Importing Dogs and Cats to Thailand

Start a minimum of four months before your travel date. Day one: ISO 11784/11785 compliant 15-digit microchip implanted by your home-country vet. This must happen before or on the same day as the rabies vaccination — any vaccination dose given before the microchip does not count toward import requirements and must be redone. Within 30 days of microchipping, administer a primary rabies vaccination (or a booster if the animal is already in cycle). Thirty days after the vaccination, draw blood for the FAVN rabies titer test, sent to an OIE-approved laboratory. The result must be at least 0.5 IU/ml. Wait three months from the date of blood draw before the animal can enter Thailand. This three-month wait is non-negotiable and is the most common reason imports fail.

Within 60 days of travel, apply for the DLD import permit (form R1/1) online through the DLD e-Movement system or by emailing the Animal Quarantine Station at Suvarnabhumi (qsap_bkk@dld.go.th). You submit scans of the microchip certificate, vaccination record, FAVN titer result, and a draft itinerary. The permit is issued free of charge within 5-10 working days and is valid for 60 days. Within 10 days of departure, your home-country vet issues a Veterinary Health Certificate, which is then endorsed by your country's national veterinary authority (USDA APHIS in the US, APHA in the UK, your CFIA Canadian equivalent). The endorsed certificate, original FAVN result, vaccination book, microchip record, and printed DLD import permit travel in a clear folder attached to the kennel or hand-carried.

Thai Airways, EVA, Lufthansa, KLM, and Qatar Airways accept pets as manifest cargo or excess baggage on most routes; Emirates is cargo-only since 2014. Cabin travel is restricted to small dogs and cats under 7 kg combined with carrier on a few carriers, and never permitted into Thailand on most major airlines — almost all pets arrive as checked baggage or air cargo. Cargo fees run USD 800-2,500 depending on kennel size, route, and whether you use a pet shipper. On arrival at Suvarnabhumi, your pet is offloaded to the Animal Quarantine Station inside the cargo area. You proceed through normal immigration, then take a taxi (15 minutes) to the cargo terminal to collect the animal. With a valid DLD permit and titer, a DLD vet inspects the documents and microchip, charges 1,000 THB, and releases the pet the same day. Without correct paperwork, the animal is held in quarantine kennels at 600-1,200 THB per day for up to 30 days.

Thailand bans the import of certain dangerous-breed crosses including pit bull terriers, Tosa Inu, Dogo Argentino, Fila Brasileiro, and Japanese Tosa. Some condominium buildings and serviced apartments also impose breed and weight restrictions independent of national law, so confirm with your housing before importing. Brachycephalic breeds (pugs, French bulldogs, Persian cats) face airline embargoes during Thai summer months (March-May) due to heat stress risks; book autumn or winter flights wherever possible. Cats follow the same process as dogs except no breed restrictions apply. Puppies and kittens under three months cannot be vaccinated against rabies, so cannot be exported under the standard pathway — they must wait until they complete the four-month protocol or arrive from a small list of rabies-free countries (UK, Australia, NZ, Japan, Hawaii) where the rules relax. Re-importing a pet that left Thailand for under 90 days uses an abbreviated re-entry permit costing 100 THB.