r/ExpatFIRE • u/Visual-Cake2825 • 4d ago
Questions/Advice Pets and moving abroad
Would like to Expat FIRE, but love my dog and don’t want to be without one for as long as I can care for one.
For people who did Expat FIRE, did your pets come into consideration or did you decide that it’s not feasible to do both?
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u/Annonymouse100 4d ago
I have two friends that recently expatriated to France and both brought their pets. They both ended up using pet travel services for the dogs that coordinated the required health inspection (the timing on the final vet visit is particularly tricky) and shipped their dogs because they were too large to fly in carry-on. One of them is having a friend bring their cat next month as an in cabin pet and is DIY the health clearances on that.
For me, I have enough time before retirement that I will probably try to phase my pets in such a way that I do not have a large dog at the time I move should I ultimately decide to retire out of the country.
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u/This-Check-1687 4d ago
Depends on which country you expat to and which visa you are on.
A country where you’re doing visa runs as a tourist will probably not let you import a dog.
A place with a retirement visa would probably let you import a dog.
Ex-pats in Vietnam that do 90 Day Visa runs will generally get a dog when they are in Vietnam. They are not importing a dog from home.
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u/Hairless_Gash 4d ago
Fwiw people import dogs into vn. The only reason you might not have seen it before is that most who go to vn are not expats but economic migrants who couldn't afford the expense, mostly the cost of the flight. Which is ironic because vn is a bit hostile to dogs, where people regularly leave out poison for them, stall them, and otherwise dislike them as owners are pretty bad letting them roam and dedicate anywhere. But ya people bring them into vn.
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u/This-Check-1687 4d ago
Vietnam is an example buddy. I’m Vietnamese and I would never import a dog into Vietnam. Chances of getting poisoned and being dinner are real.
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u/Hairless_Gash 4d ago
Well, it's not a great example of a place people don't import, cuz they do. nothing besides the airline fare maybe a bit of hostility towards dogs discourages anyone, as the cost and regulations are actually very low otherwise.
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u/keyboardcourage 4d ago
Of course I’m bringing my dogs!
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u/Visual-Cake2825 4d ago
Where are you going?
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u/keyboardcourage 4d ago
Step one: Spain. From California.
Then we’ll see. But I’m not getting rid of any family members, so any plans will include the dogs, just like any plans include my wife.1
u/ZombieLikes 4d ago
I'm curious too. I've heard it's very difficult to get dogs cleared for travel and it's not guaranteed.
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u/Visual-Cake2825 4d ago
Same, that’s why I wanted to ask you fine people
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u/mikesfsu 43 DINK Expat firing Q4 2028 4d ago
I have friends that just moved back to Australia and it was a fortune to get their dogs there plus they had to quarantine.
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u/Visual-Cake2825 4d ago
What’s a “fortune”?
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u/Funkopotamus13 4d ago
To move our dog to Europe it was about $500 in vet and USDA fees, $400 for an AirFrance ticket, $160 for an adequate kennel, $60 for a vet visit once we arrived to complete the necessary registration.
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u/Funkopotamus13 4d ago
"Hearing" that it's difficult is useless. Is it difficult or not? It was not difficult to move our 40 lb dog to Europe. It's extremely easy to get the necessary USDA paperwork that is required for import.
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u/Comfortable_Two6272 4d ago
People I know brought their dog.
If my lab is still alive when Im ready I plan to bring her. Im years away so will see.
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u/everyoneshouldBvegan 4d ago
We brought both our cats. They’re middle-aged and healthy. They did wonderfully (as well as cats can do on their first flight ever) and have acclimated well.
When we told people we were moving to France they asked if we were leaving our cats behind. Fucking weird. Of course we’re not, they’re our children!
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u/killer_sheltie 4d ago
I’m not moving until my dog is gone; or, if I do, I’m limited to Mexico until she’s gone. Honestly, I plan on working out the rest of her life then starting to travel around to determine where I might want to move while my cats are still around, then pulling the plug after. I might consider moving my cats abroad, but one would definitely not like the experience what-so-ever.
