Pet travel route
Taking a dog or cat from Mexico → Thailand
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 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.
How early to start
3 weeks
if your pet has no microchip or rabies vaccination yet (the least time the official waiting periods allow)
3 weeks
if it is already microchipped and vaccinated
Counted only from the officially fixed waiting periods. Vet, lab and paperwork appointment times are on top, so start earlier.
Headlines for Thailand
- Import permit needed
What your dog or cat needs
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.
Permit
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”
Vaccination
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.”
Vaccination
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.”
Vaccination
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.”
Paperwork
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
SENASICA export certificate (CZE), first stamp: When the destination's and Mexico's requirements are met, SENASICA prepares the CZE and gives it a first stamp and signature: you don't need to bring your pet for this. It is free, and valid for 8 calendar days (the destination can set a different validity).
“The Official health Certificate must be completed in English and stamped (endorsed) by the authorized veterinary official of the exporting country.”
“Es gratuito y tiene una vigencia de 8 días naturales (puede variar en caso de que el país destino establezca una vigencia diferente)”
“se elaborará el CZE y se otorgará un primer sello y firma, no es necesario presentar a tu mascota”
On arrival
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.”
Vet exam
Health certificate from a private vet
A private vet examines your pet and issues a good-health certificate with its name, microchip number (if it applies), breed, coat colour, sex and age, your name and address in Mexico, and a statement that it has no fresh wounds or signs of infectious disease. It must be no more than five days old (or the validity the destination sets) when you apply.
Details and the official words
“de no más de cinco días de expedido o de acuerdo a la vigencia establecida por el país de destino”
Official stamp
Apply for the CZE at a SENASICA office
Apply for the Certificado Zoosanitario para Exportación (CZE) at any authorised SENASICA office with the application form, the owner's official ID (plus a signed power of attorney with two witnesses if someone else applies), the health certificate, the vaccination record, a deworming record, a microchip document and lab results, when the destination asks for them. It is delivered within three working days after the working day you submit it.
Details and the official words
“Se te entregará en un plazo de tres días hábiles posteriores al día hábil de la fecha de entrega de tu solicitud”
Vet exam
Physical exam and second stamp on the day of travel
On the day you travel, bring your pet to SENASICA's office at the point of departure. Officials examine it and, if all is in order, give the CZE its second stamp and signature.
Details and the official words
“El día de tu viaje deberás llevar a tu mascota a la oficina de Senasica en el punto de salida, en donde el personal oficial realizará un examen físico, y si todo está en orden, otorgará el segundo sello y firma a su CZE.”
Good to know
- Your pet must travel in a nose-and-paw-proof crate designed to avoid any risk of injury.
- SENASICA tells you to look up the destination in its requirements module first: it shows the vaccinations or treatments your pet needs, and when they must be given. If a country isn't in the module, ask SENASICA at reqzoosan.dgsa@senasica.gob.mx.
- If the documents are incomplete or wrong, SENASICA can ask you to complete or correct them, or refuse the request, so leave time.
- The vaccination record must show the vaccine name, laboratory, batch number, expiry date, date given and validity period. Without a stated validity it counts as one year. The rabies vaccine counts from three months of age.
Government fees we know of
- SENASICA export zoosanitary certificate (CZE): free of charge0 MXN
Vet, lab and courier costs are not included. The final amount can depend on how many tests or pets are on the certificate.
Common questions
Does my dog or cat need a rabies blood test to go from Mexico 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.
Does my dog or cat need a microchip?
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.