The Nightmare of Pet Relocation
New York to new delhi
Disappointment and despair don’t even begin to describe the ordeal of relocating your pet to India from the USA as an unaccompanied baggage. You would think you have followed all the necessary procedures and attained the documents required by the vets and customs but if you think this is a smooth sailing processes, you are in for some grey hairs.
This is Mishka and my journey from New York to New Delhi:
Step1:
https://www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/pet-travel/by-country/pettravel-india
Indian customs require for the pet to receive an International Health Certificate from an IPATA approved vet and the USDA (US Department of Agriculture) within 10 days of travel. The check-up is regular, where the vet checks for the general health of the pet and makes sure your pet has the necessary up to date vaccines required by the destination country.
India mainly asks for-
- Original Rabies Certificate
- Leptospirosis
- Bordetella
Make sure to make an appointment with the USDA at JFK by calling +1718-553-3570, it is difficult to get someone on the line but keep trying. Or if you have time you can send the original health certificate prepared by your vet to Albany by overnight mail.
Step 2:
Reach out to the quarantine officer in New Delhi who will provide you a Declaration Form. Submit the following documents to the quarantine officer to receive the NOC.
- International Health Certificate signed by your vet and USDA vet
- Your flight details
- Your pets flight details
- All the relevant vaccines
- Passport copy
- Visa details
- Brief explanation of your reason for visit/move
- Proof you stayed in the US for at least 2 years (I submitted my I-20)
- Declaration Form
The officers in Delhi are extremely prompt and communicative, you should receive the NOC within 2-3 days. A big shout out to Dr. Vijay Kumar Teotia and his team for being so reachable and efficient.
Step 3:
I took the help of Airborne Animals to book Mishka’s flight with British Airways, from Newark to New Delhi with a 7 hour layover in London and an assurance that the London pet facilities are top notch. Don’t forget to collect the Airways Bill. At this point I was sure we were prepared to leave, with the only hiccup being separated for nearly 1 ½ days.
The day comes, and we hand over Mishka to the pet relocators at the cargo section and my little furry baby boards her first ever flight.
Step 4:
This is the onset of the trauma, its Monday morning 8 am and the British Airways is supposed to land around 8:30 am but is early and lands at 8:09 am. No worries, this only makes me happier because I’ll see her sooner.
I get to the British Airways Export Building in Terminal 2 Cargo and SHE IS NOT THERE, AND THEY HAVE NO IDEA THERE WAS SUPPOSED TO BE A DOG. I surely felt delusional, for how can you misplace a dog? I have all my documents and the tickets have the date as 16th Sept, but in their records, there is no dog flying that day. Turns out they decided to change her date for the next day and never bothered to inform the pet relocators or me despite being directly in touch with them for 2-3 days. However, they assured me she will be on the red eye flight later that night arriving the next morning.
Step 5:
It’s the next day and I have been informed Mishka has landed and is waiting at the cargo section. The next 6-7 hrs were by far the worst for both Mishka and me. The whole process of getting the documents verified, paying the necessary fees, getting Mishka checked should not have taken more than an hour or maximum 2 hours, but thanks to the slow, incompetent and inconsiderate way of working kept Mishka holed up in her crate for over 7 hours in a warehouse.
The customs officers took their sweet time to go through the paperwork, inefficient manner of filling data in their systems that required them to fill the data multiple times in separate systems and forced me to chase different people in different buildings. They prioritized other people, scanning through cartons of objects and carpets when a living thing was whimpering in her crate without food and water in the heat of the warehouse, despite us arriving before everyone else.
What bothered me most was they refused to inform what was taking this long and kept asking me to wait. Finally, after a lot of frustration and heated exchanges and pleading with the higher officials the paperwork and Mishka’s examination was done. Only thing left was the final Customs Duty payment of Rs. 3850. This payment is to be made online using a Government Bank, which I did not have, and the customs people had no alternate solution for. They refused to take cash, another bank account, or a check and couldn’t think of any other payment method.
It is only thanks to another person also trying to clear his customs who took pity on me being a young girl who looked so helpless and on the verge of complete despair guided me through the entire process, nudging the officials to expedite the paperwork and necessary signatures and at the end was also a blessing to have paid the customs duty via his company’s government bank account.
After spending from almost 10 am to 5:30 pm in the Customs Warehouse, Mishka was finally handed over to me, completely in a state of exhaustion, hungry, thirsty, and most of all scared.
Step 6:
You must take your pet to the AQCS (Animal Quarantine Certificate Services), to the office of Mr. Vijay Kumar Teotia, who will check all the necessary documents and give you the original NOC. I was a little skeptical going there, assuming I would have to face the same slow and incompetent working culture like the customs office. But this was as painless as it could have been. It took all about 5 min and Mishka and I were on our way back. No hidden fees, no unnecessary paperwork. Only thing left is I have to take her back after 30 days for one last check-up.
All in all, it was an experience that I hope I never have to go through. 100% recommend everyone to please travel with their pets as an accompanied baggage. Do your research in advance, if necessary hire an agent, it will make the process so much more smoother.