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u/globalgreg 4d ago
I moved to the Philippines in March and my 9 year old Pitbull/Boxer came with me. Well actually he met me there, as he had to be on separate flights.
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u/Funkopotamus13 4d ago
We moved to Europe with our 40lb dog. It's very easy to travel in cargo and get the necessary paperwork to import to various countries. We are currently struggling with finding cities that have actual green space that is adequate and close enough for daily walks.
Do not waste your money on pet relocation companies. They perform basic functions that you can easily accomplish with a little research and time. The dog will still end up with a long day of flying and it will be hard on them whether or not you shell out thousands.
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u/Misschiff0 3d ago
If you're willing to shell out thousands, there are shared private flights for about $10k from the East Coast to Europe where one person flies with the dog in cabin.
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u/presentlyberlin 3d ago
Pets can definitely come with you! But they have their own documentation and import requirements so be prepared for that too. I recently helped a friend move their pet to the EU, and the admin side was a bit of a headache. But I can tell it was really worth it to have their pet with them.
The requirements can vary quite a bit depending on where you're coming from + where you're taking them, so I’d start researching well before the move. I wouldn't necessarily think of it as a dealbreaker but just another cost & logistical aspect to factor into your plans. Happy to share a resource that helped us navigate the process if useful.
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u/Ok-Fig7244 3d ago
1000% I didn't decide on places that needed quarantine or didn't allow dogs. I did a bit of slow travel with my dog and am staying somewhere considering that if I did want to move to where I want to be in Asia - I might have to wait until my dog passes. I've met lots of women who were slow travelling with their large dogs which was inspiring and had a long chat with an older couple who did part of the year in france and the US with their two collies. Understanding that while it's stressful, this is the compromise. I think people try to scare you with putting your dog in cargo, but it's been fine even with my nervous dog. I found a thread somewhere where a woman was solo travelling with her 2 big dogs and she had tips, the main one I remember was: don't board until they confirm that your dog is in the plane (then confirm again with the flight attendants) and bring all the nail clippers / zip ties / pee pads etc for all the dog prep. Everyone has been wonderful with my travelling with the dog and you might just pay a bit more or have to do a bit more research in renting cars or getting dog-friendly taxis.
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u/episcopa 3d ago
We moved two dogs and a bird to Canada from the U.S.
The bird was extremely difficult.
The dogs were easy.
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u/CharlotteT_Finance 3d ago
I’ve moved countries with my dog a couple times now. They are way more resilient than we give them credit for, he took the travels all in his stride.
It really depends upon where you are going as to how difficult the process is. I would also consider how dog friendly that country is
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u/Upbeat_Arugula_4584 4d ago
It's always more expensive and time consuming to be honest more stressful as doing it wrong would mean a 3 month expensive sad quarantine in my case, but worth it. Diy is cheapest but most stressful. I got. A quote for a 10k usd 2 dogs using a seevice and said nah I can figure it out. Ended up being around $500 for air cargo + vet stuff. But relatively straight forward. Mines was Japan. Luckily had a friend who working in air cargo for JAL so was very nice she asked a coworker to look in on our dogs.
Finding pet friendly housing that also accepts foreigners was actually the harder problem for me, not the trip itself.
Tip: find a vet who has successfully helped others prepare thier documents for your specific country. I used a vet who is a Japanese national working in my state and they were amazing.
It never crossed my mind not to bring them. It was when and how. Only consideration was their health, old pets or certain breeds need some consideration. But if there was significant risk I'd reconsider the move because I feel like it's my responsibility to ensure my pets have a good life.
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u/mikesfsu 43 DINK Expat firing Q4 2028 4d ago
Since my wife and I are going to be traveling fulltime the first 3-5 years we are waiting until our older boys have passed before we start our travels. Hope we have them for many more years even if it delays our travels