Skip to content
Pawhopper
Plan a tripCountriesGuidesHow we verifyReport a mistake

Pet travel route

Dog or cat from Kenya to Thailand: official requirements

Possible. With nothing done yet, start at least 3 weeks ahead. The main steps: rabies vaccination at least 21 days before departure, leptospirosis vaccination (or a negative test) and distemper, hepatitis and parvovirus vaccinations at least 21 days before departure and 4 more.

Rules checked up to 13 October 2026From 3 official pages

Make my dated plan Reverse: Thailand → Kenya

In short

Limited official guidance. The authority for leaving Kenya publishes little for this route. Everything it does say is here, with its wording. Kenya's Directorate of Veterinary Services doesn't publish its export procedure for pets on its own website. We use KenTrade's InfoTrade description of the international veterinary certificate for dogs and cats (VS16), last updated in 2022. It gives no processing time, doesn't say how long before departure to apply, and lists a copy of the destination's import permit for every export. Confirm with the Directorate (infodvs@kilimo.go.ke) before you travel.

Limited official guidance. The authority for entering Thailand publishes little for this route. Everything it does say is here, with its wording. This is the Department of Livestock Development's English page on importing pets, dated 12 February 2018 and read from a copy stored in 2021, because the department's site does not open from our network. A Thai-language DLD page says applications can now be filed online (e-Movement) instead of by email, so the procedure may have changed. It lists no blood test, quarantine period or banned breeds. Treat it as a short summary under review and confirm with the quarantine station at your port of entry (Suvarnabhumi cargo terminal +66 2134 0731) before you travel.

At a glance

The rules on this route are the same for dogs and cats.

How early to start

3 weeks

whether or not your pet is already microchipped and vaccinated

Set by: Rabies vaccination at least 21 days before departure (at least 21 days before departure)

The least time the official waiting periods allow. Vet, lab and paperwork appointments come on top.

On this route

  • Import permit needed

Part of this route is still under review, so we don’t say what it doesn’t need.

Prefer a feed reader? Kenya rule changes · Thailand rule changes

Kenya → Thailand

What your pet needs

In the order you do them. Each step says whether Kenya (leaving) or Thailand (entering) asks for it.

Bringing a dog or cat into Thailand: we summarised this from a short or older official page and it is still under review, so it may be incomplete.

Taking a dog or cat out of Kenya (DVS international veterinary certificate): we summarised this from a short or older official page and it is still under review, so it may be incomplete.

  1. Get ready

    1. VaccinationEntering Thailand

      Rabies vaccination at least 21 days before departure

      Your pet must be vaccinated against rabies not less than 21 days before departure. Pets from a country certified rabies-free don't need the vaccination.

      Details and the official words

      “Pets is vaccinated against Rabies not less than 21 days prior to the departure.”

      “Pets from free of Rabies certified country do not need a Rabies vaccination.”

    2. VaccinationEntering Thailand

      Leptospirosis vaccination (or a negative test)

      Your pet must be vaccinated against leptospirosis not less than 21 days before departure; a negative leptospirosis test in the 30 days before departure also meets the requirement.

      Details and the official words

      “Pet is vaccinated against Leptospirosis not less than 21 days prior to the departure.”

      “The negative result of Leptospirosis test during 30 days prior to the departure can also fulfill the requirement.”

    3. VaccinationEntering Thailand

      Distemper, hepatitis and parvovirus vaccinations at least 21 days before departure

      Your pet shall also be vaccinated against other significant infectious diseases, namely distemper, hepatitis and parvovirus, at least 21 days before departure.

      Details and the official words

      “Pet shall be vaccinated against other significant infectious diseases i.e. Distemper, Hepatitis, Parvovirus, at least 21 days prior to the departure.”

    4. PermitEntering Thailand

      Import licence application (Form R.1/1) and import permit

      Email the scanned documents to the quarantine station and phone to confirm they arrived. The station emails you the scanned import permit within 7 working days (longer if documents are incomplete). The documents are the application form R.1/1, a copy of the owner's passport photo page, proof of vaccination, a colour picture of the pet's face, and a document with the number and species of pets, each pet's breed, sex, age, colour and microchip, the addresses in the country of origin and in Thailand, the expected arrival date and the departure and entry ports. The import permit is valid for 60 days, and the import licence (Form R.7) for 7 days.

      Details and the official words

      “Import License Application Form (Form R.1/1)”

      “The scanned import permit is sent to you via email within 7 working days (In case of incomplete documents, more days are required)”

      “The import permit is valid for 60 days”

  2. In the days before you travel

    1. Vet examLeaving Kenya

      Health certificate from a vet registered with the Kenya Veterinary Board

      A vet registered with the Kenya Veterinary Board examines your pet and issues a veterinary health certificate. You upload a copy of it, with a copy of your pet's vaccination certificate, when you apply for the export certificate.

