$40 – $120
Vet visits and microchip
An ISO microchip plus the consultations that produce your certificates. Usually the smallest line, but it gates everything else.
Costs
What does it actually cost to move a pet abroad?
The airline fee is the number everyone looks up first, and it is rarely the biggest line. Here is the full picture, and the items that swing the total most.
$460 – $6,530
Planning estimates in US dollars, based on published carrier fees and typical veterinary pricing. Your vet, your destination and your pet’s size will move them.
Where the money goes
$20 – $60
Rabies vaccination
Inexpensive on its own. The cost of getting it wrong — given before the chip, or too close to departure — is the whole trip.
$120 – $350
Rabies titer test
Only for stricter destinations. The lab fee is modest; the real cost is the waiting period it starts, which can run to six months.
$60 – $500
Import permit
Required by destinations such as Australia, New Zealand and Singapore. A government fee, paid once, and it fixes every other date.
$80 – $400
Health certificate and endorsement
An accredited vet issues it, then a government authority endorses it. Two fees, and the endorsement often needs a courier.
$40 – $400
IATA-compliant crate
Priced by size. A small soft carrier is cheap; a rigid crate for a large dog is one of the bigger line items.
$100 – $1,200
Airline fee
Cabin is cheapest. Checked hold costs more, and manifest cargo is priced by weight and volume rather than as a flat fee.
$3,500
Relocation agent (optional)
Handles crating, customs and collection. The largest optional cost, and often worth it on cargo-only routes.
Airline fees, side by side
What each carrier charges to carry a pet, in the currency it publishes.
| Airline | In-cabin | From |
|---|---|---|
| AC Air Canada Canada | CA$130 ≈ $95 | |
| AV Avianca Colombia | $120 | |
| DL Delta Air Lines United States | $125 | |
| LA LATAM Chile | $130 | |
| AM Aeroméxico Mexico | MX$2,500 ≈ $130 | |
| LH Lufthansa Germany | €140 ≈ $150 | |
| AA American Airlines United States | $150 | |
| UA United Airlines United States | $150 | |
| AZ ITA Airways Italy | €140 ≈ $150 | |
| OS Austrian Airlines Austria | €140 ≈ $150 | |
| TK Turkish Airlines Türkiye | $150 | |
| TP TAP Air Portugal Portugal | €150 ≈ $160 | |
| KL KLM Netherlands | €160 ≈ $175 | |
| AF Air France France | €185 ≈ $200 | |
| LX Swiss International Air Lines Switzerland | CHF 180 ≈ $200 | |
| SQ Singapore Airlines Singapore | — | SGD 280 ≈ $210 |
| IB Iberia Spain | €200 ≈ $215 | |
| EK Emirates United Arab Emirates | — | $250 |
| QR Qatar Airways Qatar | — | $250 |
What moves the total most
A small dog in the cabin to an EU country sits at the cheap end. A large dog flying as manifest cargo to a rabies-free destination with mandatory quarantine sits at the other, and a relocation agent can double it again. The titer test and the permit are fixed costs; the crate and the shipping method are where the range really opens up.
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