As of 1 October 2026: importing a CITES-listed animal, plant, or product into the UAE costs AED 300 for the import certificate itself, read directly from the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment’s own service page. The figure sits inside a wider fee table covering falcons, birds, reptiles, and other species at very different rates depending on exactly what is moving in or out.
What do UAE CITES import fees actually cover?
MOCCAE issues import certificates for live animal and plant species, and their derivatives, that are listed in the CITES convention’s appendices, the international treaty regulating trade in endangered species. The certificate stays valid for one year from issuance, and a separate step then checks and releases the actual shipment once it physically arrives at a UAE port of entry. MOCCAE’s own usage numbers show this is a genuinely active service: 658 individual applicants and 505 companies have used it, totalling over 40,000 transactions on the company side alone.
What does the full fee table actually look like?
The headline AED 300 covers issuing the import certificate itself. Beyond that, MOCCAE prices several related requests separately: AED 75 per bird for a CITES certificate to import, export, or re-export a falcon, AED 50 per falcon to release one at the port, AED 10 per animal with a minimum of AED 200 per shipment to release other listed or unlisted animals and reptiles, a minimum of AED 200 per shipment to release ornamental or other birds, and AED 500 to release a full consignment of CITES-listed samples. Our UAE drone registration guide covers another federal regulatory system entirely, GCAA’s, with its own distinct per-item fee structure, a useful comparison for how specialist UAE federal services generally price by category rather than a single flat rate.
What documents does an import application actually need?
Requirements scale with how strictly protected the species is. Appendix I species need a preliminary approval letter, a CITES export or re-export certificate, or a letter from a breeding centre in the country of origin. Appendix II or III species need a CITES export or re-export certificate from the exporting country, and industrially produced Appendix II plants can substitute a phytosanitary certificate instead. Importing for an exhibition or circus adds a no-objection certificate from a sponsor and approval from the relevant authority to organise the event.
What rules apply once the shipment actually arrives?
MOCCAE caps a single CITES certificate at four species maximum, and each import certificate is valid for one shipment only, used once within its validity period. Live Appendix I animals need to be identified with a method appropriate to their species, a ring for birds or a microchip or ear tag for others. The whole framework runs under Federal Law No. 11 of 2002 on regulating international trade in endangered species of fauna and flora, with Ministerial Decree No. 335 of 2018 governing the import conditions specifically.
Is registering ownership of a species I already have a separate process?
Yes. MOCCAE runs a distinct, free service for registering ownership of a CITES-listed specimen already in the UAE, whether captive-bred locally, imported before the ministry’s electronic services launched in 2018, or owned with no paperwork at all, in which case the applicant submits supporting evidence like a purchase invoice or photographs for MOCCAE to evaluate. That local ownership registration does not replace a CITES certificate if the specimen is later taken out of the country.
How does this connect to falcon ownership specifically?
Falcons carry their own dedicated document on top of these CITES fees, our UAE falcon passport guide covers that separate MOCCAE process, which exists alongside rather than instead of the CITES import and release fees covered here. A falconer moving a bird across borders needs both documents in order, the passport for local identification and the CITES certificate for the international trade and movement side.
How does this differ from bringing a household pet into the UAE?
CITES-listed species are a separate category entirely from the dogs and cats most relocating families bring with them. Our UAE pet import guide covers the vaccine, breed, and fee rules for ordinary household pets, a completely different process from the CITES framework, which exists specifically to regulate trade in species whose wild populations are at risk, not common domestic animals.
What is the short version?
Importing a CITES-listed species into the UAE costs AED 300 for the certificate itself, with falcon-specific fees at AED 75 to import and AED 50 to release, and other animal releases priced per animal with a AED 200 shipment minimum. Each certificate covers up to four species, is valid for one year but usable for only one shipment, and the whole system runs under Federal Law No. 11 of 2002. A separate, free service exists just to register ownership of a species already here.
Last updated: 1 October 2026. Primary source: MOCCAE, Import of a Species Listed in CITES Appendices.
