Exporting pets to South Africa
Having just gone through this exercise, I’d like to share my experience of sending my cats back to South Africa. Hopefully this will help someone in future who wants to send their pets back home and don’t know what to do.
I first called one of the pet relocators to get a quote. They told me that it would cost me QR550 just to get the export permit (Q550 for the first cat and another QR50 for the second cat) and it would cost me at least QR2500 per cat just in Qatar Airways fees. She quickly pointed out that that amount was just the amount due to the airline per cat, and excluded their charges. I then contacted Qatar Airways Cargo and found out that the price would indeed be around QR2500 for BOTH cats. So I decided to do everything by myself.
In South Africa, my husband paid R110 for an import permit. He then couriered it to me. I took it to the Ministry of Agriculture (on Airport road, you pass about 3 or 4 traffic lights from the airport and it’ll be on your right) along with both cats and they gave me the export permit and filled in the South African import permit. For that I paid QR10. Quite a substantial savings of QR590!
I then went to Qatar Airways who told me the carrier they came in was too small for them (they came in separately). So I asked whether they could travel together and the supervisor verified in the IATA rules book and replied that yes, as long as both animals cohabit, are the same size and weigh less than 14kg each. So I went on to buying a carrier that would fit both of them. I found one for QR400 at Dr Paul – the same one was QR550 at another vet.
I took the cats inside the new carrier (both of them in the same carrier) to Qatar Airways Cargo. They measured it, weighed it, did all the paperwork and I booked their flight for 2 days later. For all of that I paid QR2200 – substantially different to QR5000 quoted by the pet relocator.
On the day of the flight I arrived there about 4.5 hours before the flight. I’m glad I did arrive so early because there was a small glitch: Qatar Airways in South Africa did not send the confirmation message to the office in Doha – despite my husband having called them a few hours earlier. The guys from the Cargo here were very nice, though, and after a lot of back and forth between me, my husband, QR Cargo in Doha and QR Cargo in Joburg, the confirmation came through. In the mean time an agent had to get the customs clearance that cost me QR110.
Upon their arrival my husband went to QR Cargo in Joburg. A state vet went there to inspect the cats and fill in the paperwork. After that my husband went to SARS. The whole thing took about 1.5 hours.
I’m very glad I decided to do it all by myself (and hubby, of course) and saved over QR3000!
Whitey08, when you get to Qatar Airways with all the paperwork they'll call an agent for you. You need to do the negotiation yourself, though. If you're not happy with the agent, you can ask them to call another one.
However, if you want you can always pre-arrange the agent. The one Qatar Airways called for me was this one:
WINGS CARGO SERVICES W.L.L
DOHA, QATAR, Off: 4371820, Fax: 4439729 Mob: 00974-6003165
I am just about to export my cat to china. I have a company in hong kong helping me there but here in qatar i am doing it all myself....like you did. You mention you had an agent get the customs clearance that cost QR110. What agent and where from?
I so far have my import permit and have the exit permit/health certificate, booked her in as cargo etc but the customs i have no clue about.
Any help would be appreciated.
Some people really don't know where the line is drawn between funny and distasteful. You are distasteful, heero_yuy2.
"Everything in this book may be wrong." Illusions: The Adventures of The Reluctant Messiah by Richard Bach
LOL biltong. C'mon, you give ONLY 40% of your hard earned money to the government that does so much for you and you're still complaining. Just because they don't provide you with a free health system nor free schooling for your kids... tsc tsc tsc
I was just making sure, it's not some other disease or something. Oh wait, it is, one where you are coughing money up every year - csi
The future is made of the same stuff as the present - Simone Weil.
I know! See you in SA ;)
LOL, tallg, I didn't mean it like that :)
Wow, "even me"! That makes me sound like the unwanted relative who you're forced to see once a year. Which is probably a pretty good description!
And just for that I may hold you to your offer, as there's a chance we'll be coming to SA next year for the British Lions tour.
In a very interesting paper on the cult of Saint Agatha, Violet Alford (1941) discusses the transformation of Saint Agatha 'who once perhaps was Ceres' into Santo Gato, a cat saint. In the Toulouse region this Cat Saint shows a peculiarly vindictive spirit toward women who disobey her well-known rules. The following is a typical story from the Pyrenees. On St. Agatha's Eve a woman stayed up late to spin. At nine o'clock someone knocked at the door. A strange woman came in. She announced 'I will spin too', was given wool and set to work. She span at a furious speed four times faster than her hostess who took fright and ran out to tell the neighbour. The neighbour advised her to go back and cry out as she entered 'The cemetery is on fire'. The strange spinner ran out immediately, crying 'To my little home.' But she came back again to say that the woman of the house had only just saved herself from death, as it was her own shroud she was spinning.
Well, Saint Catherine of Siena, of course.
Mandi
Congratulations in sending your cats, without problems.
Don't forget to stop over my Confession Booth for the last time for your last farewell feline words.
Do you know of any Holy Saint with the name Cat or any similarity?
Take care...
"It does me no injury for my neighbor to say there are twenty gods or no God. It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg."
— Tho
Biltong, haven't you ever paid tax in SA???? SARS = South African Revenue Service.
Scarlett, Janeyjaney... I'll miss you guys :( But you know you can always come to Joburg for a visit :) Even you, Tallg, in case you want to eat a decent steak from the Butcher Shop and Gril, lol.
Thanks for all the useful info..but I am still sad to see you go....sighhhhhhhhh
Grant me the senility to forget the people I never liked,the good fortune to run into the ones I do,and the eyesight to tell the difference.
Fattie, you're leaving us. :( I'll visit you next year, okay?
I'll see you tomoz.
The future is made of the same stuff as the present - Simone Weil.
Interesting to know. Thanks for sharing.
You dont know...its tearing me apart but she's happy here so I thought...ah well.. but she would've been perfectly ok with me in a flat(she was in a flat me before coming to my parent's house) and I would've been working from home so with her most of the time :( Decisions..part of life... I hate it but I guess I just have to do it this way.
I dream of a better tomorrow where Chickens can cross the Road without having their motives questioned - Unknown
someonenew, that's such a tough decision to make and I respect you for that.If I were a dog, I'd rather stay in a farm than in a flat, lol.
Thanks Fatcat. I decided not to bring my dog. We're at my parent's house and she seems to have gotten attached to them and its like a farm here and lots of space for her here. Also I'll be in an apartment in Doha so I thought I'd come and see the situation in Doha first and then maybe bring her the next time I travel.
I dream of a better tomorrow where Chickens can cross the Road without having their motives questioned - Unknown