I thought someone could benefit from my experience in bringing in my cats.
First, contact the Panama embassy in New York City or Washington, D.C., or the consulate in your city if there is one. I dealt with D.C. and found them to be helpful.

FIRST (Give yourself at least a month for this): You need to send a letter to the Minister of Agriculture of Panama, letting him know your pet's arrival information. The letter has to be in Spanish. Fortunately, there is someone in Panama City who will send you a template of the letter that you just fill in. Her name is Tammy Liu, cell 507-651-6232 , phone 507-314-1417. Send her the letter, and she will walk it over to the consulate. You must have one letter for each pet.

NEXT: Ask the embassy to fax you their form for taking pets to Panama and the list of documents required.

All the following activity has to be done within 10 days before you fly to Panama with your pets.

Send the embassy:
1. Their form, filled out.

2. A health certificate endorsed by the USDA in your state (you have to go there and get a stamp). Note: You can have your vet put more than one animal on a health certificate. This will save you money. The embassy requires you to send $30 for each health certificate and will allow you to put more than one pet on a single health certificate so you only have to pay $30, instead of $30 per pet.

3. A rabies vaccination certificate for each pet.
The date of the rabies shot must be from 30 days to one year prior to your arrival date. For example, one of my cats had her shot May 28. We arrived June 28. There was no problem.

The embassy will return these to you with their endorsement stamp.

NOTE: All of this has to be done within 10 days, or the embassy seal isn't valid. This requires you to get to your vet for the health certificate, then to your state USDA office to get the endorsement. Then, if you aren't near a consulate, you have to FedEx everything to the embassy with a FedEx return envelope and pray that you receive everything back before you leave. I got my documents back 2 days before my flight. Take all this with you on the plane.

If you arrive in Panama City at night, your animal will have to stay in quarantine until the vet arrives the next morning.

Contacts to help you at Tocumen Airport:

• Tammy Liu (Chang) and Gustav Chang cell phone number: 6651-6232
• Jose Saenz 6614-7811 (highly recommended by people who have used his services)

What you can expect to pay to get your animals out of quarantine: $130 per animal plus another $16.50 for miscellaneous charges. I paid $293 for two cats.

Thank you for the information. The first thing my wife said when I brought up the idea of moving to Panama again (and she realized I was serious) was "what about our four cats"? It took most of the day on the Internet to find this forum and the answer. We are from Canada but I would believe the procedure would be the same. Now I can concentrate on all the other "less" important requirements of planning a move down there.

Hello there

Thank you very much for all this information, it is very helpful. We are relocating from Nicaragua to Panama and have decided to take our 4 dogs by car, driving through Costa Rica. Do you have any information how the procedure is taking pets by land to Panama? Any help is deeply appreciated.

Gabriella

Ok, we did all of this. Then, the temperature in Miami was too hot, so our two cats have stayed in Miami with family since September (5 months). So we did all of the paperwork again. The vet over charged us, and they were not a USDA vet. We went to the USDA, and then back to the consulate. We checked everything twice.

I then went to Miami to pick our two cas up. I was charged by the airline (American) $100 per cat. I arrived at Panama City. I was told to conme back tomorrow.

My cats are still in the Panama City airport. They (Dept. of Agriculture) want another $293 because... And I was not allowed to see them. Told: No money no cats. (I had no money, spent it trying to save this probem) The Vet. told me that there is no rabies in Panama, so that is why I must pay.

All shots are documented. They are sterilized. They are clean. They have their own food. Not many of the street dogs here can say any of this.

We have spent close to $1100 already. Now another $300? Plus getting them here to Boquete. And I was charged NYC cab prices for every trip to the airport and back to my overpriced hotel with no hot water for $95 per night. This is an example of a good place to live?

I feel I should have taken them to my Vet in CA and put them to sleep. Now they might die in a Panama City animal prison. Alone.

Right now I have no love for Panama. Right now I feel I should add nothing to the Panamaian economy. It (they) seem to want nothing of my future spending dollars. We with pets, spend on pets.

I feel I want to leave Panama because my cats cannot join us here in Panama.

It might be I am the only one charged because I am American?

Cathy

Cathy, That is a terrible tale.

I know nothing about bringing animals here but what I would suggest is to look for political help. Check with your friends to see who can get a contact with your state legislador, or better still a higher ranking member, for them to ask some questions of the department. Working from the top down makes you far stronger than working from some petty paper-pusher upwards.

