת מצב חירום תאפשר להגן עליהם טוב יותר ולמנוע נטישתם." (the Veterinary Services of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security instruct pet owners how to care for them during a security crisis and how to shelter them in an emergency; preparing in advance to protect the animals in an emergency allows them to be better protected and prevents their abandonment) — gov.il/he/pages/guidelines-for-pet-behavior-in-an-emergency, "תאריך פרסום: 11.11.2020 תאריך עדכון: 29.04.2026" (published 11.11.2020, updated 29.04.2026)

Key points

• GOVERNING INSTRUMENT
• Israel's pet-import rules are set by Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security Veterinary Services Procedure 05, "נוהל יבוא כלבים וחתולים" (Procedure for the import of dogs and cats), update no
• 03, dated 11.04.2021, issued under the Animal Diseases Ordinance [New Version] 5745-1985 and the Animal Diseases Regulations (Import of Animals) 5734-1974
• No superseding instrument was found as at 2026-09-02
• IMPORT LICENCE — EXEMPTION FOR ACCOMPANIED PETS
• A licence is required by the 1974 Regulations, but up to two pets travelling with their owner may be imported under an exemption
• The stored import_permit.required = true holds the STRICTEST case
• The exemption is NOT available for a dangerous breed, a Miniature Bull Terrier or an American Bully (§10.1)
• A licence, where issued, is single-use: "8.3.2.הרישיון הינו חד פעמי והוא מיועד עבור יבוא בודד." (the licence is one-time and is intended for a single import) — which is why permit_validity_days is not expressed in days and is left unanswered rather than guessed
• MINIMUM AGE ON ARRIVAL — 4 MONTHS. §6.2: "6.2.עלחייתהמחמדלהיות בן לא פחות מ4חודשים בעת הגעתו ארצה, למעט ממדינות באוקיאניה (AUST NZ) בריטניה, יפן וקפריסין, שם הגיל המינימלי הוא3חודשים." (the pet must be no less than 4 months old on arrival, except from Oceania (AUST NZ), Britain, Japan and Cyprus, where the minimum age is 3 months)
• This is an age at ARRIVAL
• Israel publishes no minimum age at VACCINATION, which is why that leaf is left unanswered rather than filled from this sentence
• ORIGIN CARVE-OUT — OCEANIA, GREAT BRITAIN, JAPAN, CYPRUS
• Annex A note 2: "prior to their arrival in Israel with the exception of arrivals from Oceania, Great Britain, Japan, and Cyprus; such animals, if they were not vaccinated, must be vaccinated against rabies within 5 days of their arrival in Israel." The 30-day post-vaccination wait and the rabies serology do not apply to arrivals from those four origins
• The base leaves hold the strict case; this carve-out is a candidate for a conditional_overrides block keyed on origin
• DANGEROUS BREEDS
• Import is prohibited except by exceptional licence from the Director of Veterinary Services (§17.1)
• Where a licence is granted, §17.3 additionally requires: "17.3.1.גילבעלהכלבעולהעל18שנים; 17.3.2.הכלבעברעיקוראוסירוסובעליוהציגאישורעלכך,חתוםבידרופאוטרינר; 17.3.3.הכלבהוחזקעלידיבעליו18חודשיםלפחותקודםלמועדייבואו." (the owner is over 18 years old; the dog has been neutered or spayed and its owner has produced confirmation signed by a veterinarian; the dog has been held by its owner for at least 18 months before the date of import)
• ADVANCE NOTIFICATION — 2 WORKING DAYS BEFORE LOADING. §11.1: "11.1.על היבואן להעביר,לכל הפחות2ימי עבודה טרםהעמסתחיית המחמדעל כלי ההובלה,באמצעות המייל,שכתובתוairport@moag.gov.il-vs,את המסמכים הבאים:" (the importer must send, at least 2 working days before the pet is loaded onto the carrier, by email to vs-airport@moag.gov.il, the following documents)
• Recorded here rather than in advance_notification_hours because the procedure counts WORKING DAYS before LOADING, not clock hours before arrival
• RABIES SEROLOGY LABORATORY
• Israel publishes no national list of approved laboratories
• Annex A part V accepts a sample "and tested in an E.U.or O.I.E-approved laboratory, which states that the rabies neutralizing antibody titer was equal to or greater than 0, 5 IU/ml." titer_test.approved_labs_list is therefore left empty: the requirement is carried by titer_test.approved_laboratory_required, and a one-entry pseudo-list is not a list of laboratories
• SECURITY SITUATION / WAR — EFFECT ON PET IMPORT AND EXPORT (checked 2026-09-02)
• Israel's pet-import REQUIREMENTS are unchanged by the conflict
• Procedure 05 update 03 remains the operative instrument and the ministry's guidance page for it was last updated 19.05.2025; no emergency instrument altering the entry conditions for dogs and cats was found
• It must not be cited as current wartime guidance
• It covers the protected space/shelter, a carry crate labelled with the owner's and the animal's details and the microchip number, and the national dog registry for reuniting lost animals
• OPERATIONAL CAVEAT, not a rule: the approved ports of entry are themselves unchanged (§4.7 — Ben Gurion airport and the Haifa, Ashdod and Eilat seaports), but which carriers actually operate, and whether they accept live animals in cargo, has varied with airspace conditions
• Confirm carriage with the airline before booking; the regulatory checklist above is unaffected either way