What You Must Know About Taking Your Pet From Costa Rica to the United States
If you are thinking of taking your pet to the United States, you need to read this: Important requirement to follow when making your plans for traveling with your pet.
USDA changed the requirements to bring your dog into the United States, because of the new Screw worm outbreak in Costa Rica.
If you brought your pet to Costa Rica with your official USDA document, it will not be valid to return to the United States, it will be considered expired at the time you enter Costa Rica. Therefore, a new document issued by a certified veterinarian in Costa Rica will be necessary.
The official pet export certificate must be signed and stamped by the SENASA veterinarian, along with the new Screw Worm Certificate, within 5 days before the flight. the new requirement for Screwworm only applies if you are traveling with dogs (cats are excluded). The same rules apply for commercial and private flights.
It is important to clarify that you can use this same certificate to re-enter Costa Rica with the same pet for 21 days after the date of issue. after 21 days it will be considered expired.
Your veterinarian will need the following information:
Owner: Full name and address in CR and USA
Flight: date, airline, flight number, and airport
Pet: name, species, breed, sex, age, color, and microchip number (if applicable) and indicate if the pet is traveling as a companion, service, or emotional support animal.
Rabies vaccination certificate, information about other vaccinations received in the past year, name and lot number of parasite prevention products the pet routinely uses.
If your pet travels by CARGO, your veterinarian will also need to know the name of the company that will oversee it, the name of the person receiving the animal in the USA, and a contact phone number. It will also be necessary to include a certificate of acclimatization.
In this case, it is very important to determine the appropriate size of the carrier for the pet, which will depend on the size, weight, and breed of the animal. Each airline determines specific details for transportation, so it is advisable to ask them directly.
To travel with your pet to Canada, you do not yet need the Screw Worm certificate. The export certificate can be obtained between 10 days before travel and is valid for 21 days from the date of issue, so it can also be used to return to Costa Rica before the expiration date.
If you have any questions or need assistance to obtain the correct documents to travel with your pet, contact me, it will be a pleasure to help you in a clear, easy, and fast way.