I had a problem solved this way:
My 3 month old baby needed an operation to save her life, here in Chiriqui. We were going through the state, also made private appointments with the same state doctors, specialists and surgeon. We were told that the State would not fund this kind of operation, we could have the operation done privately ate the Mae Lewis or Hospital Chiriqui by tghese same group of specialists, only problem was the very high payment wanted. A fiend of my wife's had a contact with another doctor in one of the Centres de Salud, he is political with this party in power at the moment, anyway he came round to the house and looked at our baby, made a few phone calls and wife and baby were off to the Hospital Del Ninos in Panama for the operation, even turns out that with our baby's problems all her health care is free by the State. There are numerous babies being 5reated in the Panama hospital.
Moto is. political clout helps
So look around and your cats should soon be with you.

Colin.

Cathy, this is indeed a terrible tale. I posted the original item of how to get pets into Panama to help eliminate as many nasty surprises as I could. You are not being overcharged by the quarantine people. Everybody has to pay $130 per animal to release them from quarantine (it might be more by now). When I did that, they let me take them. The requirement for rabies vaccine is on the list of documents you need. The vet should not have told you your cats didn't need rabies shots.

Please call Tammy Liu (Chang) at the number in my post. She can help you. Also please let us in this forum know how this turns out. We are concerned and care about the welfare of your cats, and you too.

Hello Cathy, I am a bit confused. Do you need $300 to get your cats out of hock at the airport? Are they there because they do or do not have a rabies shot? Do you need a loan? I have two offers: One is our friend Isaac zapata also a cat lover and he speaks english as well as spanish. He can perhaps straighten out the problem at the airport (he is also a taxi driver) his telephoone is 6631-9991 or 66630765, tell him I sent you.(Ruby McKenzie) Also, when we brought our dogs in, we worked with an attorney in Panama City, Rainelda Mata-Kelly her telephone number is 263-4305, cellular is 6612-5139 both of these people perhaps can help you clear up the problem. If you need money, let me know the details. My email is valjala@pobox.com. Also, a good inexpensive hotel is the Milan, isaac knows where it is and it is about $36 a night with hot water and a little coffee shop attached.
Let me know what you need. ruby McKenzie telephone is 6671-3021

Hello Cathy, I probably posted wrong the first time. So here goes again. I am a little confused. Do you need $300 to get your cats out of the airport? How will you get to Boquete after that with the cats? anyway, I have a taxi contact his name is Isaac Zapata, he also speaks very good english and spanish. Perhaps he can help you clear the problem at the airport with a phone call. Maybe you need a local vet to give a rabies shot to your cats(maybe it can be done by the vet at the airport who is only there until noon every day????) The other helper we had when entering Panama was an attorney, Rainelda Mata-Kelly. she had all the paperwork at the airport for us and we whized through after paying the $130 per dog plus a tax fee of $8 each or something like that. This was 3 years ago...I am sure fees have risen. her telephone number is 263-2868 or cellular, 6612-5139. she also speaks good english and so does most of her staff. She is not necessarily cheap, but was very helpful to us. If you need a loan to get your cats out, call me at 6671-3021 or email me at valjala@pobox.com and let's see what we can do. A local inexpensive hotel is the Milan. Isaac knows where it is. (Also, fares are largely negotiated in Panama as there are no meters in the cabs. So decide ona price before you go with a driver.) Ruby McKenzie

An alternative to sending documentation to one of the Panamanian Embassies in the U.S. is to get your documentation APOSTILLED by the Secretary of State in your home state. This is particularly convenient if you live close to your state's capital. Some states have more than one office for the Secretary of State (e.g. in California there are 4 different offices in 4 different cities).

I live in Oregon (30 minutes from the state capital in Salem, OR) and can go from my vet to the USDA office and then to the Secretary of State's office and have everything apostilled and done in about 2 hours total. By doing this, you don't have the extra expense of FedEx'g back and forth, you don't have the stress and there is no chance of documents being lost or mishandled or not handled at all. I've double checked and confirmed that getting documents apostilled is just as good as getting them certified at the Panamanian Embassy. -------- Jeff From Portland

I had to get the documents appostiled at my state's Sec. of State AND send all that to the embassy in Washington D.C. The rules they sent me said I had to do this and get the embassy stamp. If this has changed, that makes it easier.

I received the attached form today from the Embassy in Washington DC detailing what is needed to bring animals into Panama (likely the form mentioned by jws in the original post). It was sent to me by email after my telephone request for the information. I do not see a requirement for an Apostille authentication but only one for the USDA veterinarian. At any rate I though others might be interested in seeing the form.