      Details and the official words

      “Issued by registered veterinarians with Kenya Veterinary Board.”

    2. PaperworkKenya and Thailand

      Official health certificate from the exporting country

      Apply for an official health certificate from the authorised body of the exporting country. It must be completed in English and stamped (endorsed) by the authorised veterinary official. The page gives no deadline for how recent it must be.

      Details and the official words

      International veterinary certificate (VS16) from the Directorate of Veterinary Services: Apply online on KenTrade's Trade Facilitation Platform (TFP) for the international veterinary certificate for dogs and cats (VS16), issued per consignment. You need a Unique Consignment Reference (UCR) number and copies of the vet's health certificate, the vaccination certificate and the import permit from the destination country; for the European Union, also a copy of the EU health certificate. Pay the processing fee (up to KES 500 per pet) by M-PESA or at the bank, then receive the certificate on the platform.

      Processing fee: KES 0 to 500 per pet (KenTrade's estimate). M-PESA paybill 522522, account 1106972791.

      InfoTrade lists a copy of the destination's import permit for every export. If your destination doesn't issue one (EU countries and the UK, for example), ask DVS what to upload instead.

      “The Official health Certificate must be completed in English and stamped (endorsed) by the authorized veterinary official of the exporting country.”

      “The certificate is processed through the Trade Facilitation Platform (TFP), and is issued per consignment.”

      “Unique consignment reference (UCR) number”

      “From the country of destination.”

      “EU export health certificate (copy)”

      “For MPESA payments, the paybill number is 522522 and the account number is 1106972791.”

      “KES 0 - KES 500 per pet”

  3. Travel day and arrival

    1. On arrivalEntering Thailand

      Take your pet to the animal quarantine station on arrival

      On arrival take your pet to the animal quarantine station with a photocopy of the owner's passport, the original vaccination record (and pet passport), the original official health certificate and a photocopy of the printed import permit. At Suvarnabhumi airport there are two stations: near baggage belt 8 for pets that came in the passenger cabin, and the International Animal Quarantine Station for pets that travelled as cargo.

      Details and the official words

      “Take your pets to the animal quarantine station.”

Good to know

  • Your pet must travel in a nose-and-paw-proof crate designed to avoid any risk of injury.
  • The Directorate of Veterinary Services issues the certificate only once the destination's conditions are met and your pet is healthy and free of disease, so find out your destination's requirements first.

Money

What it costs

Government fees exactly as the official pages state them, and what vets and labs in Kenya publish for the steps above. The two are never added together.

Government fees on this route

No government fee is published on the official pages we use for this trip. That doesn’t always mean it’s free: ask the authority.

What vets and labs charge Not official figures

We have no published vet or lab prices for Kenya yet.

Prices that businesses publish on their own pages, quoted as we read them; yours can differ. Ranges are the lowest to highest of these examples, never our estimate. How we collect prices

Airline fees aren’t included: check your airline’s pet page.

Round trip

Coming back to Kenya

Do before your pet leaves Kenya

  • Rabies vaccination: first one at 3 months or older, at least 6 months before shipment
  • Rabies blood test, 3 to 24 months before shipment

Their timing rules put them before the outbound trip, for a three-month stay.

The trip back asks for 9 steps: import permit (VS01) from the Directorate of Veterinary Services, microchip (or other permanent identification), rabies vaccination: first one at 3 months or older, at least 6 months before shipment and rabies vaccination within the last year and more.

Every step from Thailand to Kenya

Where this comes from

Official sources

Last checked against the official pages: 2026-10-13.

Entering ThailandLeaving KenyaReport a mistakeGet rule-change alerts

Questions owners ask

Does my dog or cat need a rabies blood test to go from Kenya to Thailand?

We couldn't find this in our summary of the rules, but that summary is short and still under review. Ask the official authority before you rely on it.

Do I need an import permit to bring my dog or cat into Thailand?

Yes: Email the scanned documents to the quarantine station and phone to confirm they arrived.

Will my dog or cat be quarantined in Thailand?

We couldn't find this in our summary of the rules, but that summary is short and still under review. Ask the official authority before you rely on it.

How early should I start preparing my pet for Kenya to Thailand?

With nothing done yet, start at least 3 weeks ahead. The main steps: rabies vaccination at least 21 days before departure, leptospirosis vaccination (or a negative test) and distemper, hepatitis and parvovirus vaccinations at least 21 days before departure and 4 more.

Every rule here is quoted from the official page and checked word for word; not legal advice. How we verify · Report a mistake

Read next

Turn this into dates for your pet

Where from, where to, when. You get every step with its deadline and the official page it comes from.

Make a dated plan