Moving overseas but want to take your pet along? This is a common concern especially if the whole family has to move to Singapore and you don’t have someone to take care of your pet while you are away or simply do not want to leave it behind. Bringing pets in Singapore is possible, the only thing you should do is to check the conditions under which this can happen. The lines below try to explain the basics about taking your pet to Singapore and living with pets in Singapore.
Its nice to have a pet to keep you company
Photo by Emma Shaw Some rights reserved
1. What Documents Do You Need?
If you are moving to Singapore with your pet, than you will have to be ready with a set of documents. First of all your pet should have a health certificate issued by a veterinarian stating that the pet is healthy and free from any contagious or infectious disease. The date of this document must be within 7 days from the date of entry in Singapore.
The Vaccination card is the next document that you should carry if you are importing a dog or a cat pet. All dogs must be licensed as well. The next thing you should do is to prepare a custom declaration for the total value of the pets including the shipping costs. Then a charge of 5% of the total value declared must be paid. Once entered the country all Singapore pets (applicable to dogs and cats) must be implanted with an ISO Standard Microchip. The whole process might be quite time consuming so you can hire a pet moving company to do it on your behalf.
2. Key Regulations to Take Note Of
Once your pet is in Singapore you should take into account the specific regulations. There are strict requirements about dogs since dogs are the most common pets. All dogs older than 3 months must have a license. To get a license you should apply and the application cost is about $7.
The license fee is about $14 for a male dog and sterilized female dog and $70 unsterilized female dogs. The license must be renewed every year and the license tag should at all cases stay attached to the dog’s collar. The license is issued at the Centre for Animal Welfare Control (CAWC).
The same body must be informed if the dog has died or if you are moving to another address along with your dog. Private premises are allowed to have up to three dogs while HDB premises – only one from an approved breed. When taking your dog outside it should be properly leashed, some dogs must be muzzled as well. Dogs should not be allowed to cause nuisance (excessive barking, biting, chasing cars) or the license may be revoked or renewal disallowed.
Hello there cats and dogs …
Photo by Qole Pejorian Some rights reserved
3. So You Want To Adopt A Pet
If you are already living in Singapore and are planning to adopt a pet, than most of the points in the above paragraph are still applicable. You can buy a pet from a Singapore pets shop or join some pet lovers forum and follow the announcements there. If you are buying a baby pet from another individual, you should ask for the same documents as you are asked upon arrival in Singapore. You should make sure that the dog or the cat you are buying are healthy and have all the required vaccinations.
Another way of doing things is to get the pet and than issue all the documents by yourself. Since this involves a lot of time and money you can ask for a price reduction. In case you are adopting a dog than check in advance if there are any problems to keep it in your residential building. As mentioned above there are some regulations and it will be a pity to get a dog and than to discover that it is not allowed at your residence.
Conclusion
Moving with pets in Singapore is a bit time consuming and may involve some costs. However if you start making arrangements early in advance the whole process can be relatively easy. Generally speaking if you have all the documents for your pet in your home country than you will not need much to do when moving to Singapore.
Singapore pets should pass almost the same control as in any other country and from this point of view the process is quite familiar for any pet owner. In case you really cannot handle this, hire a pet moving company.
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