Meanwhile I talked with Tammy a couple days ago to see if she could help us bring in our dogs. I was quite disappointed to find out that she has decided to get out of this line of business due to difficulties with clients who felt she was responsible because the health ministry claimed they did not receive papers she sent in (i.e. lost/misplaced/or simply didn't arrive).

Jack

PS D-day for our departure with our 3 dogs is quickly approaching and we are striving to make this go as smoothly as possible.

I wrote the original post about bringing pets into Panama. I'm sorry Tammy isn't doing this now. Another person who can help you is Jose Saenz. Cell phone 507-6614-7811. email bocasfrog@yahoo.com. He will even drive your pets to Boquete, if you want.

Someone else wrote that the apostille by the consulate is no longer necessary and that they will accept the USDA stamp. That is probably correct. Getting that apostille was very stressful because of the time limit, so I am glad they dropped that requirement.

I have templates for the letters that have to be sent to the Ministry of Agriculture, Panama. I imagine Jose will hand deliver these if you email them to him.

Has anyone used an Apostille authenication of the USDA authenication instead of a consulate authenication to bring in their pets?

Jack

We brought our two dogs in last year using Jose Saenz. Jose will prepare the necessary letters with the Ministry of Health and be there at the airport the day you arrive to process your pets through and get you on your way. With Jose it is pretty much a turnkey operation on the Panama side. To the best of my knowledge, you cannot get a state apostille on a USDA document. Call your state's Secretary of State office to check. We had Panamanian consulate authentication on our USDA documents and had the consulate FedEx them to one of our intermediate destinations prior to departing the states from Miami. The ten day window is pretty tricky but the consulate was very quick to turn the documents around. Jose cleared us through and brought us to Boquete that day because at the time there was no place in Panama City that would take pets. Now there is a very nice B & B that takes pets so the process could stretch out a day or two.

Do you have a telephone number for Jose? How much does he charge?
Thanks

Jose Saenz, cell phone (507) 6614-7811, email: bocasfrog@yahoo.com

I swapped a few emails earlier today with someone who had the USDA document for his pet apostille authenicated and then used it to bring in his pet in.
For an apostille the document must first be notarized and this required he beg the veternarian in charge to accompany him to a notary. Once notarized an apositille authenication was accomplished at his states state department.
I hope to pull off the same feat Tusday and will post how it goes....
Jack

I'm having trouble understanding what went on here. Can you redescribe it, step by step, please?

Hotel Costa Inn (39th & Peru) takes dogs. $33 per night.

Sure. 1) the pet recieves a health certificate, 2) the health certificate was taken to a USDA vet where it was stamped, signed and notarized, and 3) the notarized health certificate was authenicated by apostille and used to bring in the pet into Panama.
The key to the apostille process is the notary and in this particular case no notary was available in the office so one had to be located close by. In summary no notary no apostille and this is exactly the case I have run into at the Olympia WA USDA office. Meaning I will have to express the stamped but not notarized health certificate to the consulate in Washington DC for authenication instead.

Jack

PS Of course the advantage of apositille is not having to ship documents thousands of miles and worry about getting them back withing the 10-day time frame.

Thanks so much. I get it. Are fees involved at this stage, too, or only upon arriving in Panama? (I have lots of paperwork on this issue, but they're filled with contradictions. Ergo, so many questions.)

Bonnie,
I sent an overnight UPS envelope to the Washington DC consulate a couple hours ago. It contained a single health certificate for my 3 dogs and their individual rabies certificates all of which had been stamped and signed by the USDA vet in Olympia. Along with this was a filled out form (see my previous post with attachment) for each dog and a $30 money order. I hope to see the documents returned and authenicated by the consulate within the next few days in the pre-paid return envelope provide.

Worth mentioning is that COPA airlines has an embargo in place after June 1st (the day we were going to fly) and then does not transport animals for a period of time.

Jack

If you can get a notary and then have it apostilled in the state you will save money. Panamanian consulate authentication is $30 per page and an apostille might be $10 or so. Not to mention the FedEx fees both ways. Thanks for the heads up on the Panama City hotel that takes pets.

There are fees involved at every stage. You have to pay the vet for the health exam to get the certificates. You have to pay for the apostille and the notarization, and you have to pay the USDA and the Panamanian consulate. Then you have to pay the airline and Panama immigration. All told, bringing my two cats to Panama, including the cost of the cat carriers, cost about $600. I couldn't put a price on the stress caused by the 10-day time crunch and hoping the documents got back to me on time. At least I didn't have to drag a vet to a notary.

Wow! I was quite impressed at how quickly the consulate in Washington DC returned the dogs health and rebies certificates. Each of the 3 rabies certificates were "stamped" as was the health certificate which also included a "Certificado De Authentication". Fee for this $30.

