Plan backwards from the arrival date
Pet relocation calendars are built in reverse. You pick the week you want your dog or cat released in Taipei, then subtract: the quarantine booking, the certificate window, the permit lead time, the titer waiting period, the lab turnaround, the post-vaccine wait, the chip. For most pets coming from rabies-origin countries (US, Canada, most of Europe and Asia), the arithmetic lands at six months or more before wheels-up. Pets from designated rabies-free areas (Japan, UK, Australia and others) compress to six-to-eight weeks — check your corridor in the Pet Travel Hub.
Here's the full-protocol countdown, month by month.
The six-month countdown
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Month 6 — foundations T−6 mo
- Verify or implant the ISO microchip — everything else keys to it.
- Rabies vaccination (or booster) after the chip scan, recorded against the chip number.
- Decide DIY vs. managed, and rough out the budget with our cost breakdown.
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Month 5 — the blood draw T−5 mo
- 2–4 weeks after vaccination, draw blood for the FAVN titer and ship it to a recognized lab.
- This draw date anchors Taiwan's waiting period — from today, the earliest possible arrival date is fixed. Everything downstream schedules around it.
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Month 4 — results and routing T−4 mo
- Titer result arrives (2–6 weeks). Passing? The calendar holds. Failing? Booster, re-draw, and the countdown restarts — this is why buffers exist.
- Shortlist airlines and routings, checking seasonal embargoes and any breed restrictions against your target week.
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Month 3 — book the move T−3 mo
- Confirm live-animal space in writing, then buy human tickets.
- Buy the IATA crate and start the four-week crate program (cats too, with a carrier).
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Month 2 — Taiwan paperwork T−2 mo
- File the APHIA import permit (at least 20 days before arrival — earlier is calmer) and book the quarantine space where applicable.
- Line up the origin side: government endorsement appointments, export inspection where your country requires one.
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Final weeks — certificates and checks T−10 days
- Final vet visit inside the health-certificate window; certificate endorsed by your national authority with every field matching the chip record.
- Confirm the flight, the crate spec against the airline's letter, and who clears the pet at Taoyuan if you land on a different flight.
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Arrival T−0
- APHIA inspection: permit, certificate, live chip scan. Compliant files clear to release or a short pre-booked quarantine.
- Then the actually hard part: the first 30 days in Taipei.
Where moves go wrong: the missing buffer
This countdown is also, literally, our product: an 886JetPet move is this timeline with names, dates and one accountable team attached. Tell us your target month and we'll send back your pet's actual calendar.
Want this handled for you?
Everything in this article is work 886JetPet does daily on the Taiwan corridor — the paperwork, the calendar, the airline, the arrival. One quote, one team, door to door.