BRINGING A CAT FROMMalawi to South Africa
Cat · Moving
Bringing a dog instead?No quarantine. Needs health certificate, rabies vaccination, clinical examination and microchip.
Always confirm with the destination's official authority and your airline before travelling.
Entry requirements
According to the Department's 2022 document, you need no import permit and no blood tests. A health certificate must show a rabies vaccination given 30 days to 12 months before entry and a health check within 7 days before export. This is unusual for a country that does not border South Africa; confirm with the permit office.
A Veterinary Health Certificate that certifies the rabies vaccination. No South African Veterinary Import Permit is needed.
DETAILS +DETAILS −
A Veterinary Health Certificate that certifies the rabies vaccination. No South African Veterinary Import Permit is needed.
Vaccinated against rabies more than 30 days and less than 12 months before entry.
DETAILS +DETAILS −
Vaccinated against rabies more than 30 days and less than 12 months before entry.
A health check within 7 days before export; the pet must be free of clinical signs of communicable diseases and fit to travel.
DETAILS +DETAILS −
A health check within 7 days before export; the pet must be free of clinical signs of communicable diseases and fit to travel.
Permanent identification with a microchip that ISO 11784 or ISO 11785 scanners can read. Tattoos are not accepted. The chip number goes on the health certificate. US exporters must also put it on every laboratory report.
DETAILS +DETAILS −
Permanent identification with a microchip that ISO 11784 or ISO 11785 scanners can read. Tattoos are not accepted. The chip number goes on the health certificate. US exporters must also put it on every laboratory report.
The Department's general statement covers "all dogs and cats imported". The Malawi paragraph does not repeat it.
- Preparation time 5 weeks for a pet never vaccinated against rabies. The sources do not say how pets from Malawi may arrive: by air as manifest cargo, or by road through Mozambique, Zimbabwe or Zambia. Confirm the route and the port with the permit office.
- This paragraph sits in the "other African countries" section, whose general sentence requires a permit and quarantine for dogs. The specific Malawi sentence is followed here; confirm with the Department.
No quarantine
Malawi is on the Department's list of countries whose dogs are not quarantined.
Timeline
Working out your dates…
Documents
One paper per requirement above; carry originals. 0 of 3 ready.
Official fees
The official pages we researched for this route name no fee. Vet, lab and airline charges are not covered here.
Entry points
Where a pet may enter South Africa, per the rules.
- Airports: JNB, CPT, DURList as of 2022-06-08Durban's airport is King Shaka International (IATA DUR); the same document also calls it "King Shaka International Airport (Durban)". Pets are cleared at the cargo terminal, not the passenger terminal.Cats from Mozambique and other African countries may also come by road, according to the department's page for cats. Pets from the neighbouring countries and Malawi follow their own rules, and the sources name no border posts.
- Airports: JNB, CPTList as of 2022-06-08Quarantine stations are Kempton Park (Johannesburg) and Milnerton (Cape Town).
Airlines
Airline rules are separate from entry rules and change without notice — confirm in writing when you book. Only what the carriers' own pages say, read 25 Sep 2026. All airlines
- Lufthansa LHCabinYesHoldYesSnub-nosedHold: no · Cargo: restricted
- Emirates EKCabinNoHoldYesSnub-nosedCargo: only Nov – Apr
- CabinNoHoldYes, up to 45 kg incl. crateSnub-nosedHold: not 1 May – 31 Oct
- Qantas QFCabinNoHoldCargo onlySnub-nosedNot stated
- CabinYesHoldNoSnub-nosedHold, cargo: no
- KLM KLCabinYes, up to 8 kg incl. carrier46 × 28 × 24 cmHoldYes, up to 75 kg incl. crateSnub-nosedHold: no
- Air France AFCabinYes, up to 8 kg incl. carrier46 × 28 × 24 cmHoldYes, up to 75 kg incl. crateSnub-nosedHold: no · Cargo: restricted
- CabinNoHoldCargo onlySnub-nosedCargo: restricted
- CabinNoHoldYes, up to 75 kg incl. crateSnub-nosedHold: restricted
Transit and stopovers
- By road through South Africa to another African country: this counts as a normal import. The pet needs a South African import permit and must meet all the import requirements, including the dog blood tests. — Department of Agriculture (formerly DALRRD) — Directorate Animal Health, Import Export Policy Unit
- By air to a SADC country (Angola, Botswana, DR Congo, eSwatini, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe): the pet needs a South African Veterinary In-transit Permit and must meet the South African import requirements. — Department of Agriculture (formerly DALRRD) — Directorate Animal Health, Import Export Policy Unit
- By air to any other country: the pet needs only a South African Veterinary In-transit Permit, as long as it does not leave the customs area of the airport. — Department of Agriculture (formerly DALRRD) — Directorate Animal Health, Import Export Policy Unit
- To apply for an in-transit permit, attach the flight details into and out of South Africa and a copy of the import permit of the final destination. — Department of Agriculture — Directorate Food Import and Export Standards (permit office)
- Pets travelling in transit from Botswana, eSwatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Namibia or Zimbabwe need no in-transit permit.
Return trip to Malawi
Entry back into Malawi from South Africa is not researched yet.
What they actually checked at the border
Reports from people who made this trip, read by a person before publishing.
No traveller reports here yet. If you have made this trip, tell the next person what was actually checked at the border.
Share your tripSources
Every requirement above comes from one of these pages. Last researched 25 Sep 2026. Seen a change? Tell us.
- Information document on the importation of dogs and cats into the Republic of South Africa (opens official site)Department of Agriculture (formerly DALRRD) — Directorate Animal Health, Import Export Policy Unit · used for: health certificate, rabies vaccination, clinical examination, microchip, which origins the rule covers, quarantine, this route, transit · checked 25 Sep 2026 · document dated 2022-06-08
- Application to import domestic dogs into the RSA (not subject to quarantine) (opens official site)Department of Agriculture — Directorate Food Import and Export Standards (permit office) · used for: transit · checked 25 Sep 2026 · document dated 2019-11
- Travelling with your pet (leaflet) (opens official site)Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (now Department of Agriculture) — Directorate Animal Health · used for: leaving with the pet · checked 25 Sep 2026 · document dated 2017-05
Keep this checklist
More routes
Checklists for nearby trips — same rules engine, same official sources.