Paraguay: one rule shared by four countries since 2024
Since 2024, Paraguay applies a regional text signed with its neighbors — which is why its timelines look so much like Argentina's and Uruguay's.
A MERCOSUR resolution, not just a national rule
Since 2024, dogs and cats entering Paraguay have been governed by MERCOSUR Resolution No. 20/2024, a shared text on "zoosanitary requirements of member states for the entry of domestic dogs and cats." SENACSA (Servicio Nacional de Calidad y Salud Animal) enforces it locally, but the underlying rulebook is shared with the bloc's other member and associated countries.
That's why Paraguay's timelines look so much like what we already saw in Argentina and Uruguay: these aren't coincidences between neighboring regulations anymore — they're a deliberately harmonized common base.
Rabies vaccine and microchip, in the region's usual order
The rabies vaccine is required from three months of age, with a minimum of twenty-one days for a first-time vaccination, and a maximum validity of one year for a booster. An ISO-compatible microchip is required for most of the destinations SENACSA lists — Mexico, the UAE, Guatemala, Chile, the EU — which suggests this requirement is mainly geared toward leaving Paraguay rather than entering it, worth confirming directly if Paraguay is the destination rather than the starting point.
The antibody titer test (minimum 0.5 IU/ml) is only mentioned, on the page consulted, for departures toward the EU — the same logic seen in other countries in the region: it's the destination that imposes it, not necessarily the country of departure.
Up to five animals — beyond that, it's no longer personal travel
SENACSA sets a precise limit: up to five dogs or cats per traveler fall under the "companion animal" regime. From the sixth animal onward, the shipment is reclassified as a commercial import, with the full procedure — and costs — that implies.
It's a threshold rarely stated this precisely elsewhere in the region, worth knowing for anyone traveling with several pets at once rather than just one.
The document check happens at the border, not before
On arrival, the International Veterinary Certificate is presented to SENACSA's veterinary inspector on site, for both a document check and a health check of the animal. The page consulted lists no fee for this inspection and no step to complete before departure for a standard pet.