Bringing a pet into Argentina: what SENASA asks for
The entry document stays valid for sixty days — far longer than in neighboring countries — and for a pet traveling with its owner, SENASA doesn't ask for any advance paperwork at all.
The CVI, valid for sixty days — with one condition
SENASA accepts two equivalent documents: the International Veterinary Certificate (CVI), issued, signed and stamped by the departure country's veterinary authority, or the pet's official legalized passport, provided it carries the same health information. At least part of whichever document is used must be in Spanish.
This document stays valid for sixty calendar days from issuance — far more than the ten days Colombia or Chile allow. But that window isn't absolute: it's still bounded by the rabies vaccine's own validity. A sixty-day CVI is worthless if the vaccine it certifies has already expired.
The rabies vaccine: twenty-one days, except for puppies
As in Colombia, a first-time rabies vaccination must be at least twenty-one days old at entry into Argentina, with immunity still valid per the manufacturer's specifications.
For an animal under three months old, SENASA additionally requires an age certificate and proof of no rabies exposure in the previous ninety days — a different mechanism from the EU's fixed age cutoff, but aimed at the same goal: ruling out an animal whose immunity isn't yet reliably established.
No microchip or titer mentioned — which isn't the same as unnecessary
The official SENASA page consulted for this article mentions no microchip requirement and no rabies titer test, regardless of the country of departure. That's a real difference from the EU regime, where the microchip must legally precede the vaccine.
Not being mentioned isn't the same as being irrelevant for the rest of the trip: if Argentina is only one stop, the next country may well require the chip first. It stays the sensible default regardless of what any one country happens to ask for at a given moment.
The real relief: no advance paperwork for a pet traveling as accompanied baggage
For an owner traveling with their pet as accompanied baggage, SENASA requires no prior "Solicitud de importación" before arrival — unlike a commercial or unaccompanied shipment, which still needs twenty-four hours' advance notice at the border checkpoint and an import tariff.
That distinction changes the entire timeline: for a dog or cat traveling with its owner in the cabin or hold of the same flight, no fee and no advance SENASA authorization comes into play — only the CVI and the vaccine, within the windows above, determine entry.