Requirements to Import a Dog to the Bahamas and Turks and Caicos
It’s a party! No – actually it’s the opposite. Do you have any idea how many shots – the painful needle in your skin kind – I had to get just to be allowed to travel to the Caribbean? A LOT. Here’s all the requirements for a dog to travel to the Bahamas and Turks & Caicos (legally).
Bahamas
The Bahamian requirements for bringing a dog are actually fairly simple, except that you need to plan far enough in advance to get your permit PRIOR to traveling.
- Submit for a Permit to Import Dogs into the Bahamas
- Download and complete the request form (available on the above website)
- In addition to the form, you will need the following documentation
- Current rabies vaccination
- It needs to have been administered at least a month prior to submitting your form, so keep that in mind. Although hopefully all dogs are getting their rabies vaccinations annually.
- Veterinary Health Certificate (Form 7001 – download here)
- This is to be completed and signed by a vet which is accredited with the USDA. It’s best to check with your vet ahead of time, although from my experience it seems like most vets are USDA accredited.
- Current rabies vaccination
- Mail the completed request form, rabies vaccination, and the health certificate to the specified address on the request form
- Include $10 cash or money order (my humans just sent cash) as the processing fee (actually it looks like the fee recently went up to $11.20, so I’d round to $12 if sending cash)
- Include another $5 cash or money order to pay to have a fax sent back to you, which will come much quicker than having it mailed back
- Note that we used FedEx to send in our documentation and it cost about $70 – which is outrageous, but of course I’m worth every penny
- Obtain a stamped Permit from the Bahamas granting entry for your dog
- This permit is valid for one year from the date indicated. You will need to turn in this form along with some additional documentation when entering customs, so don’t lose it! Make copies.
- Note that it should have an official stamp at the bottom. If it doesn’t – call them.
- Have your vet complete an additional form to accompany the permit
- Sent along with your Permit, from the Bahamas, will be a second form (“IMP1(B) Form”), which needs to be completed by your vet immediately prior to actually traveling to the Bahamas
- This is supposed to be completed within 48 hours of travel. It indicates that an extension can be granted due to weather if traveling by sea.
- I would recommend kindly asking your vet to leave the date blank for you to fill out later (using the same pen of course!)
- Sent along with your Permit, from the Bahamas, will be a second form (“IMP1(B) Form”), which needs to be completed by your vet immediately prior to actually traveling to the Bahamas
- Travel to the Bahamas – yay! Take lots of photos; your dog is an international traveler.
- Provide all of your documentation to Customs & Immigration when checking into the Bahamas
- Just like humans need to provide their documentation to check into the Bahamas, so do we dogs. Here’s what you need to show:
- The granted, stamped Permit sent to you from the Bahamas
- The completed additional form (“IMP1(B) Form”)
- Current rabies vaccination
- The 7001 health form
- Note that it is unclear to me if you need to have an updated version of this form or if the original one you sent in when requesting the permit is okay. My humans just used the original one since we had the IMP1(B) Form which was dated within the last 48 hours.
- Just like humans need to provide their documentation to check into the Bahamas, so do we dogs. Here’s what you need to show:
That’s it! Easy as pie – at least it was for me. Not sure my mom feels the same way.
Note that when my dad checked us in with customs upon arrival, all they did was look at the Permit, give their official stamp and sent him on his way. They didn’t look at any of my other documentation, but obviously I’m glad that we had it because I’m sure each time is different!
Also note an alternative option would be to try submitting through this service so that you don’t have to mail in anything. We have no first-hand experience with this though!
Turks & Caicos
I was totally fine with all the requirements for entering the Bahamas. The requirements for Turks & Caicos were just not okay. We better actually make it there or I’m going to give my humans a piece of my mind. Here’s what is required:
- Complete your Titer Certificate (FAVN – Rabies Blood Serum Test)
- Find all the necessary documents here. We recommend printing off everything and taking them to your vet.
- This is a blood test that is required for pets from countries that have rabies to be allowed to enter into countries such as TCI where there is no rabies.
- You have to go to your vet where they draw way too much blood to then send off to a lab somewhere.
- There are only a few places in the world where this test is performed, so you need to allow plenty of time to have it shipped there, reviewed, and results provided. Based on our research, 4-6 weeks is appropriate, although we got our results back in less than 3 weeks.
- As you may imagine, this is an expensive test. My mom paid over $300 to have this performed, but again, I’m worth every penny.
- This needs to be timed well because you can only enter TCI between 3 months and 12 months after the date the blood sample was taken.
- Obtain all the necessary vaccines
- Rabies
- Distemper
- Hepatitis/Adenovirus
- Parainfluenza
- Leptospirosis
- Lyme Disease
- Note that some of these vaccines (like Lyme Disease) are booster vaccines, which means that if it’s your first time getting them, you have to go back for a second “booster” of the shot! Cruel and unusual punishment.
- Complete the International Health Certificate (download here)
- This form is specific to Turks & Caicos and is supposed to be completed less than 10 days before travel. Obviously, this isn’t viable to be completed in the US less than 10 days before arriving in TCI since we will be arriving from the Bahamas.
- Mom is planning to call on this as we get closer to see if there are exceptions to the timing or if a vet in TCI could complete the examination immediately upon arrival.
- Submit for a Permit to Import Dogs (download here)
- This can be submitted via email to the address specified on the form
- Provide documentation to Customs & Immigration upon arrival
- Titer Certificate
- All vaccination records
- 2 prior rabies vaccinations (or only 1 if within 6-12 months from arrival)
- TCI International Health Certificate
- Along with a fee of course (currently looks to be $50)
Note that we have read that it is very much a “don’t ask, don’t tell” type of place. We’ll keep everyone updated once we enter Turks & Caicos and have more first hand experience!