Pet travel route
Taking a dog or cat from South Korea → 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
APQA quarantine certificate: The Animal and Plant Quarantine Agency issues the quarantine certificate within the 10 days before departure (some destinations want it closer, for example within 7 days or 48 hours). Offices are open on weekdays from 9:00 to 18:00 (lunch 12:00 to 13:00); the offices at Incheon Airport Terminals 1 and 2 also open on weekends and public holidays. You can get it at the airport on the day of departure: arrive at least two hours before check-in, with every document ready, and call ahead because same-day issue isn't guaranteed.
The certificate has a validity period set by the destination, typically counted from issue (for example 10 or 30 days). A certificate can be corrected and reissued at the issuing office or another one.
“The Official health Certificate must be completed in English and stamped (endorsed) by the authorized veterinary official of the exporting country.”
“A quarantine certificate issued by the Animal and Plant Quarantine Agency can be obtained within 10 days before departure.”
“Quarantine certificates are issued on weekdays from 9:00 to 18:00, except for weekends and public holidays.”
“visit the airport quarantine office at least two hours before check-in.”
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
Vaccination and health certificate from a Korean animal clinic
Get the vaccination certificate and the health certificate from the clinic that vaccinated and treated your pet. Even if a rabies vaccination given abroad is accepted, you must also get a vaccination and health certificate from a domestic clinic within 10 days before departure.
Details and the official words
“you must get a vaccination and health certificate from a domestic animal clinic within 10 days before departure and submit it along with the foreign certificate.”
Good to know
- Your pet must travel in a nose-and-paw-proof crate designed to avoid any risk of injury.
- APQA says the deadlines for the quarantine certificate, and its validity, depend on the destination country's own rules, so check the importing country's requirements first.
- APQA calls travelling or moving abroad with a pet 'non-commercial'. Sales, exhibitions, competitions and adoption are 'commercial' and usually face stricter rules, which we don't cover.
- If your pet fails the destination's quarantine check it may be denied entry, quarantined or sent back.
Common questions
Does my dog or cat need a rabies blood test to go from South Korea 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.