Moving 2 dogs to UK

[stuandjulie]

Hi

We are looking at moving our 2 dogs back to the UK, Golden retrievers so not small.

I have looked at all the sites (UK Embassy etc.) and its pretty convoluted for the UK.

Is there anyone here in Phuket that can help/arrange ? I seem to remember a couple of posts about this in the past but can't find them now.

Thanks in advance

[pagallim]

This may provide some assistance:   https://pethelpful.com/dogs/Homeward-Bound-How-to-get-a-Dog-from-Thailand-to-the-UK

 

Last year, a friend of mine took his Labrador to Germany (Frankfurt) where he bought a camper van and is currently touring Europe with the van and dog.   Problem of course is getting direct flights into the UK, and you may find that you have to depart from BKK.   Not all airlines accept animals as cargo, internally in Thailand there's an issue with not all aircraft cargo holds are pressurised.

[Jimi007]

Double post.

Edited March 4, 2018 by Jimi007
Slow server. Double post.

[Jimi007]

I take our dog with us to California and back every year. Just about to finish up her paperwork for our trip back to Phuket. 

 

You need an export permit from the Thai Animal Quarantine Office at the Phuket airport. Their office is in the cargo building past the domestic terminal on the left on the second floor. The dogs must be microchipped and have current rabies, parvo, lepto and canine distemper, I think. At least that what I remember off the top of my head. You have to take the dogs with you to have their microchip number read and verified. You must also meet your countries requirements. Some require a blood test for lepto. You'll have to go to a Vet for that and it's not cheap. You'll also need two large flight kennels. I bought ours at Chalong Vet Hospital. I bought  a spill proof water bowl from Amazon here in the US, haven't seen them in Thailand. Maybe Lazada? Oh and you can't apply for the export permit more than 11 days before departure. You have to make a second trip to pick up the export permit about 3 days before departure. Also pay a small fee for the permit or a larger fee I think if they have to verify a blood test. You should also bring your dogs vaccination history with you the first trip and any other other papers you might have that pertain to you dogs. Have your addresses in both countries.

 

Good luck! It not that hard, but a pain...

[Jimi007]

10 hours ago, pagallim said:

This may provide some assistance:   https://pethelpful.com/dogs/Homeward-Bound-How-to-get-a-Dog-from-Thailand-to-the-UK

 

Last year, a friend of mine took his Labrador to Germany (Frankfurt) where he bought a camper van and is currently touring Europe with the van and dog.   Problem of course is getting direct flights into the UK, and you may find that you have to depart from BKK.   Not all airlines accept animals as cargo, internally in Thailand there's an issue with not all aircraft cargo holds are pressurised.

Good point! We fly EVA Air as they are one of the highest rated carries for pets, not too bad for people either. It looks like they have flights from BKK to Heathrow. I fly Thai Airways from Phuket and then EVA. Be sure to call the airlines ahead to save room for you pets. They will want the overall dimensions of the flight kennel and the total weight. They'll weight it at checkin too.

[Fish Head Soup]

I just took a picture of the printout I had in a file when I was relocating back to UK.

[Jimi007]

1 hour ago, Fish Head Soup said:

I just took a picture of the printout I had in a file when I was relocating back to UK.

Most of the US only requires a rabies vaccine, Thailand has more requirements than the US and the EU has as you stated, the blood tests. 

[stuandjulie]

Thanks guys, 

That helps a lot, just found out that for the UK they have to fly cargo and not excess baggage, very expensive, cheaper to go to civilised Countries like France or Holland and then ferry or Eurostar to the UK.

Should be fun with 2 huge suitcases and 2 big dogs !

[Fish Head Soup]

9 hours ago, stuandjulie said:

Thanks guys, 

That helps a lot, just found out that for the UK they have to fly cargo and not excess baggage, very expensive, cheaper to go to civilised Countries like France or Holland and then ferry or Eurostar to the UK.

Should be fun with 2 huge suitcases and 2 big dogs !

When you are all done please update the thread with the process used. I have another dog that I want to move over to UK later this year if everything goes to plan with my wife's UK visa.

 

Thanks.

[stuandjulie]

9 hours ago, Fish Head Soup said:

When you are all done please update the thread with the process used. I have another dog that I want to move over to UK later this year if everything goes to plan with my wife's UK visa.

 

Thanks.

Will do

[Sir Swagman]

Just for info.....all commercial pressurised aircraft of any size have pressurised cargo holds.

[buffallobill]

I  used to do voluntary work at Soi dog in Phuket,  they regularly send dogs by plane to different countries, ,  dogs going to UK go via Amsterdam.  If you contact them I am sure they would be happy to advise you on paperwork,  crate sizes ect. 

[Gillyflower]

A very interesting OP, not that I have any dogs.  But just out of interest, I have always understood that the UK has very strict rules for the entry of animals, and that they all have to go into quarantine.  Unless I haven't read properly, it is not mentioned.

[pest]

my mate sent both his dogs back to the UK with PAWS

http://pawsphuket.com/travel/

[Bsd]

2 hours ago, Gillyflower said:

A very interesting OP, not that I have any dogs.  But just out of interest, I have always understood that the UK has very strict rules for the entry of animals, and that they all have to go into quarantine.  Unless I haven't read properly, it is not mentioned.

If you follow the rules in the image posted above they don’t have to go into  quarantine. I relocated three dogs to the I’m last year that way and everything worked fine. I used a agent to handle all the paperwork, flight bookings and taking the dogs to the airport etc. 

 

As others have mentioned dogs must fly as cargo to the uk and they have to fly on approved Airlines and routes (check the uk border website for the list). They must also go through customs at both ends during working hours so you will also need to check flight times. We flew ours on the overnight Thai flight to get everything lining up. 

[britishrepublican]

For me to bring 1 dog from the U.K. to Thailand cost £3000. 

[Suetape]

FYI. Some airlines have seasonal restrictions because of weather conditions.   

[Farang99]

20 hours ago, Gillyflower said:

A very interesting OP, not that I have any dogs.  But just out of interest, I have always understood that the UK has very strict rules for the entry of animals, and that they all have to go into quarantine.  Unless I haven't read properly, it is not mentioned.

The quarantine requirement was abandoned some years ago (my dogs had to suffer it  in 1967 moving from Malaysia to UK) but the other requirements are pretty demanding.

[Jimi007]

22 hours ago, britishrepublican said:

For me to bring 1 dog from the U.K. to Thailand cost £3000. 

Wow! I just did all the paperwork to bring our Thai dog back to Thailand from California, USA. It was $38 for the USDA certification. The flight from San Francisco to Bangkok is $280. This will be her 4th trip back to Thailand. About the same cost every time. Good to have a friend who is a USDA Certified Veterinarian. No clue what that costs. Back to the USA from Thailand is even cheaper for the paperworks, same flight cost. 

[britishrepublican]

1 hour ago, Jimi007 said:

Wow! I just did all the paperwork to bring our Thai dog back to Thailand from California, USA. It was $38 for the USDA certification. The flight from San Francisco to Bangkok is $280. This will be her 4th trip back to Thailand. About the same cost every time. Good to have a friend who is a USDA Certified Veterinarian. No clue what that costs. Back to the USA from Thailand is even cheaper for the paperworks, same flight cost. 

In the U.K. we pay through the nose for everything. I couldn't even book the flights myself, the airline (British airways) directed me to a 3rd party company to make the booking on my behalf. The ticket for the dog was £1100gbp, 1 way. £100 more expensive than my business class return ticket. The rest of the money was for vet fees to get the correct documentation and a suitable dog box for the flight.

 

It's daylight robbery.