As of 1 October 2026: a UAE falcon passport costs AED 200 to issue and is valid for three years, letting an owner use it in place of CITES certificates on travel and hunting trips. The rules, governed by Ministerial Decree No. 229 of 2019, are read directly from the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment’s own service page.
What does a falcon passport actually replace?
Normally, moving a protected species like a falcon across borders requires CITES certificates for every trip, paperwork tied to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species. A falcon passport bundles that into a single document valid for three years from issuance, recognised by countries that accept it, so an owner does not need to apply for fresh CITES paperwork before every trip.
Who is actually allowed to get one?
The owner must be a UAE citizen or a resident holding a valid Emirates ID, and the falcon itself must be legally owned and already registered on MOCCAE’s electronic system. Every falcon needs an identification ring, which the owner is not permitted to remove or alter, and can optionally add an electronic identification chip on top of that without breaching the ring’s conditions. The document is for personal use only, not commercial purposes.
How much does the whole process cost?
MOCCAE lists three separate fees tied to the falcon passport system:
- Issuing a falcon passport, per falcon: AED 200
- Releasing one falcon upon entering the UAE through a border port: AED 50
- Issuing a veterinary health certificate when the falcon leaves the UAE through a border port: AED 400
Processing itself takes 3 working days once a complete application is submitted. No supporting documents are required for the passport application directly, since it draws on data already captured when the falcon was first imported, registered or had ownership transferred under MOCCAE’s separate CITES-species services.
What happens if a country does not accept the UAE’s falcon passport?
MOCCAE’s terms cover this directly: where a destination country does not recognise the falcon passport, the owner needs to fall back on standard CITES export or re-export certificates for that specific trip, while keeping the original falcon passport safe for re-entry into the UAE. The passport does not replace CITES documentation everywhere, only in jurisdictions that have agreed to accept it.
How widely used is this service?
This level of adoption also explains why MOCCAE has built out a fairly complete digital ecosystem around falcon ownership, covering import, registration, ownership transfer and now passport issuance all through the same connected system rather than treating each step as a separate, disconnected process.
MOCCAE’s own published figures show 3,266 individual users and over 22,000 transactions processed under this service code, a real indication of how embedded falconry remains in UAE life rather than a niche administrative footnote. The ministry can also withdraw, amend or cancel a falcon’s document if it was issued based on incorrect or misleading information, and reserves the right to request a DNA sample from the falcon if needed.
How does this fit alongside other animal rules in the UAE?
Falconry sits under the same broader MOCCAE wildlife and CITES framework that governs bringing a pet cat or dog into the UAE, though the specific rules and fees differ sharply since falcons are a protected species under international trade law rather than an ordinary companion animal. Anyone newly settling in the UAE who wants to understand how these rules connect to daily life more broadly should also read our UAE cost of living breakdown and our Abu Dhabi driving licence guide for the practical side of settling in, since falconry remains a genuinely active part of life in the Emirates rather than a purely historical practice.
What about actually hunting with your falcon?
The passport covers identity and travel, not the right to hunt. Abu Dhabi’s Environment Agency runs a separate seasonal Falconry Licence specifically to hunt Houbara, priced at AED 127 and requiring only an Emirates ID, processed in the same 6 minutes through TAMM. Falcon owners planning an actual hunting season need both documents in order, the passport for the bird itself and this licence for the activity, since one does not substitute for the other.
What is the short version?
A UAE falcon passport costs AED 200 to issue, valid for three years, with separate fees of AED 50 to release an incoming falcon at the border and AED 400 for an exit veterinary health certificate. It is open to UAE citizens and residents whose falcon is already legally owned, ringed and registered with MOCCAE, and it replaces CITES paperwork only in countries that formally accept it.
Last updated: 1 October 2026. Primary source: UAE Ministry of Climate Change and Environment, Request a Falcon Passport.
