To import dogs and cats into Australia you must comply with the import conditions from the Department of Agriculture. You can check the latest requirements here. Thailand is a non-approved country, so the following steps must be followed.

You are only allowed to import a dog or cat from a non-approved country indirectly through one of the Department of Agriculture’s approved Category 3 countries. This is a two step process, you must first contact the quarantine service in the approved Category 3 country to ensure that cats and dogs are eligible for entry and your pet meets all of the pre and post-entry quarantine requirements of the approved Category 3 country.

Your pet must be prepared, i.e. examined, tested and vaccinated in an approved Category 3 country, and be exported from the same country. You pet may return to the non-approved country after the initial rabies vaccination and testing and return to the approved Category 3 country while final preparations are being done for export. You must have the appropriate paperwork signed by a veterinary authority in the Category 3 country, and your pets must meet all of the Department of Agriculture conditions that apply to the specific Category 3 country before being eligible for import into Australia.

All examinations, treatments, vaccinations, blood samples and blood testing that are required by the Department of Agriculture must be conducted by a veterinarian who is approved by the government of the approved Category 3 country. The Department of Agriculture will not recognize any examinations, treatments, vaccinations, blood samples, blood testing or certification completed in a non approved country.

As an example:

• Your pet is currently in Country A
• Country A is not an approved country
• Country B is an approved Category 3 country
• the Country B government allows cats/dogs to be imported from Country A to Country B
• Your pet receives rabies vaccinations and testing in Country B and certification is provided by the Country B by a veterinary authority
• Your pet returns to Country A
• About 5 months later your pet returns to Country B until the time of export to have final preparations undertaken by an approved veterinarian
• Your pet spends about a minimum of 45 days in Country B for the preparations to be completed
• The final vet check is performed in Country B, 5 days before export to Australia
• Certification of the permit conditions is provided by the Country B Official Government Veterinarian
• Your pet is exported from Country B to Australia.

 

You can read through more information on the import conditions relevant to specific Department of Agriculture approved countries on the website here.

 

The regulations in place in Japan limit the import of pets to control the potential for rabies to be introduced. It’s the obligation of the importer to organize all aspects of the documentation and bear all related costs. This includes all of the treatments and inspections in the origin country, preparation of documentation, transport of pets, the import inspection procedures on arrival in Japan, all of the caretaking and feeding during quarantine, onsite examination and treatment by qualified veterinarians, completion of inspection, and reclaiming and return of the pet. In addition to this the examination and treatment is only allowed in the designated facility.

On arrival in Japan, there is a set quarantine period to screen out rabies and in the case of dogs also leptospirosis. To ensure that the pets have not contracted diseases in isolation from other animals or humans all pets will be held in quarantine at the Animal Quarantine Service (AQS). There are certain ports where dogs can only be imported, you can check out the details here.

Regardless of how you bring your pets to Japan, you are required to submit an Advance Notification Form to the Animal Quarantine Service office in the arrival port at least 40 days prior to arrival in Japan. After receiving the Advance Notification, the AQS will confirm the import quarantine timing and issue an Approval of Notification to the importer. If the quarantine facility is full, you will be told to use another arrival port. You will need both the Approval of Notification and the relevant Approval Number during import inspection in Japan.

The import of animals from specific regions can be as fast as 12 hours, so long as it has come from a designated region and specific requirements are met. Outside of these areas you need to follow this process. First your dog or cat needs to be identified with a microchip, which will be confirmed and checked against the number on the certificate issued by the responsible government agency of the country of export. If the microchip is not ISO compliant, please bring the required microchip reader with you. Rabies vaccinations are required, with inactivated or recombinant vaccines at least twice after the microchip has been fitted. Your pet needs to be at least 91 days old at the time of vaccination, and the second (or booster) vaccinations must be done more than 31 days after the previous vaccination and within the effective period of the previous vaccination.

After the second rabies injection blood testing must be done to determine the levels of rabies antibody levels at a designated laboratory. Results are valid for two years after the date of the blood sampling, which must be taken on the day of the second vaccination or within its effective period. For dogs you must accompany the serum with a health certificate, you can see an example form here.

Dogs and cats are required to wait for 180 days between the date of blood sampling and their arrival in Japan. If they arrive before this time they will be subject to AQS quarantine to make up the difference, and they must arrive in Japan within the two year period of the blood test result. Finally, you require a certificate from the export country that confirms your pet is not suspected of having rabies (as well as leptospirosis for dogs) if possible no more than two days before departure. Your pet should be in good health before departure. On arrival in Japan, all documents are to be submitted to AQS and if there have been any omissions the animal will be subject to up to 180 days stay in a quarantine facility. It’s the importers responsibility to take care of their pets during the quarantine period.

 

New Zealand is an isolated environment that is free from serious diseases and pests that live in the rest of the world. Because of this there are many strict requirements in place for importing animals to prevent the introduction of rabies, heartworm and most ticks.

Before your pet can come to New Zealand they must fulfill all of the requirements in the Import Health Standard (IHS). You can see additional information here. As follows are the general guidelines for importing pets to New Zealand.

You must ensure that your country is an approved exported for animals to New Zealand, which you can verify here. Following this you will need all of the Veterinary Certificates (A & B) for your country category – whether its 1, 2 or 3. All pets must have an approved microchip, which needs to be implanted and tested before doing and vaccinations, tests or treatments. Your scanned microchip ID must be recorded on all vaccination and treatment records.

