What is transfer of residence?
Updated By PetymFacts checked against official sources on
Quick answer
Transfer of residence is the customs category for a passenger moving to India after living abroad for two years or more. Under it, the passenger may bring up to two pet dogs or cats as baggage, with an Advance NOC from the ATITHI 2.0 portal. Anyone abroad for less than two years needs a different route, usually a DGFT licence.
Also called TR, transfer of residence pets, moving back to India with pet, TR baggage rules pet.
Key facts
- A passenger moving to India after two years or more abroad may bring up to two pet dogs or cats under transfer of residence. Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs
- AQCS lists transfer of residence, re-import with an AQCS export certificate, and a DGFT licence as the routes for importing a pet. AQCS, Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying
- If the pet follows you, it must arrive within 1 month after you; arriving later than that, or before you, needs advance Customs permission. AQCS, Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying
- Pets imported under the baggage rules are within the duty-free allowances of the Baggage Rules, 2026. Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs
- You declare the pet on the Indian Customs Declaration Form, and AQCS issues the Final NOC at the port so Customs can clear it. Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs
Do you qualify for transfer of residence with your pet?
The two-year line decides it. If you fall short, check the other routes.
If you have lived abroad for two years or more and are moving to India
Transfer of residence: up to two pet dogs or cats, with an Advance NOC. Bringing a pet into India Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs
If your pet left India with an AQCS export certificate
Re-import: you upload a copy of that certificate instead, whatever the length of your stay. AQCS, Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying
If you have been abroad less than two years and the pet never left India
Not transfer of residence: you need a DGFT licence. AQCS, Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying
If you want to bring a bird, a rabbit or another animal
Not under the baggage rule: only dogs and cats count as pets; any other animal needs a DGFT licence. AQCS, Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying
What are the steps when you move back with a pet?
From AQCS's procedures for a pet travelling as baggage.
12 months to 1 month before you fly
The rabies vaccine must fall in this window, for dogs aged 3 months or more and for cats. AQCS, Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying
At least 7 working days before you fly
Apply for the Advance NOC on ATITHI 2.0 with proof of transfer of residence, the vaccination, microchip and health certificates. AQCS, Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying
Check-in
Show the Advance NOC; the airline boards the pet only with it. AQCS, Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying
On landing
Declare the pet on the Customs declaration form; AQCS examines it and issues the Final NOC. Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs
If the pet travels separately
It must arrive within 1 month after you, or you need advance Customs permission. AQCS, Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying
What do people get caught out by?
The timing of a pet that travels separately is the usual surprise. AQCS's baggage page says a pet coming after you must arrive within 1 month, and one arriving before you, or more than a month after, needs advance permission from Customs. If your pet is flying cargo while you fly separately, plan the dates together.
The other is the name on the papers. AQCS asks that the owner's name on the health certificate match the ticket, with your addresses abroad and in India on the certificate, and you declare that the animal is a bona fide pet, not for sale, gifting or breeding. Keep a copy of every document you uploaded with you when you land.
Going away soon? Tell us your dates.
A checked local sitter feeds, walks and keeps your pet company at home, follows your care sheet to the letter and sends a photo every day. Petym is opening city by city: send your dates and we will tell you when a sitter can take them.
- Meet your sitter first, free
- PAN-checked, first-aid trained
- A photo every day
- Pay through Petym, never cash
Questions owners ask
How many pets can I bring to India on transfer of residence?
- Up to two pet dogs or cats per passenger. Any animal other than a dog or cat needs a DGFT licence; ask AQCS before you plan a move with more than two pets. You still need an Advance NOC from ATITHI 2.0 for each pet before the flight.
Can I bring my pet to India if I lived abroad for less than two years?
- Not on the transfer-of-residence route. If your pet originally left India with an AQCS export certificate, it can come back as a re-import. Otherwise you need a DGFT licence before applying for the Advance NOC.
Do I pay customs duty on my pet?
- No. Pets imported under the baggage rules are within the duty-free allowances of the Baggage Rules, 2026. You pay AQCS Rs 1,000 per import application, and quarantine charges only if the pet fails its examination on arrival.
Can my pet arrive after me?
- Yes, within 1 month after you. AQCS says a pet arriving more than a month after you, or before you, needs advance permission from Customs, so plan cargo dates with your own flight.
Keep reading
Related terms
More in travel and paperwork
- Advance NOCThe Advance NOC (No Objection Certificate) is the clearance a passenger must hold before a pet dog or cat can board a flight to India. You apply on CBIC's ATITHI 2.0 portal at least 7 days before travel, and AQCS issues it within 1 working day of checking your documents. Airlines will not board the pet without it.
- AQCSAQCS, Animal Quarantine and Certification Services, is the Government of India service under the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying that examines pets and issues the health certificate a pet needs to leave India, and clears pets arriving. It has six stations: Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad. Its fees are paid online through Bharatkosh.
- Dog boxA dog box is the compartment in a train's brake van, where a dog travels as luggage when its owner does not hold a whole First AC or First Class coupe or cabin. It is booked at the station's luggage office at least 3 hours before departure and charged at the Scale L rate on a fixed 30 kg.
- Export health certificateThe export health certificate, formally the Certificate of Health for Export (Pet Animals), is the document AQCS issues after examining a pet in person, without which a pet cannot leave India. AQCS calls it "the NOC". It costs Rs 500, paid online through Bharatkosh, is normally issued the same day and is valid for 10 days.
- Fit-to-fly certificateA fit-to-fly certificate is a registered vet's signed and stamped statement that a pet has been examined and is healthy enough to fly. Every Indian airline that carries pets asks for one, with the rabies vaccination record. How recent it must be differs: within 7 days on Air India, 15 days on Akasa Air, 48 hours on SpiceJet.
- Health certificateA pet health certificate is a vet's signed and stamped statement that your pet has been examined and is healthy, usually free of infectious disease and fit to travel. In India, Indian Railways, airlines and AQCS ask for one. The catch is timing: each wants a certificate issued within its own window, from 24 hours to 10 days.
- IATA pet crateAn IATA pet crate is a travel kennel built to the International Air Transport Association's Live Animals Regulations, Container Requirement 1, for pets flying in the hold. It must let the pet stand, turn and lie naturally, and be rigid, ventilated on all four sides, bolted together, with a water bowl filled from outside and the right labels.
- Pet passportIndia does not issue a pet passport; the EU pet passport is issued only by authorised vets to owners living in the EU. When people in India say pet passport, they usually mean the travel papers: microchip and vaccination records, a vet's health certificate, the AQCS export certificate, and the destination's own certificate or permit.
- Scale LScale L is Indian Railways' luggage rate: its Scale P parcel rate plus 80%. A dog on a train is charged at Scale L on a fixed weight, whatever it weighs: 30 kg in the brake-van dog box, 60 kg if it rides with you in a First AC or First Class coupe or cabin. Distance does the rest.
Keep exploring
Sources
Each source was opened and read on the date shown. How Petym checks its sources
- Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs: Guide for international travellers (February 2026, Baggage Rules 2026) (opens in a new tab)
- AQCS, Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying: Import of live pet dogs under the Livestock Importation Act, 1898: standard operating procedure (August 2026) (opens in a new tab)
- AQCS, Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying: Import of pets under baggage (opens in a new tab)
- AQCS, Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying: Frequently asked questions (opens in a new tab)
- Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying: Order of 28 April 2025: processing fees for import and export, and AQCS accommodation charges, from 1 May 2025 (opens in a new tab)