fp Turks and Caicos

Department of Agriculture Public Notice

Import conditions for bringing a pet into the Turks and Caicos Islands are being revised.

This revision will ensure the continued protection of the domestic pet population from rabies as well as other potential diseases conveyed by ticks and tapeworms. These measures also serve to protect the public’s health while making the importation of pets a much smoother process. However, until then the current rules will apply. These old rules differ very little from the new ones.

The Department of Agriculture is urging persons to become familiar with the new conditions and to ensure that they comply. It is the owner’s responsibility to ensure that the requirements are met before they decide to travel to the Turks and Caicos Islands and that all the required documents are accurately completed and submitted on time.

The appropriate conditions will depend on whether you are coming from a country considered by the department to rabies free, or not. The department currently considers these countries to be free of rabies:

1. Antigua
2. Australia
3. Anguilla
4. Barbados
5. Dominica
6. Jamaica
7. Montserrat
8. New Zealand
9. Republic of Ireland
10. St. Kitts
11. St. Lucia
12. St. Vincent
13. Virgin Islands
14. United Kingdom

If you are NOT traveling from any of the countries listed above, the import conditions for pets coming from rabies endemic countries will apply to you.

Please ensure that your pet has been treated for ticks and tapeworms; and is vaccinated against rabies, and thereafter blood tested for antibodies, to ascertain its level of rabies protection. THIS IS WHAT IS KNOWN AS THE RABIES TITRE TEST, and it is essential.

Failure to comply may result in the animal being refused entry and be returned to the country of origin at the owner’s expense.

The department is also recognizing the frequency with which resident pets leave and return to the islands. In an effort to address this, the department will also, beginning on a date to be announced, implement a “re-entry card.” This card will allow resident pets to enter the territory without an import permit once certain criteria are met.

Owners are also being urged to check the prohibited breeds list to ascertain whether their pet appears thereon. Breeds that appear on the list will not be given permission to enter the TCI.

With the high levels of travel to and from the TCI and throughout the world, the risk of infectious diseases is ever increasing. It is our goal to ensure the TCI remain safe for pets as well as their owners. It is our goal to offer a warm welcome all visitors who wish to enter these islands with their pets, while protecting our rabies free status.

Dr. Mark Butler
Government Veterinarian

For further information on entry conditions and to see animal import check lists as well as permit samples, please contact the department at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or visit our office in Butterfield Square on Providenciales. Until the Department of Agriculture website is operational, further information can currently be found at www.turksandcaicostourism.com.