Pet travel route
Dog or cat from Costa Rica to New Zealand: the rules
Not possible. 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.
Rules checked up to 13 October 2026From 8 official pages
In short
- New Zealand puts Costa Rica in the group “Country New Zealand has not approved”, which decides part of the rules.
- Pets from Costa Rica can still go elsewhere: the Costa Rica exit page lists every destination and how long each takes.
- The New Zealand page shows which countries it accepts pets from.
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.
At a glance
Not possible for 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.
Who can bring a pet into New ZealandWhere pets from Costa Rica can go
Not possible for 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.
Who can bring a pet into New ZealandWhere pets from Costa Rica can go
Which rules apply to you
New Zealand puts Costa Rica in the group “Country New Zealand has not approved”. See every group
Official name: Not on MPI's lists: cats and dogs cannot be imported from this country
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Nearby routes
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Where this comes from
Official sources
- Import Health Standard: Cats and Dogs 2026, CATSDOGS.GEN, issued 12 May 2026 (MPI)
- Specified Approvals for Animal Import Health Standards, MPI-STD-SAA, 13 May 2026 (MPI)
- Si va a viajar con su mascota, recuerde verificar los requisitos de exportación (SENASA, 18 December 2025)
- Guía para el usuario sobre el desplazamiento sin ánimo comercial de animales de compañía hacia países miembros de la Unión Europea, DCA-PG-07-IN-001 v06 (SENASA, in force from 17 February 2020)
- Guía al usuario: exportación de animales y de productos y subproductos de origen animal no aptos para consumo humano (SENASA, Word file dated 18 September 2018)
- Circular SENASA-DCA-C004-2024: nuevos requisitos de los CDC para la exportación de perros a Estados Unidos (SENASA, 23 May 2024)
- Listado tarifario según Resolución SENASA DG-R-00005-2026, in force 1 April 2026 to 31 January 2027 (SENASA)
- Resolución SENASA-DCA-R0002-2025: uso de microchip para la importación, exportación o tránsito de mascotas (SENASA)
Last checked against the official pages: 2026-10-13.
Questions owners ask
Can I take my dog or cat from Costa Rica to New Zealand?
Not possible. 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.
Every rule here is quoted from the official page and checked word for word; not legal advice. How we verify · Report a mistake
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