Canada to Costa Rica
Pet Shipping from Canada to Costa Rica
We provide international pet transport from Canada to Costa Rica, planned around its import rules, the Canadian winter and your move date.
Book door-to-door pet relocation, or only the parts you need.
- Airline booking
- The travel crate
- The CFIA export paperwork
- Check-in at your Canadian airport
- Pickup in Costa Rica with delivery to your new address
Costa Rica at a glance
Full requirementsThe CFIA publishes a certificate for cats and dogs going to Costa Rica, negotiated for this route.
- Microchip
- HA2809 records a number only where the animal has one; MAG’s December 2025 news item says every imported dog or cat needs one
- Rabies vaccination
- Older than three months, valid when it enters; no wait given
- Rabies titre
- Not listed on HA2809
- Other vaccinations
- Dog: distemper, hepatitis, parvovirus and leptospirosis. Cat: feline viral rhinotracheitis, calicivirus and panleukopenia
- Parasite treatment
- Internal and external, in the fifteen days before export, with products approved in Canada
Pet Shipping from Canada to Costa Rica
For a cat or dog leaving Canada, Costa Rica’s conditions are set out on HA2809, the CFIA’s export certificate for this destination, which runs in English and Spanish and was amended on 7 January 2022. Your veterinarian examines the animal and completes it, and the CFIA then endorses it under its export stamp. If you would like a simple overview of international moves first, start with our guide to international pet shipping destinations. Bringing a pet the other way, into Canada? See our guide to moving to Canada with a pet.
Approved Routes and Entry into Costa Rica
HA2809 separates an animal in the cabin with its owner from one sent as cargo or on its own. In the first case, the CFIA export certificate is the one document that must be presented at the Costa Rican border inspection post, and the general import requirements of Costa Rica’s animal health authority, SENASA, read 29 October 2026, give a pet flying as checked baggage with its owner the same treatment. In the second, the importer arranges three things before travel: form DCA-PG-03-RE-01, filed with the Animal Quarantine Office; a Sanitary Requirements Form, obtained from the Costa Rican authorities; and a Customs Clearance Form, the FAD, requested through a customs agency. SENASA calls that Sanitary Requirements Form its prior import permit. A Costa Rican customs agency applies for it ahead of arrival, and SENASA gives its answer in no more than 24 working hours, counted from when the original document reaches it.
Route details: Canada to Costa Rica
- Route
- Canada to Costa Rica
- Arrival airports
- Juan Santamaría or Daniel Oduber airport: SENASA’s map of its main offices shows a border inspection post at each
- How the pet flies
- In the cabin or checked baggage with the owner, or as manifest cargo (SENASA); Air Canada: no pets in its baggage hold to Costa Rica, all year
- Import permit
- Cargo or a pet without its owner: SENASA’s prior import permit, requested by a Costa Rican customs broker, resolved within 24 working hours
- Health certificate
- CFIA’s bilingual HA2809, after a licensed vet’s exam within 2 weeks of departure, endorsed by the CFIA; valid 14 days from the exam
- On arrival
- SENASA inspects the pet at the border inspection post and refuses entry to one with tumours, fresh or healing wounds, or external parasites
From official sources, read 29 October 2026: SENASA Costa Rica, Ubicaciones; SENASA Costa Rica, Dirección de Cuarentena Animal, Requisitos para la importación de perros y gatos, DCA-PG-02-RS-01-IN-006 v11; CFIA, HA2809 Health Certificate for the Export of Dogs and Cats to Costa Rica; Air Canada, Travelling with pets; MAG Costa Rica, Conozca los requisitos sanitarios establecidos por SENASA para la importación de perros y gatos; CFIA, Pets: Export certificates.
What are the entry requirements for pets going to Costa Rica?
The short answer
From Canada they are the conditions on HA2809, the CFIA’s certificate for cats and dogs: a veterinary examination no more than two weeks before departure, parasite treatment in the fifteen days before export, the vaccines listed for each species, and rabies vaccination for an animal older than three months, still valid when it enters the country. A licensed veterinarian fills it in and the CFIA endorses it, and it is good for 14 days from the inspection.
Import Eligibility for Pets
HA2809 is written for dogs and cats. As read on 25 September 2026, it gives no quarantine period and no list of breeds. SENASA’s general requirements cover the arrival itself: the pet is inspected at the border inspection post, and one showing tumours, external parasites, or wounds that are fresh or still healing is refused entry. MAG, Costa Rica’s agriculture ministry, says in a news item of 18 December 2025, read 29 October 2026, that a pet falling short of the requirements is turned away and returned to the country it came from. Airlines keep conditions of their own, and Air Canada’s restriction for this destination is in the answers below.
