16 September 2010
Pets and Japan
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| Zero and her Daddy |
Basic requirements:
- an international microchip (all number, no letter in the ID), or if it's not an international microchip, you must bring your own microchip reader.
- 2 rabies vaccines, given after the microchip was implanted, at least 31 days apart
- a blood test to measure the level of rabies antibodies in your pet, usually called a FAVN test or titer test
- the blood test must be completed 180 days prior to travel in order to avoid a quarantine time in Japan.
- a certificate of export country- which is a certificate from the USDA saying your pet is safe for travel.
I spoke with a representative from the USDA office in Richmond, VA. She told me exactly what it would take to get my certificate. I need to have an international health certificate filled out by my vet within 10 days before our ARRIVAL in Japan. So if we arrive in Japan on 15 September, I have to have the health certificate completed no earlier than 05 September. This puts you on a tight time table. You also need to have two Japanese certification forms completed by your vet, form A and form C. Your blood test results and proof of your two rabies vaccines also need to go in the packet, along with a check for $111.00 made to USDA, APHIS, VS. All this is to be fedex'ed to their office along with a prepaid return fedex envelope for them to return your paperwork to you before you fly out.
The mailing address for those of you in Virginia is:
USDA, APHIS, VS
Federal Building
400 North 8th Street
Suite 726
Richmond, VA 23219-4824
(804)343-2567
Regardless of the way dogs and cats are brought to Japan (hand luggage, cargo etc.), advance notification must be submitted to the Animal Quarantine Service with jurisdiction over the intended air(sea)port of arrival at least 40 days prior to arrival in Japan.
On arrival in Japan, you will submit the application for import inspection to the Animal Quarantine Service and have the animal inspected by an animal quarantine officer. The inspection for dogs and cats will not usually take long on the condition that the advance notification has been checked, and the animal is successfully identified and is proven to meet all conditions. If there are any omissions in the certification or individual identification, the animal may be subject to a long import quarantine up to 180 days.
I hope you love your pet as much as I love mine. I never thought she'd be so difficult. :)
Medically Speaking
The first and most important thing you need to do is get your DEA/FEA squared away. Most of this will happen through your husband and his personnel office, but your job is to get medical and dental clearance for you and the kids. It shouldn't be too complicated, but it can be, and it was almost a 4 month process for me, so get it squared away as soon as humanly possible.
I would first call the medical building, get the number for the overseas screening office, and talk to a person there right now. Let them know what's going on, that you are pcs'ing to Japan with your kids, and ask what you should do. They should have a packet of information, or they might send you to the web to print it off. Have your medical records in front of you so you can ask if you need to have anything done before you drive out to set up the screening. You will have to have a copy of your orders with you for the screening, but they can give you info over the phone before you have a paper copy of your orders. If you are at a remote location, remind them how long a drive it is for you, and that you're trying to only come out once. You'll have to do a dental screening on base, so schedule that for the same day if you can. Then once they review your dental screening and medical screening, and make sure ll your shots are up to date, they'll submit your packet to the doctor who will approve you medically for overseas. That paper is what your spouse will have to take to his personnel office to complete the overseas screening.
And Don't Forget! Bring a book (or magazine, or knitting, or handheld video game), you know you'll be doing a lot of waiting. I'm almost finished with my first sweater!
08 September 2010
First things first
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| DH's Commissioning |
First, call your mother. You'll surely share your news with everyone, and you don't want your mother to hear it second hand. Be the one to share the news, it'll take the sting out.
Next, make sure you are in DEERS (Defense Eligibility Enrollment Reporting System). I'm sure it happened as soon as you married your sailor, but if you're like me, orders came right after marriage and I got to do lots of paperwork all at once. If you are not in DEERS, you basically don't exist to the Navy, and they will not help you with any of the moving process, not to mention that they won't support you even going to Japan. To enroll in DEERS, your servicemember must go through the admin office at his command and have them provide you an application to enroll in DEERS. The application must come from his admin office, you cannot find one on the internet and print it off. This application and your marriage certificate should be sufficient to get enrolled.
Once you (and any children) are enrolled in DEERS, you must then enroll in Tricare. Tricare is a free service to military dependents, but you have to sign up, it doesn't happen automatically. It's important to enroll in Tricare, even if you use another insurance provider, because in order to go with your spouse to Japan, you must pass an overseas screening, including medical and dental screening.
Speaking of overseas screening, you should have your DH (darling husband) begin the overseas suitability screening process through his command AS SOON AS YOU RECEIVE ORDERS. He is required to update his admin office every 15 days with your family's progress towards being cleared for an overseas station, and he will have a hard time if he can't prove progress towards approval. Not to mention the fact that you can receive travel accommodations, or have your household goods shipment sent overseas until you have your DEA/FEA (dependent entry approval/family entry approval). By the way, the DEA/FEA are interchangeable, so if you receive a FEA like I did, and people keep talking about your DEA, have no fear. They are the same document.
Once you have begun the process of having your family approved to PCS, it's time to think about your "other" family members, your pets. This is a major sticking point for some, especially if you try to put off your pet's approval until the last minute. PLEASE see the post on Pets, it will make your life much easier, and remember to start the process as soon as you receive orders, otherwise, you may not be able to take your pet with you.
Okay, now that you've hit these major points, go buy a book on JAPAN! Get excited! Make plans! Have fun with it! I bought Rosetta Stone that very day, and have loved using it to work on my Japanese, although I'm far from fluent. Enjoy this very exciting time, and focus on the thrill of the adventure, especially when the terror of paperwork imposes on you. Stay vigilant, and you will make it to Japan, not too much worse for the wear of paperwork and appointments. It WILL be worth it, I promise.
A lot of catching up to do...
Hi, I'm Katy. This is my blog about moving to Japan, and all the exciting things that includes. I am waaay behind, since we got our orders in January, but I'll do my best to catch up everything that has transpired in the past 6 months. I know lots more will be happening in the upcoming months, so I won't be at a loss for things to share, and I will have plenty of time to catch up and keep up now that school is out. This blog is for some specific friends (hi Mindi!) but I'm glad to share with anyone making the big step to overseas life with the Navy. So... there's lots of exciting news, but I'm going to back track and start at the beginning. Back in the fall of 2009, right after our wedding, my husband Jody and I sat down to talk about his next tour. I must admit, I had never thought of living in Japan, although overseas living is great, and the 6 months I lived in Germany were AMAZING. When Jody suggested we go to Japan, I thought he was crazy, until I started looking into it. Some major points that swayed me to the "PRO" column:
1. The navy's motto is (or used to be) "Join the Navy, See the World". Norfolk is by no stretch of the imagination exotic.
2. Everyone, and I mean EVERYONE, who has been to Japan for any length of time, especially a full tour, has loved it, even if they were hesitant to go in the first place.
3. I can think of nothing more exciting than a new adventure. I am an avid learner, and Japan has opened up a whole new world of things to learn and experience. It's a fantastic launching pad for travel all over the Pacific, an area I have never been but am thoroughly looking forward to.
So... some posts will be fun, some will be practical, but all will hopefully help you either live vicariously through my experience or facilitate you making your travel to Japan less stressful. Post comments, questions, or additions as you like, I'm always looking for other people's takes on what I'm going through.
Sayonara for now!
Katy
