Pet to Bolivia: first an import permit from the SENASAG

Your dog or cat may enter Bolivia with a Permiso Zoosanitario de Importación, an import permit from the SENASAG, the service for animal health and food safety. You apply for that permit before the animal leaves the Netherlands. The animal travels with a health certificate from the Dutch authorities, and at the border a SENASAG vet inspects it. The requirements are in a SENASAG document for animals from countries outside the region.

Requirement	Period	For whom
SENASAG import permit	apply before departure; issued after 48 hours	dog and cat
Vaccinations, with date, type and brand	within 60 days before departure	dog and cat
Rabies vaccination	within the same 60 days	animals older than 3 months
Treatment against internal and external parasites	within 30 days before departure	dog and cat
Inspection and identification by an official vet	at embarkation	dog and cat
Quarantine, if the SENASAG deems it necessary	at least 30 days after arrival	dog and cat
Information in the application	in Spanish

Which vaccinations does the SENASAG ask for?

For a dog: distemper, infectious canine hepatitis, leptospirosis, parvovirus and coronavirus, rabies for animals older than three months, and parainfluenza. For a cat: feline panleukopenia and rabies for animals older than three months. The certificate states the date, the type and the brand for each vaccination.

The period stands out: according to the document the vaccinations are given within 60 days before embarkation.

A rabies vaccination from a year ago, still valid in the Netherlands, does not meet the SENASAG's text. Plan the vaccinations with your vet within those 60 days, or ask the SENASAG in writing when you apply whether it accepts an earlier, still valid vaccination.

At embarkation an official vet must declare the animal healthy, without tumours, fresh wounds, contagious disease or ticks and fleas. The travel crate must be washed and disinfected before use.

How do you apply for the import permit?

Through the SENASAG's Gran Paitití system. You first ask a SENASAG departmental office by letter for a username, register as an importer and then fill in the application form SENASAG-IMP-FOR-001. The application includes:

• a letter to the head of the departmental office;
• the health certificate from the country of origin, per animal;
• proof of payment;
• everything in Spanish.

The SENASAG sends you a form with the amount to pay; you pay into the SENASAG's account at Banco Unión. If something is missing, you have 24 to 48 hours to complete it; if that fails, you start again. Online you receive the permit digitally signed; at the counter you collect it after 48 hours.

The application runs through a SENASAG departmental office in Bolivia. If you are not yet in the country yourself, ask that office whether someone else may apply on your behalf.