For a rabbit, a guinea pig or any other animal, the CFIA’s list carries only the cat and dog certificate for Costa Rica, so the requirements have to come from the authorities there first. Ready to start? Request a quote.
Health Preparation and Documentation
On page one of HA2809, the veterinarian records an examination within two weeks of the departure date, with the animal clinically healthy and fit to travel, and treatment against internal and external parasites during the fifteen days before export, using products approved in Canada. The date, product, active ingredient and lot number go on the form. Page two lists the vaccinations. A dog needs distemper, hepatitis, parvovirus and leptospirosis; for a cat it is feline viral rhinotracheitis, calicivirus and panleukopenia. Rabies is required for any dog or cat older than three months and must still be valid on the day it enters Costa Rica. The description section takes a microchip or tattoo number only where the animal has one. Read on 25 September 2026, the certificate gives no waiting period after that shot and lists no rabies titre test. Like HA2809, SENASA’s general requirements leave the microchip off the certificate unless the pet already has one, while MAG’s December 2025 news item says every dog or cat brought into Costa Rica must be identified by a microchip, its number declared on the certificate.
| Requirement | Costa Rica, from Canada |
|---|---|
| Microchip | HA2809 records a number only where the animal has one; MAG’s December 2025 news item says every imported dog or cat needs one |
| Rabies vaccination | Older than three months, valid when it enters; no wait given |
| Rabies titre | Not listed on HA2809 |
| Other vaccinations | Dog: distemper, hepatitis, parvovirus and leptospirosis. Cat: feline viral rhinotracheitis, calicivirus and panleukopenia |
| Parasite treatment | Internal and external, in the fifteen days before export, with products approved in Canada |
| Health certificate | HA2809, bilingual, valid 14 days from the veterinarian’s inspection, endorsed by the CFIA |
| Quarantine | No period on HA2809 |
This checklist rests on the CFIA’s certificate HA2809 for cats and dogs bound for Costa Rica, read on 25 September 2026. It is the only entry under that country on the CFIA’s export certificate list, checked on 22 September 2026. SENASA’s list of import requirements for pets, read 29 October 2026, carries two documents for dogs and cats, one for pets from the USA and the general requirements, IN-006 version 11, in force since 19 July 2024. With nothing on that list for Canada, IN-006 is the one that covers a pet from Canada, and it agrees with HA2809 on the examination, the parasite treatment and the vaccines. SENASA notes that its requirements can change without notice and leaves it to the importer to ask for the current ones.
Planning Timeline for Pet Shipping to Costa Rica
Count back from the departure date. The examination falls within the last two weeks, and the certificate stays valid for 14 days from it. Parasite treatment goes in the fifteen days before export. The CFIA endorsement comes after the examination. HA2809 gives the vaccinations no window of their own beyond rabies being valid on arrival, so they can be brought up to date well ahead.
Panama is next door and asks for far more vaccines. Our Panama page sets out the list and the apostille timing.
Every Pet Travels Differently
Different destinations, different routes, different challenges.
Destination-Focused Planning
Each parasite product’s name, active ingredient and lot number goes on HA2809 itself, so the vet records are compared with the form before the CFIA appointment.
Smart Routing and Logistics
We help choose practical routes, travel windows, and handoff procedures so your pet’s trip is safer and more predictable.
Personalized Support
Pet Travel Advisors assigns a move coordinator who keeps you updated and checks details before travel so nothing important is missed.
Questions about moving a pet to Costa Rica
Request a QuoteWhich Canadian airports will my pet fly from to Costa Rica?
The airline, and whether the animal flies in the cabin or as cargo, decide the Canadian airport, and the ride there is a separate service you can book. Cabin and cargo also differ at the Costa Rican end, as the route section of this page sets out.
When is the best time to fly a pet from Canada to Costa Rica?
Air Canada’s passenger page on travelling with animals, read 16 September 2026, lists Costa Rica among the destinations where pets may not ride in the baggage compartment at any time of year, and it publishes separate cold-weather limits by date, temperature and aircraft, which our guide to fall and winter pet travel restrictions explains. Both restrictions cover pets flying as checked baggage, and Air Canada Cargo publishes its own conditions.
How much does it cost to move a pet from Canada to Costa Rica?
Every move is priced individually, because the route from Canada, airline fees, your pet’s size and crate, the season, and Costa Rica’s requirements all change the total. Tell us your city and timing and we’ll put together an estimate: request a quote.
How does Pet Travel Advisors handle a Canada-to-Costa Rica move?
Pick the services a move needs: flights, a travel crate, the CFIA export paperwork, check-in at the Canadian airport, and collection in Costa Rica with delivery to the new home. Each is bookable separately, or the whole move can run door-to-door.
Ready to start?
Book door-to-door pet relocation, or only the parts you need.