Moving to Chile with pets: your dog's first weeks, from the airport to a new home

Before you fly: SAG paperwork and a plan for the first nights

Chile's Agriculture and Livestock Service, the SAG (Servicio Agrícola y Ganadero), is the government agency that checks animals coming into the country. For a dog flying in from abroad, it asks for an original International Veterinary Certificate issued by the official veterinary authority of your country, valid for 10 days from issue, with one extension of up to 5 more days. Your dog also needs a current rabies vaccine, internal and external deworming, and permanent ID, either a microchip or a tattoo. Dogs coming from the European Union can use the EU pet passport instead.

That 10-day window drives your timing, so book the certificate appointment around your flight date. Rules change, so confirm them on the SAG or ChileAtiende website before you book.

Also on your pre-flight list:

• Ask your current vet for your dog's full medical history and vaccination record, in English if possible, plus a written note of any medication and how it's given.
• Check that your temporary housing accepts dogs, and get it in writing: serviced apartments and short-term rentals set their own rules.
• If your dog will need boarding soon after you land, contact the hotel now. A good one will want to meet your dog before its first stay, and that meeting has to fit into your first days.

Landing in Santiago: the SAG check at the airport

When you arrive, you show your dog's documents at border control, and if everything meets the requirements, your dog can enter. If a pet transport company is flying your dog in, ask them ahead of time who handles that check and where you'll pick your dog up.

Plan a quiet first evening: water, a short walk and somewhere calm to sleep. The house hunting can wait until the next day.

Weeks 1 to 4: where your dog stays while you find a home

The weeks in temporary housing are often the hardest part. You'll spend whole days visiting apartments and schools, and not every serviced apartment or short-term rental takes dogs. Families usually choose between a pet-friendly temporary rental, a pet sitter, or boarding until they have the keys to their new home.

When you start looking for a long-term place, one Chilean rule is worth knowing. Under the condominium law, Ley 21.442, a building's rules (reglamento de copropiedad) can't prohibit owners, tenants or other occupants from keeping pets inside their apartment, although they can restrict how pets use the common areas. Your lease is a separate contract, so read its pet clause too, and ask the building manager about the house rules for dogs.

Finding a vet in Santiago

Book a check-up in your first weeks, even if your dog is healthy. A local vet gets a baseline and a copy of your records, and you'll know where to go before you need it. Chilean regulations require every dog to have a current rabies vaccination, so ask the vet to note when the next one is due.

Worth asking a new vet:

• Does anyone on the team speak English?
• Where do you send emergencies at night and on Sundays?
• Can you read my dog's microchip and give me the document I need to register it?
• Which parasite prevention do you recommend for where we live?

Registering your dog in Chile

Chile's pet law, Law 21.020, better known as Ley Cholito, requires dogs to be registered in the Registro Nacional de Mascotas, the national pet registry. Registration is free and can be done online or at the municipality (municipalidad) of the comuna where you live. If your dog already has an ISO microchip from home, a vet can read it and give you the document you need to register; our guide to Chile's pet registry walks you through each step.

Don't leave it for later: if you ever fly out of Chile with your dog, the SAG requires it to be registered before it issues the export health certificate.

How The Place's helps in your first weeks

The Place's is a cage-free countryside dog hotel in Chicureo, Colina, with a vet on site, about 25 minutes from Santiago airport without traffic. Your dog can stay for days, weeks or months while you find a home: by day it plays as a pack on natural grass with shade, at night it sleeps indoors in a gallery with beds and blankets, and we send you photos and videos. The same person, Joshua or Cristina, looks after your dog, and Joshua is from Denver, so you can go over everything in English.

Our relocation service, within Chile and abroad, is run by a licensed vet: pre-travel health checks, vaccine verification and advice on documents, health certificates and import and export rules. New dogs come to a meet-and-greet first and need up-to-date vaccines and to be spayed or neutered, so message us before you fly and we'll plan the timing with you. Boarding starts at CLP 17,000 + VAT a day, depending on your dog's needs, and we only take dogs.