Jack

I am Stacy, and am gathering information so I can make the move to Panama this summer. All the information that you had was good...I was hoping that you had just a little more about what happens after you get there. I will be flying into Panama City. Did your cats go a cargo? What airlines did you use? If I arrived in the morning could I get away from the qyarintine? American Airlines saod that they was a 40 day quartine, is this true.
Any information that you caould give me would be great. Are you in Boquete now? That is where I am heading...
Thanks for all your help,
Stacy

I took my cats in the cabin. My husband had one, and I had the other. A maximum of 2 animals is allowed in the whole cabin, so you have to clear this with the airline when you book the ticket. If the pets are too big to fit in an underseat carrier, they have to go cargo. I think it is Continental that has a special department related to pet transport - check back through the postings - I think it is there.

There is no way a 40 day quarantine! AA misinformed you. If you come in with all the right papers (the ones your are now gathering and that are discussed in these posts) your animals will, at most, stay overnight in the airport quarantine until the vet comes the following morning. You will pay the $130 per animal (and maybe a little more - I don't remember), there will be a lot of rubber stamping, then you are free to go. If you want someone to be there to help you through it, I recommend Jose Saenz. He can be reached at
bocasfrog@yahoo.com

Please feel free to send me a personal message if you need more specifics.

Here is the Continental Airline link to their pet travel page.

Pet link

It says they carry pets in the cabin only on domestic flights, but we flew from Seattle to Panama with our cats in the cabin. I don't know if this is a rule change. Check with Continental. They now allow 4 animals per cabin in economy instead of 2.

Gabriella,

Did you ever get an answer to your question? We are moving from Costa Rica and so I am in the same position. I have heard it is easier to bring a pet from here, but I can't find any solid info

Thanks,
Jennifer Bliss

Reactivating this to add to the "bringing stuff in" topic.

Warning: In some cases, (mine being one) Copa has informed travellers that they must ship their dog in cargo if the dog is large. What they don't tell you is that this means you must clear customs which can be trying and is a different process from simply having all your correct paperwork. ONLY check your pets at the counter as baggage. Do NOT ship cargo.

Continental also does not accept pets as checked baggage, requiring them to go as cargo or in-cabin. See their pet shipping website: Continental Pet Shipping
Can you give us more information about the difference between cargo and checked baggage? What is it about going through customs that can be a problem? What problems did you have?

We are flying from Orlando to Panama City in Nov. on Copa. Both of our dogs will be flying in the cabin with us. To fly in the cabin the dogs must fit comfortly in a carrier under the seat. Jose Saenz will meet us at customs and will get the dogs through the process. Contact Jose at Tel: 399-4003 and 6614-7811, Panama Rep of Panama, Visit website: WWW.GOLDENFROG.NET. Good luck.

Elaine

Reactivating this thread for new people coming to Panama.

Please help from anyone who has just brought their pets here. Where do you get a copy of the letter that you need for the Panamanian Embassy...now that Nancy Liu is no longer doing it. Also, if you have any info about whether or not dogs can be slightly tranquilized..if they are checked as baggage does that count as your baggage? I have gotten 7 different answers from COPA as to when they are allowed to travel. Do they have to be quarantined if they arrive in PC on a weekday at 11am? Any current info would be helpful. I've been worried sick about how to get them here. Thanks.Help with getting dogs here

Jose Saenz will take care of the letter if you use his services, which I highly recommend. He will met you at the airport and get your dogs through customs and the veterinary check. He will send you all the information you need. See earlier post. There should be vets available at 11:00 on a weekday. Excellent time to arrive.

We flew American from Miami in February, but I doubt that their procedure is vastly different from Copa's. We paid separately for the dogs' transport. They did not count as baggage. If I remember correctly, it was $100 each. It is the hot months when transport of pets is suspended. You should be all right in November, even from Orlando. Current wisdom is firmly against tranquilizing for a variety of reasons, all of which I can't recall, but I do know from personal experience long ago that, should the tranquilizer wear off sooner than expected when the pet is in unfamiliar territory, the pet becomes frantic. My two dogs made it fine without tranquilizers.

Just make sure that all your paperwork is in order. Without stopovers, everything should go smoothly with Jose's help.

Here is a reprint of the letter I used. I got it from Tammy Liu. The name of the Minister de Salud has probably changed, so I recommend taking Bonnie's advice and using Jose Saenz. Tranquilizers are not a good idea, because the dog could react badly to them. The dosage is uncertain, and the dog could be overdosed.

