What you will need to do to get your pet from Bolivia BACK to the United States

Boesman and I recently posted a detailed description of what you need to do in order to travel with pets to Bolivia. Here’s what you will need to do to get your pet from Bolivia BACK to the United States.

This process has changed a lot over the last few years. It used to be as easy as paying the pet fee at the airline counter in Bolivia and presenting a rabies certificate going through customs in the U.S. However, now that airlines (like American) are requiring a health certificate that is issued within 10 days of flying, it has gotten a little more complex.

You should plan on the process taking nearly all 10 days, so work that into your schedule before you plan to fly out of Bolivia. Because things change often, you should contact the SENESAG office nearest you. In Santa Cruz, the office you will need to visit is located at Av. Landivar C/Cecilia Jordan N° 45.

The process is similar in that you must visit a vet to get a health certificate (remember to get a statement saying that your pet is safe down to temperatures of 20F if you think it may apply to your situation). Then SENESAG must sign the health certificate, much like the USDA must do in the U.S.

You do not, however, have to do all of the other steps (notary, etc.) since it is only the airline that wants the certificate, not the U.S. authorities. Once on U.S. soil, the only thing that will interest the customs officials is the animal’s certificate of rabies vaccination.

If you choose to fly American Airlines, the pet fee is a flat fee when flying from the U.S. to Bolivia, however, when flying from Bolivia to the U.S., remember that you must also pay Bolivian taxes on top of the airline required pet fee, so it will be slightly more than what is listed on the airline’s webpage.

Here's our original posting on paperwork for entering Bolivia with pets.