Pets to Guyana: the GLDA import permit and the way back
A dog or cat may only enter Guyana with an import permit from the Guyana Livestock Development Authority (GLDA), valid for three months for a single entry, and a health certificate from the official veterinarian. A dog must be at least four months old and microchipped. Guyana is not on the EU list: anyone who wants to return to the Netherlands needs a rabies blood test.
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You take a dog or cat to Guyana with an import permit from the Guyana Livestock Development Authority (GLDA), the veterinary service of the Ministry of Agriculture. You apply for the permit in advance; it is valid for three months and for a single entry. Your animal travels with a health certificate from the official veterinarian of the country of departure, in the Netherlands the NVWA. A dog must be at least four months old and microchipped.
| Topic | What the GLDA requires |
|---|---|
| Import permit | apply with the form, health and vaccination records; the GLDA prepares it in 3 working days |
| Validity | 3 months, single entry |
| Dog | at least 4 months old, microchip; vaccinated against distemper, hepatitis, leptospirosis, parainfluenza and parvovirus |
| Cat | vaccinated against cat flu (calicivirus and rhinotracheitis) and panleukopenia |
| Rabies | vaccination at least 1 month before departure if rabies occurred in the country of departure |
| Deworming and fleas | within 72 hours before departure |
| Residence in the country of departure | born there, or there for the last 6 months |
| Notice | 24 hours before arrival to the GLDA's Animal Health Unit |
How do you apply for the permit?
You fill in the GLDA application form and submit your dog's or cat's health and vaccination records. The GLDA looks at the species, the disease situation in the country of departure, whether imports from that country are allowed, and the vaccinations. It then prepares the permit with its conditions, in three working days, and you collect it, or have it collected by someone with an authorisation.
The conditions in the permit are country-specific and can change with the disease situation in the country of departure. What you read on this page is therefore the baseline; the permit itself decides.
What must the veterinarian certify?
The health certificate is signed by the veterinary authority of the country of departure. For a dog it certifies that the animal is healthy, vaccinated against distemper, infectious hepatitis, leptospirosis, parainfluenza and parvovirus, and treated against internal and external parasites within 72 hours before departure. For a cat the vaccinations are against calicivirus, panleukopenia and rhinotracheitis.
Rabies is conditional: if it occurred among non-quarantined animals in the country of departure in the six months before departure, your animal must have been vaccinated against rabies at least a month before departure. Have your animal vaccinated in any case: the NVWA names a microchip and rabies vaccination as general requirements for travel abroad, and you also need the vaccination for the way back.
In the Netherlands you start with your own vet (microchip, rabies vaccination, pet passport) and with the NVWA's Export Assistant. If Guyana is not listed there with a binding certificate, you email the NVWA for the requirements. According to the NVWA the preparation can take weeks to more than half a year.
What happens on arrival?
You notify the GLDA's Animal Health Unit 24 hours in advance. A GLDA veterinarian inspects your animal at the airport or port. If everything is in order, you receive a health certificate (landing permit). The veterinarian may impose quarantine, with tests at your expense. Your animal then goes directly to its destination address. Animals attract import duty; the GRA can tell you the amount.
If you fly via Trinidad and Tobago, you also need an in-transit permit from the veterinary authority there; that takes about four working days, and inspections only take place Monday to Friday. An animal without a permit is confiscated: in 2016 the GLDA had three of five dogs without a permit euthanised.
What if you want to return later?
Guyana is not on the EU list of countries without a blood test requirement. If you come from Guyana to the Netherlands with your dog or cat, an approved laboratory must show that the rabies vaccination works: a result of at least 0.5 IU/ml. If you have the test done outside the EU, you then wait another 90 days before you may travel. If you have it done in the Netherlands before you leave, that waiting period does not apply, as long as you keep renewing the vaccination on time.
You can read about your household goods and car in household goods to Guyana. The order of the moving steps is in the route to Guyana.
In Vertrekklaar this is phase 4 of 5 of the journey, step 4.4: the same steps, but for your situation — in your order, tickable, and with the deadlines watched. See the whole journey to Guyana or go straight to step 4.4 in the open plan.
What is due when?
Enter your departure date and see day by day what your dog or cat needs for Guyana, from microchip to certificate.
What this rests on
The facts in this article come from these official pages. Rules change. When in doubt, go by the source, not this article.
- Ministry of Agriculture — the procedure for importing animals, with the GLDA permit — agriculture.gov.gy
- Ministry of Agriculture — the requirements for dogs — agriculture.gov.gy
- Ministry of Agriculture — the requirements for cats — agriculture.gov.gy
- Ministry of Agriculture — general provisions, 24 hours' notice, quarantine and import duty — agriculture.gov.gy
- Ministry of Agriculture — the application form for the import permit — agriculture.gov.gy
- Ministry of Agriculture — the GLDA confiscates dogs that entered without a permit — agriculture.gov.gy
- NVWA — taking your dog or cat to a country outside the EU — nvwa.nl
- NVWA — the rabies blood test when returning from a high-risk country — nvwa.nl
- European Commission — the non-EU countries without a blood test requirement (Implementing Regulation 2026/636, Annex II); Guyana is not listed — food.ec.europa.eu
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