What is the process for bringing pets to Thailand from the USA, and how strict are the import regulations?

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I did not use my regular vet in Austin because they were not familiar with the process. You need a vet who understands this. Of course now you are working against the clock. I know this doesn’t help you at this point. All I can say is that I was totally paranoid about getting this all right months in advance. And you must ensure that there is enough dog space on the plane. Delta / KE only allowed 4 some years ago. In your shoes I’d be talking to agents immediately. The danger is the airline says no. I wouldn’t talk about irregular processing. It’s a bad idea all round. Obviously.

Please feel free to inbox if you need to

This is the email i got:

Dear Sir or Madam,

Thank you for contacting us to inquire about bringing your pets into Thailand.

An applicant who wishes to travel with pets or import pets by air cargo to Thailand through Suvarnabhumi Airport needs to obtain an import permit before their departure by submitting the relevant documents below;

1. An application R form (see attached), please fill information in the form including of

a. Name of a traveler/importer

b. Address in Thailand and your origin country

c. Pet’s details (breed, sex, DOB, color, and microchip no.)

d. Flight itinerary

2. Copy of traveler/importer’s passport

3. Pet’s photo with its face clearly shown

4. Vaccination record* (must be in English) which includes

a. Pet’s details (breed, sex, DOB, color, and microchip no.)

b. Veterinarian’s details who administrates vaccines (full name, license number, and signature)

c. Dog: Rabies**, Canine Distemper, Canine Hepatitis, Canine Parvovirus, and Leptospirosis*** vaccines

d. Cat: Rabies** and Feline Panleukopenia vaccines

Remarks:

* In case of primary or discontinuity vaccination, animal must wait for 21 days since vaccination before departure. However animal has valid booster vaccination, a waiting period is not required and the previous vaccination records should be attached.

** In case of primary Rabies vaccine: animal was at least 12 weeks old at the time of administration.

***In case of dogs that did not have a valid Leptospirosis vaccine: dogs must have a negative result for the Leptospirosis test within 30 days prior to departure.

- An import permit is valid for 60 days

- Please submit all of this at least 7 business days before departure and the permit issuance process will take about 5 business days after we receive complete documents. If more information is required, the officer will contact you by email.

Kind regards

Its easy peasy

Relo4paws, we've used their service 2x already.

What’s the reason your vet wants another round of shots? We moved here with our dog last year, it was easy, we just followed the instructions on Thailand embassy website.

Luckyli for the cats you are to late with the preparations.

Hi, please write to the Thai pet import unit directly to get confirmation. I know they have allowed some exceptions through direct experience. Share with them the vaccine certificates that your pets currently have. They will be able to tell you if it's possible or not.

We just moved here from the US with two dogs and I can tell you that Thailand is easy. It’s the airline that will give you trouble. Our dogs are still in the US (being shipped over to us in a couple weeks) and we had a massive debacle with Qatar that eventually denied our dogs boarding.

Outside of other things they were misinformed about, the import permit is a very grey area. I applied for mine a little late (I think 5 days before we flew) but I looked at Thailand’s customs webpage AND Bangkok’s Animal Quarantine page and they both say you can do the import permit application process in person at BKK. This was confirmed by the authority in person when I landed in BKK. He said, “yes of course let’s do the application now” but I didn’t have my dogs lol

Officials here definitely want all of the paperwork and vaccinations but they are very easy to work. Definitely heavy emphasis on coming over with the vaccines up to date (especially rabies) and they were really emphasizing the USDA health certificate with the embossed stamp.

I can almost guarantee you it’s going to be the airline that will not let you board without everything even if Thailand is laid back about it.

Idk why the vet would say they need more shots? As long as all the shots have been done within the past 12 months, that’s what Thailand wants.

I would call around to some vets until you find a helpful one. We were based out of Austin, Texas and our vet isn’t available to do the health certificates again and we found another clinic that was more than willing to get our dogs in for the appointment in one week.

As far as BKK taking forever, call them. Or if you can, hop on a Thailand pets page or something and ask someone in Thailand to make the call for you. I never heard back from my first round of application and when we got here and I called them, he said he’s gonna get my import permit to me within 4 or 5 days and they’re already processing it.

If you cats have their vaccines up to date, it is very simple and just requires the vet certification sent to get your export permit 10 days before travel. I've traveled with my cat to Thailand many times. Post in Bangkok Pet Lovers or Dogs and Cats on Koh Samui where many people can give first hand knowledgeable advice about this.

Join Bangkok Pet Lovers group for pet related questions.

All (well there are very very few exceptions) vaccines are two shots in roughly 14 days distance.

So shortly after COVID everyone should know that. Or should remember his childhood vaccinations.

"From what I read about most things in thailand, it sounds like certain laws are followed very strictly while others are more loosely followed / can be solved with paying a fee and talking and I was curious what it’s like for pet import."

Yes, you can put your pets 4 weeks into quarantine. For a fee.

I think they are referring to titer test. They need to do the titer test before they are allowed to fly 🙁

Check with relo4paws