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Pet travel route

Dog or cat from Thailand to China: official requirements

Possible. With nothing done yet, start at least 5 days ahead. The main steps: electronic microchip, rabies vaccination certificate and rabies antibody test report (pets from non-designated countries) and 3 more.

Rules checked up to 13 October 2026From 5 official pages

Make my dated plan Reverse: China → Thailand

In short

Limited official guidance. The authority for leaving Thailand publishes little for this route. Everything it does say is here, with its wording. This follows the Department of Livestock Development's citizen's manual for the export health certificate (it covers every kind of live animal, not only pets) and the 2020 ministerial regulation on taking animals out of Thailand. The regulation also requires permission from the Director-General to take an animal out, under a 2015 DLD notification we could not read, so we don't know that permit's lead time or fee. DLD's English pet-travel pages don't open from our network. Confirm the steps with the animal quarantine station at the airport you leave from.

Limited official guidance. The authority for entering China publishes little for this route. Everything it does say is here, with its wording. This is the customs announcement of 2019 plus Shanghai's English summary (2023). The announcement's attachments (the detailed quarantine requirements, the laboratories whose antibody test reports customs accepts and the ports with quarantine facilities) are on the customs site, which we cannot read, so deadlines for the vaccination and the blood test, and the official list of designated countries, are missing. Confirm with Chinese customs or your airline before you travel.

At a glance

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

How early to start

5 days

whether or not your pet is already microchipped and vaccinated

Set by: Apply to DLD in the e-Movement system (3 working days can be up to 5 calendar days over a weekend (our conversion, not an official figure))

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

On this route

  • Rabies blood test needed
  • Official stamp on the certificate

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

Which rules apply to you

China puts Thailand in the group “Non-designated country or region”. See every group

Official name: Not designated: exempt from quarantine only with a valid chip and a rabies antibody test report from a laboratory accepted by customs

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

Thailand → China

What your pet needs

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

Bringing a dog or cat into China: 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 Thailand (DLD): 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. IdentificationThailand and China

      Electronic microchip

      Your pet must have an electronic microchip; a valid chip is needed for any exemption from quarantine.

      Details and the official words

      Microchip (or tattoo) matching the documents: DLD asks for dogs and cats to be tattooed or microchipped, at your expense, and the identification must match the application, the health certificate and the other documents. For a pet the document list asks for a microchip certificate issued by an animal hospital or clinic.

      “宠物应当具有电子芯片。”

      “（一）来自指定国家或者地区携带入境的宠物，具有有效电子芯片，经现场检疫合格的；”

      “สุนัข แมว กระต่าย ให้ทำรอยสักหรือฝังไมโครชิป”

      “ใบรับรองการฝังไมโครชิป”

      “ออกโดยโรงพยาบาลสัตว์ หรือคลินิกรักษาสัตว์”

    2. VaccinationEntering China

      Rabies vaccination certificate

      You must give customs a rabies vaccination certificate issued by the official animal quarantine authority of the country or region you leave. The announcement gives no timing; its attachment may.

      Details and the official words

      “携带宠物入境的，携带人应当向海关提供输出国家或者地区官方动物检疫机构出具的有效检疫证书和狂犬病疫苗接种证书。”

    3. Blood testEntering China

      Rabies antibody test report (pets from non-designated countries)

      A pet from a country that is not on China's designated list needs a rabies antibody test report from a laboratory customs accepts, with a titre above 0.5 IU/ml, to avoid 30 days' quarantine. The announcement gives no timing; its attachment may.

      Details and the official words

      “（二）来自非指定国家或者地区的宠物，具有有效电子芯片，提供采信实验室出具的狂犬病抗体检测报告（抗体滴度或免疫抗体量须在0.5IU/ml以上）并经现场检疫合格的；”

  2. In the days before you travel

    1. Vet examEntering China

      Official clinical inspection within 14 days before arrival

      The official agency of the country or region you leave inspects your pet for rabies and other infectious or parasitic disease within 14 days before it arrives in China.

      Details and the official words

      “Pets must undergo an animal health clinical inspection conducted by the official agencies of the departing country or region within 14 days prior to their arrival in China.”

    2. PaperworkThailand and China

      Quarantine certificate from the official animal quarantine authority

      You must give customs a valid quarantine certificate issued by the official animal quarantine authority of the country or region you leave.

      Details and the official words

      DLD health certificate at the animal quarantine station of your departure port: Before your pet leaves, take it to the animal quarantine station at the port you leave from (or another place DLD approves or the station's vet chooses). The vet there examines it and, as your destination requires, may hold it for observation, take samples for the lab, vaccinate or treat it, or mark it; then DLD signs the health certificate. There is no fee. Stations are open Monday to Friday, 08:30 to 16:30, except public holidays.

      “携带宠物入境的，携带人应当向海关提供输出国家或者地区官方动物检疫机构出具的有效检疫证书和狂犬病疫苗接种证书。”

      “ก่อนดำเนินการส่งออกไปนอกราชอาณาจักรซึ่งสัตว์หรือซากสัตว์ ให้ผู้รับใบอนุญาตนำสัตว์หรือซากสัตว์ไปยังสถานกักกันสัตว์หรือที่พักซากสัตว์ของท่าออก หรือสถานกักกันสัตว์หรือที่พักซากสัตว์ที่กรมปศุสัตว์รับรอง หรือสถานที่ที่สัตวแพทย์ประจำท่าออกเห็นสมควร”

      “กรณีสัตว์มีชีวิต ระยะเวลาการกักสัตว์ ดูอาการ และ/หรือการเก็บตัวอย่างทางห้องปฏิบัติการ และ/หรือการทำวัคซีน และ/หรือการทำลายเชื้อโรคหรือพาหะนำโรค และ/หรือการทำเครื่องหมายประจำตัวสัตว์ ตามเงื่อนไขของประเทศปลายทางกำหนด”

      “ไม่มีค่าธรรมเนียม”

      “เปิดให้บริการวัน จันทร์ ถึง วัน ศุกร์ (ยกเว้นวันหยุดที่ทางราชการกำหนด) ตั้งแต่เวลา 08:30 - 16:30 น.”