If you’re in a category 3 country and it’s your pets first rabies vaccination it must be done at least 6 months before shipment, and not more than 12 months before shipment, or if a booster vaccination not more than 12 months before shipment. Your pet needs to have a blood test as well to determine the rabies antibodies present, and be booked in at a quarantine facility and apply for an import permit at least 6 weeks prior to shipment. The only country who doesn’t need to go through quarantine and import permit restrictions is Australia.

Especially for dogs you need to do both a heartworm test and a Leptospirosis test or treatment within 30 days prior to your scheduled arrival. The Babesia gibsoni tests, Brucella canis tests and Babesia canis treatments all need to be done, and you can check out the specific requirements here.

If medication is needed for your pet, you need a completed declaration as well as a copy of the veterinarians prescription to be inspected by an MPI inspector before (or on arrival) in New Zealand. Generally you can get clearance for up to three months supply. External parasite treatment and the first internal parasite treatment must be done 30 days prior to shipment, and at least two weeks prior to the second treatment – which has to be done in the 4 days prior to the date of shipment. For dogs the second heartworm treatment is to be done at this stage also.

You need to send advance notification of arrival to the Ministry of Primary Industries (MPI), at least 72 hours before your scheduled arrival. In the 2 days prior to shipment all pets must be inspected and officially certified, where you complete your Veterinary Certificates A & B and also do an external parasite treatment.

The Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA) exercises a range of strategies to safeguard the introduction and spread of animal diseased in Singapore. For people wanting to import their pets, there are strict rules and regulations to follow. For further information you can see the attached fact sheet on import procedures here.

The first step for importing a pet is to get an import license from AVA within 30 days prior to the date of arrival. Please allow two working days to process the license after receiving the application and all supporting documents, and the license is valid for 30 days from the date of issue. For mixed breed dogs photos are required that clearly show the face and body, to help AVA verify it is not a breed that is prohibited from import into Singapore.

It is required that all dogs over three months of age are to be licensed with AVA. There are additional regulations for certain breeds of dogs, so please check the detailed requirements here.

There are certain conditions and requirements for the import of both dogs and cats, including health certification, quarantine and inspections by AVA. Based on the country of origin, there are certain restrictions on import of pets, which are broken down into four separate groups. Thailand is in Category D. The full list of import requirements for Category D Countries is here

Pets arriving from a Category D countries are required to go into quarantine on arrival in Singapore. This facility is typically heavily overbooked, so plan to make your reservations at least 3 months before your planned arrival in Singapore. You will also need the appropriate customs permits to be able to clear your pets through the checkpoints, and the appropriate documentation.

All pets coming to Singapore from a Category D country are required to have a rabies antibody titre test, and the process must follow an OIE-prescribed method. Successful results must be greater than 0.5IU/ml. You can carry out the test at any laboratory that can test according to an OIE-prescribed method. The AVA lab at the Animal and Plant Health Centre can carry out the rabies virus antibody indirect ELISA test, which is also an acceptable method for testing imported pets.

There are special processes that must be followed regarding the import of assistance dogs, you can see the full details here.

To transship your pets through Singapore, you need to get a Transshipment Licence from AVA. This licence will be valid for 30 days from the date of issue. Applicants must produce a copy of the health certificate and valid rabies vaccination (for dogs and cats only) as supporting documentation. Additional documents such as copy of the import permit or import license from the importing country may be required, it depends on the final country of destination. If your transit is longer than four hours your pet will be transferred either to the Changi Animal and Plant Quarantine (CAPQ) or the airline’s animal holding area.

All pets coming through Changi International Airport must be inspected at Changi Animal and Plant Quarantine Station (CAPQ). The following processes must be followed in order for pets to be successfully brought into Singapore.

First, the owner must notify Changi Animal and Plant Quarantine (CAPQ) of the confirmed pet import at least five working days before the pets scheduled arrival. All information needs to be provided, alongside the confirmed flight details and the import license number, and the owner’s details.

If your pet is imported as manifested cargo, when you arrive at the Changi Airfreight Centre, you have to present your AVA import license along with photo identification to get a visitor pass at the entrance of the cargo complex. From here you need to head to the relevant cargo office of the airline that brought your pet to Singapore and produce all required documentation that accompanies your pet, including original copies of their health certificate, vaccination records, original rabies serology test results, the airway bill of lading and if applicable a Captain’s declaration. From here you will be able to collect your pet and take them for inspection and clearance. Do not take your pet out of their travel kennel at this stage.

If you accompany your pet on the flight, or bring them as excess baggage you need to go to the Lost and Found counter and surrender your pet to the staff, and sign the handing over form. You are not allowed to take your pet out of the customs/immigration area of the arrival hall, instead the staff will transfer them to the AVA CAPQ office for inspection and clearance. Proceed to the CAPQ office yourself with the original health certificates, original vaccination records, original rabies serology test results and your pets AVA import licence.

At the CAPQ office the AVA officer will verify all of your documentation, and visually inspect your pet to ensure it is clinically healthy, in addition to verifying its microchip number. Pets that require quarantine on arrival in Singapore will be held at CAPQ after this veterinary inspection, and they will be transported to Sembawang Animal Quarantine Station (SAQS) to undergo quarantine.

Please note that there is a huge demand for quarantine space and it’s recommended you book and apply for quarantine space at least three months ahead of your pets anticipated arrival in Singapore. There’s a simple online application you can follow to use the Quarantine Management System, so long as you have their microchip number, valid rabies vaccination reports and serology test reports.