Pet travel route
Dog or cat from Thailand 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 5 official pages
In short
- New Zealand puts Thailand in the group “Country New Zealand has not approved”, which decides part of the rules.
- Pets from Thailand can still go elsewhere: the Thailand 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 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 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 Thailand 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 Thailand can go
Which rules apply to you
New Zealand puts Thailand 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
Rule-change alertsChecked daily
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Rule change for pets travelling from Thailand to New Zealand
Leaving rules: China, Taiwan, Thailand, South Africa and Kenya (short summaries, under review). Tap to see what changed.
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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)
- คู่มือสำหรับประชาชน: การขอหนังสือรับรอง Health Certificate สำหรับสัตว์มีชีวิตหรือซากสัตว์ที่ไม่ใช้เพื่อการบริโภค (citizen's manual for the export health certificate, DLD Animal Quarantine and Inspection Division, file dated 26 September 2023)
- กฎกระทรวง การนำเข้า ส่งออก หรือนำผ่านราชอาณาจักรซึ่งสัตว์หรือซากสัตว์ พ.ศ. 2563 (Ministerial Regulation on bringing animals into, out of and through Thailand, Royal Gazette 14 February 2020; DLD copy)
- การนำเข้า นำออก นำผ่านสัตว์และซากสัตว์ตาม พรบ.โรคระบาดสัตว์ พ.ศ. 2558 (DLD Animal Quarantine and Inspection Division, published 2 October 2025)
Last checked against the official pages: 2026-10-13.
Questions owners ask
Can I take my dog or cat from Thailand 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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