    3. Official stampLeaving Thailand

      Apply to DLD in the e-Movement system

      Apply for the health certificate online in DLD's e-Movement system (https://newemove.dld.go.th/req/), attaching the documents there or emailing them to the animal quarantine station at the port you will leave from, and make an appointment with that station. The documents include your ID card or, for a foreigner, your passport; the vaccination certificate showing your pet's microchip number; the microchip certificate; the airway bill; and what your destination asks for. DLD's processing time is 3 working days once the documents are complete.

      The official wording is ambiguous. Confirm this point with the authority.

      Details and the official words

      DLD's page on its import and export procedure says the application form R.1/1 (for taking animals into, out of or through Thailand) is filed in e-Movement at least 7 working days ahead, but it describes that step for imports. We don't know whether the same lead time applies when you leave: ask the quarantine station.

      An application filed in e-Movement outside office hours is handled on the next working day. If documents are missing, you have 7 working days to correct them, or the application is cancelled.

      “สามารถส่งเอกสารแนบผ่านระบบ e-Movement หรือผ่านช่องทางไปรษณีย์อิเล็กทรอนิกส์ (e-mail) ถึงด่านกักกันสัตว์ท่าออกที่จะนำสัตว์หรือซากสัตว์ออก”

      “ผู้รับบริการต้องติดต่อแจ้งนัดหมายเจ้าหน้าที่ด่านกักกันสัตว์ท่าออกเพื่อดำเนินการเกี่ยวกับสัตว์หรือซากสัตว์ให้เป็นไปตามระเบียบข้อกำหนดหรือเงื่อนไขของประเทศปลายทาง”

      “กรณีสัตว์เลี้ยง (สุนัข แมว กระต่าย) ต้องมีเอกสารรับรองการฉีดวัคซีนที่มีการระบุเลขไมโครชิพ”

      “ระยะเวลาในการดำเนินการรวม : 3 วันทำการ”

      “บัตรประจำตัวประชาชน”

      “(กรณีชาวต่างชาติ)”

      “Bill of Lading (B/L) หรือ Airway Bill หรือ Truckway bill หรือ Railway Bill”

      “หลังเวลาทำการ เจ้าหน้าที่จะดำเนินการในวันทำการถัดไป”

      “คำขอต้องดำเนินการแก้ไขภายใน 7 วันทำการ นับตั้งแต่วันที่ได้รับแจ้ง”

      “https://newemove.dld.go.th/req/”

      “ให้ผู้ประสงค์จะส่งออกไปนอกราชอาณาจักรซึ่งสัตว์หรือซากสัตว์ ยื่นคำขออนุญาตนำสัตว์หรือซากสัตว์ออกนอกราชอาณาจักรต่ออธิบดีหรือผู้ซึ่งอธิบดีมอบหมาย”

      “ยื่นแบบคำขออนุญาตนำสัตว์/ซากสัตว์ เข้า ออก ผ่านราชอาณาจักรไทย (แบบ ร.1/1) ผ่านระบบการเคลื่อนย้ายสัตว์และซากสัตว์ทางอิเล็กทรอนิกส์ (e - movement system) ล่วงหน้าไม่น้อยกว่า 7 วันทำการ”

Good to know

  • Only dogs and cats can be carried in, and only one pet per person per entry. Pets over the limit may be returned or destroyed.
  • A pet that is not exempt (no chip, no accepted antibody test report when required, or signs of disease at the on-site check) is quarantined for 30 days at a site designated by customs, and must enter through a port with quarantine facilities.
  • The list of designated countries, the laboratories whose antibody test reports customs accepts and the ports with quarantine facilities are whatever China's customs publishes; they may differ from what we show.
  • DLD issues the certificate following your destination's conditions, so bring what your destination asks for: its import permit (if it issues one), its own certificate forms (for example an EU annex or a veterinary certificate) and the lab reports its conditions require.

Money

What it costs

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

Government fees on this route

What vets and labs charge Not official figures

No published prices yet for Thailand: microchip, rabies vaccination, vet examination, health certificate (vet’s fee).

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 Thailand

Nothing for the trip back has to happen before your pet leaves Thailand.

The trip back asks for 8 steps: import licence application (Form R.1/1) and import permit, 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 more.

Every step from China to Thailand

Where this comes from

Official sources

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

Entering ChinaLeaving ThailandReport a mistakeGet rule-change alerts

Questions owners ask

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

Yes: A pet from a country that is not on China's designated list needs a rabies antibody test report from a laboratory customs accepts, with a titre above 0.5 IU/ml, to avoid 30 days' quarantine.

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

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.

Will my dog or cat be quarantined in China?

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 Thailand to China?

With nothing done yet, start at least 5 days ahead. The main steps: electronic microchip, rabies vaccination certificate and rabies antibody test report (pets from non-designated countries) and 3 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