Doctor Alexis DeLeon
Jefe
Departamento de Veterinaria
Ministerio de Salud
Panama

Estimado Doctor:

Por este medio solicitamos sus buenes oficios para que se nos facilite la entrada al pais de felino.

Los datos son los siguientas.

Gato: Mocha

Raza: Tonkinese (Siamese/Burmese)
Origen: Seattle, WA, U.S.A.
Llegada: 28 Jun de 2004
Vuelo 888 de Continental Air
6:34 pm
Dueño: Judith Sacco
Residencia: Los Pinos Volcancito
Boquete, Chiriqui
Telefono: (507) 674-4939; 507-720-1864

Agradecemos su atenciόn:

Signature

Judith Sacco

I want to thank everybody for their expertise. We brought our two cats with us at Christmas time. Because of this forum, it was a piece of cake. I made my flight reservations and then made the vet appointment, giving myself 10 days. I was so nervous. On a Monday, I went to the vet. Of course, I called first to make sure they had the proper health form. It took an hour or so to do the exam and paper work. I went home, took copies of everything and then went to FedEx. They helped me out a lot. I FedExed the paper work to Baton Rouge USDA, they stamped it and FedExed it to New Orleans to the Consulate. They stamped it and FedExed it back to me. I had all the paperwork on Friday. Of course, I called each place to make sure they got it and knew what to do with it. The FedExing cost me $64.00. Our local FedEx agent helped me with all that. In the FedEx to USDA I sent a $24 check, in the FedEx to New Orleans, I put in a $30 check. I carried the paperwork with me and no one asked to see it until we arrived in PTY and Jose (Golden Frog or Frogman as I call him) was there to meet me. He took over everything. We arrived on the 2 p.m. Continental flight and Jose got us on the last flight to David (by the skin of our teeth). Those two cats are now living happily in Boquete and I am in Louisiana getting ready to do the process again with my 3 other cats.

I have one question. I was reading Vivienda in Panama and a guy named Manny said "Just have all your shot records and a health certificate from your vet. Everything else is done in Panama but let me know when you are coming to notify the airport Vet to cut the red tape. You have to pay quarentine fees and vet overtime if you come after duty hours or weekend...". Has anybody had this experience? Thanks. Bonnie

We did all of this and our birds arrived at 11.00pm We paid the vets overtime etc and they (2 of them) were fantastic. The flight should have arived at 4.00 so the delays just got worse and worse. The vets didn't complain and were very efficient and professional. We cleared the airport at just after midnight.
Paul Saban
Paradise Gardens.

Dear all
All this info is great however, as we are flying to PTY from t UK is there anybody out there who have recently bought their dog to Panama from teh UK. I am having problems regarding the 'import certificate' getting hold of it and also info regarding quarantine in Panama!
Please help

please help
has anybody recently imported a dog into Panama from the UK? I ask this as the export health certificate we have had from DEFRA states the dog has to be checked within 72hrs of flight and then document apostiled. The dog has to be then checked again by a vet at the airport on day of flight. This means 2 vet checks within 72hrs of flight.

this 10 day business to get the document apostiled is just not avaiable we have to do it within 72 hrs!
please help
thanks

It looks like nobody has responded to your first post. This sounds like a very difficult situation. I recommend you email Jose Saenz. He has helped a lot of people bring in animals, so maybe he can help you. His email is bocasfrog@yahoo.com, direct link Jose

reactivating topic

hello! does jose speak english? i have some questions about bringing a couple cats from mexico. thank you very much!

yes I also used him extremly helpful well worth the money

Yes, Jose does speak English.

thanks all for your help. if and when i do decide to come down i will definitely be in touch with him. thanks again!!

There have been so many posts regarding bringing pets TO Panama.
Does anyone have information re: returning with your pet to the U.S.,
i.e. requirements, documentation, etc?
Thanks

Take your pet to Dr. Chely and she will make sure the shots are up to date...your pet has to have a current rabies shot not less than 30 days from your departure date. Paper work has to go to PC and can take up to 6 weeks. She can expedite this process for you if need be. She charges $90 to handle all the paper work.

Then follow whatever procecure your airline requires and you should be good to go.

Typical Panama....rabies must be within 30 days of departure but paperwork takes 6 weeks!!!!! Duh!

I think this means the rabies shot must be 30 days old or longer, so if it has been 6 weeks since the shot, that is still OK. The odd thing is, why does an animal need the shot to LEAVE the country? Only dogs need a rabies shot to enter the U.S. Cats do not. Anyway, it's good to know Chely will handle all this. This is the first detailed answer given to this question. Thanks.