Pet travel route
Taking a dog or cat from Colombia → New Zealand
What the official rules ask for on this route, for a family pet travelling with its owner. Enter your travel date and your pet’s details to turn it into a dated checklist.
Limited official guidance. The authority for entering New Zealand publishes little for this route. Everything it does say is here, with its wording. This follows the 2026 Import Health Standard (in force from 1 July 2026). It sends many details to MPI's separate list of approved vaccines, tests and treatments, which we don't reproduce: your vet needs it. Pets coming from Australia are not covered yet. Until 1 April 2027 the 2021 standard can still be used instead, which we have not read.
Which rules apply to you
Colombia is in the group “Not on MPI's lists: cats and dogs cannot be imported from this country” in New Zealand’s published list.See every group
Headlines for New Zealand
- Rabies blood test for some origins
- Import permit for some pets
- Quarantine possible
- Extra disease test for some origins
- Some origins not allowed
What your dog needs
Dogs
New Zealand only accepts cats and dogs from countries MPI has approved (Categories 1, 2 and 3), and this country is not on those lists. Your pet would have to live in an approved country first, or the exporting country's veterinary authority would have to ask MPI to approve it.
Paperwork
Health certificate from a vet registered with ICA (within 5 days of departure)
A vet registered with ICA examines your pet and issues its health certificate, dated no more than 5 calendar days before you leave Colombia. It describes the pet, confirms the clinical exam (no signs of contagious or parasitic disease, no recent wounds), records the internal and external parasite treatment given as the destination requires (product, batch, active ingredient, date) and comes with the current vaccination certificate (original and copy) following the destination's vaccination plan.
Details and the official words
“con fecha de expedición no mayor a cinco (5) días calendario previos a la salida del país”
“Que a la mascota se le haya realizado un examen clínico y no haya presentado signos compatibles con enfermedades infectocontagiosas transmisibles o parasitarias, y no posea heridas recientes, suturas o lesiones en fase aguda.”
“Que la mascota recibió antes del viaje un tratamiento antiparasitario interno y externo, administrado de acuerdo con las exigencias del país de destino, con productos que estén debidamente autorizados en Colombia, indicando:”
Official stamp
ICA Sanitary Inspection Certificate (CIS) at the airport, port or border
Your vet files the CIS request in ICA's SISPAP system with your details, the pet's and the supporting documents (and the rabies antibody result where the destination asks for one). The request can be used within 5 calendar days of its creation. You receive the request number and a payment link by email (or pay by card at the ICA office), then take your pet and any other documents your destination asks for to the ICA office you chose at the airport, port or border, where ICA issues the CIS if the inspection is satisfactory.
Details and the official words
“La solicitud del certificado de inspección sanitaria – CIS y los documentos soporte tendrán vigencia para ser utilizados dentro de los cinco (5) días calendario a partir de su momento de creación”
“Si la inspección es satisfactoria, se emitirá el Certificado de Inspección Sanitaria (CIS).”
Good to know
- Banned in New Zealand: Brazilian Fila, Dogo Argentino, Japanese Tosa, Perro de Presa Canario and American Pit Bull Terrier-type dogs (any dog that belongs wholly or predominantly to them).
- Bengal cats can be imported. Other hybrid cats and dogs are likely to be treated as 'new organisms' and need approval from the Environmental Protection Authority before they come.
- Bring to the ICA office any document your destination asks for that wasn't uploaded with the request: for example the EU certificate annex, the 'Veterinary certificate to Great Britain', Brazil's international veterinary certificate, an entry authorisation (Japan, Aruba, Trinidad and Tobago) or the CDC permit when it applies.
- ICA only lets a pet leave if it meets the destination's requirements. It can issue the CIS without all of them only if you show an authorisation from the destination's authority that lets your pet in under those conditions.
- For a pregnant female the vet's certificate states roughly how far along she is and whether the journey is advisable.
What your cat needs
Cats
New Zealand only accepts cats and dogs from countries MPI has approved (Categories 1, 2 and 3), and this country is not on those lists. Your pet would have to live in an approved country first, or the exporting country's veterinary authority would have to ask MPI to approve it.
Paperwork
Health certificate from a vet registered with ICA (within 5 days of departure)
A vet registered with ICA examines your pet and issues its health certificate, dated no more than 5 calendar days before you leave Colombia. It describes the pet, confirms the clinical exam (no signs of contagious or parasitic disease, no recent wounds), records the internal and external parasite treatment given as the destination requires (product, batch, active ingredient, date) and comes with the current vaccination certificate (original and copy) following the destination's vaccination plan.
Details and the official words
“con fecha de expedición no mayor a cinco (5) días calendario previos a la salida del país”
“Que a la mascota se le haya realizado un examen clínico y no haya presentado signos compatibles con enfermedades infectocontagiosas transmisibles o parasitarias, y no posea heridas recientes, suturas o lesiones en fase aguda.”
“Que la mascota recibió antes del viaje un tratamiento antiparasitario interno y externo, administrado de acuerdo con las exigencias del país de destino, con productos que estén debidamente autorizados en Colombia, indicando:”
Official stamp
ICA Sanitary Inspection Certificate (CIS) at the airport, port or border
Your vet files the CIS request in ICA's SISPAP system with your details, the pet's and the supporting documents (and the rabies antibody result where the destination asks for one). The request can be used within 5 calendar days of its creation. You receive the request number and a payment link by email (or pay by card at the ICA office), then take your pet and any other documents your destination asks for to the ICA office you chose at the airport, port or border, where ICA issues the CIS if the inspection is satisfactory.
Details and the official words
“La solicitud del certificado de inspección sanitaria – CIS y los documentos soporte tendrán vigencia para ser utilizados dentro de los cinco (5) días calendario a partir de su momento de creación”
“Si la inspección es satisfactoria, se emitirá el Certificado de Inspección Sanitaria (CIS).”
Good to know
- Bengal cats can be imported. Other hybrid cats and dogs are likely to be treated as 'new organisms' and need approval from the Environmental Protection Authority before they come.
- Bring to the ICA office any document your destination asks for that wasn't uploaded with the request: for example the EU certificate annex, the 'Veterinary certificate to Great Britain', Brazil's international veterinary certificate, an entry authorisation (Japan, Aruba, Trinidad and Tobago) or the CDC permit when it applies.
- ICA only lets a pet leave if it meets the destination's requirements. It can issue the CIS without all of them only if you show an authorisation from the destination's authority that lets your pet in under those conditions.
- For a pregnant female the vet's certificate states roughly how far along she is and whether the journey is advisable.
Common questions
Does my dog need a rabies blood test to go from Colombia to New Zealand?
No. The official rules we have verified for this route don't ask for a rabies blood test.
Do I need an import permit to bring my dog into New Zealand?
No. The official rules we have verified for this route don't ask for an import permit.
Will my dog be quarantined in New Zealand?
Not on the routes we have verified: the official rules list no quarantine for a pet that meets the requirements.
Does my dog need a microchip?
The official rules we have verified for this route don't list a microchip requirement.