Bringing pets in - info

[Polar Bear]

I've had a couple of messages off people asking about this, so I figured it would be easier to just post it here. I brought a dog over in March 2021. This is how it went for me at BKK:

If you want to bring pet dogs or cat in, email 

qsap_bkk at dld.go.th 

with @ instead of at and no spaces. (I don't want them to get spammed to death)

 

and ask them for the latest requirements. I understand that there are slight variations depending on where you are bringing them from. They respond fairly quickly during working hours, and you can contact them in English if needed. You will need to be in contact with them anyway to get the import certificate.

 

This is the email I had a few months ago, but again, check with them first because it can change. I've attached the R1 form as well.

---

Dear Sir/ Madam,

            Thank you for contact us to consult about how your pet could bring into Thailand. Any person wishing to import live animals into Thailand should receive an import permit from our office prior to importation.

Enclose copies of:
1. A copy of passport or a copy of identification card an importer/ Cargo case: A copy of passport or identification card of the person who would pick up the pet.
2. Address in your country and address in Thailand (in R1 form)
3.Detail of your animal (such as type of breed, sex, age, microchip, etc.)
4. History of vaccination
(Dog: rabies vaccination, Distemper, Parvovirus, Hepatitis, Leptospirosis)
(Cat: Rabies vaccine, Feline Panleukopenia FPV)
*Please send the first page of pet detail in the vaccination book*
*Please translate it into English. If it is the first time of the vaccine please wait for 21 days before entering Thailand.

5. Picture of your animal
6. Approximate date, flight, and time of arrival to Thailand (in R1 form)
7.Name of the port of exit from your country (in R1 form)
8. R1 form (attached)
9. How are you bring a pet to Thailand (hand-carry or cargo) (in R1 form)
*Send to us 7-14 days before departure and you will be able to get the permit when all of the documents are approve*
*Pet fly with a passenger. Please attach the name and phone number of a person who picks up pets at the airport.

 

**For the requirement on list number 8: The pet does not need to be quarantined upon arrival if a passenger had an Import permit and the Health certificate for the pet. 

                             
Best regards

--
Office : Suvarnabhumi Airport Animal Quarantine ,Free Zone Area, Customs Export Building, 1 st Flr,Suvarnabhumi Airport, Samutprakan Province.
Tel : 02-134-0731 / Fax. 02-134-3640

Web : www.aqs-suvarn-dld.go.th/wp

Email : qsap_bkk at dld.go.th with @ instead of at and no spaces. 

Open Monday-Friday 08:30-12:00 am and 13:00-15:30 pm

---

Aside from these requirements, wherever possible, either bring them with you in the cabin (if they are small enough), or as checked baggage in the cargo hold. If you send them as cargo in the cargo hold, it's a lot more difficult and expensive to get them out, and you will probably need an agent/broker, especially if you are going straight to ASQ. If they are checked baggage, they come to the animal inspection area by the baggage carousels and you can collect them yourself from there. If you aren't traveling with them, they will have to go as cargo, but then you would need an agent anyway.

 

You need the exact cash for the animal inspection fee. (It was 510 THB for me. I don't know if that is a fixed price.) They don't have change, so if you don't have the right money, they will keep whatever you give them. I also paid cash for the customs fee (1,000 THB for my neutered mutt, but it is based on what they think the dog is worth, I've heard it can be pretty steep if you have an unneutered pedigree.)

This was the process when I arrived in March 2021.

When I got off the plane there was a member of airport staff waiting for me with my name on a card. Right as I got off the plane, before I even went into the airport. They had my info and my dog's info from the import permit. (At some point before I arrived, I can't remember if it was before or after I got the import permit, I had to give the name and phone number of the person coming to the airport to collect him because I had to go straight to ASQ.)

The same guy escorted me through the whole process, through COVID document check, immigration, baggage claim etc, and then took me to the animal inspection area, where my dog was waiting in his crate. They were expecting me and scanned his chip, checked his documents, etc. They wanted copies of some of his papers, and I gave them a full set to take. (I'd suggest having several photocopies of their papers with you. Otherwise, you'll have people wandering off with the originals trying to find a photocopier at various stages of the trip.) I did that paperwork and paid the 510B.

Then my guy took me to customs, where my dog was 'valued'. I paid the 1,000 THB, which is the lowest rate. Just before we left the airport he called the pet taxi company that I'd made arrangements with. He waited until my ASQ taxi was ready, and then he took my dog to the pet taxi waiting at Gate 10. (I think it is always Gate 10). I wasn't allowed to see the pet taxi people. The airport staff did the handover, but the pet taxi company sent me pictures a few minutes later to show they had collected him. You don't have to use a pet taxi, if you have someone local who can collect for you, but you do have to make arrangements in advance for someone to do the collection if you are going to ASQ, as you have to send that info before you arrive.

Finally, find out as early as possible what the process is for getting a health certificate in your current country, and whether you also need an export permit. That process for me was really stressful. My health certificate was only valid for 3 days, and I was flying on a Monday, so it was very tight to get the timing right. You also need to work out the time you will arrive, to make sure the animal inspection area is open. (Monday-Friday 08:30-12:00 am and 13:00-15:30 pm.) As I understand it, if you arrive outside those hours, your pet will be taken to the cargo area instead, which is a whole other process. I actually landed at about 7.30am but by the time everything was unloaded etc. they were open anyway. 

R1 (1).pdf

[HeijoshinCool]

On 8/30/2021 at 4:15 PM, Polar Bear said:

You also need to work out the time you will arrive, to make sure the animal inspection area is open. (Monday-Friday 08:30-12:00 am and 13:00-15:30 pm.) As I understand it, if you arrive outside those hours, your pet will be taken to the cargo area instead,

.

I am arriving at 2330. So what happens to my dog?

[Polar Bear]

As far as I know, your dog will go to the cargo area and be held there until the morning. You'll need an animal broker to sort it out for you, as you will have to go straight to ASQ (unless that has changed by the time you get here.) The cargo area doesn't have a specialist animal transit area (like some airports in Europe for example), so animals just get left in their crates while they are there.