Agent For Importing My Dog Into Thailand?

[DesertRose]

Hello all, I've read the pinned thread about importing pets into Thailand and have done other research online. I'm now looking for an agent or somebody at the Thai end to sort out the import certificate for me.

I have finally got a handle on how to sort everything out at my exporting end, just really need help at the Thai end and can't find anybody there. I don't want to use an international relocation company if they want to charge for the whole process, I only need help in Thailand.

My dog will be flying Thai Airlines to Bangkok then onto Chiang Mai.

Thanks in advance for any help, we've never relocated her before so it's a steep learning curve.

[Sheryl]

You really, really do not need an agent for this.

All you do is one arrival, go to the animal quarantine station which (in Bangkok at least) is in the baggage carousel area. They briefly examine the dog, look at the vaccination records, have you fill out some forms. 30 minutes to maximum an hour, cost about 100 baht. Having an gent won't make much difference except in what you pay.

Whether you have to do this in CM or in Bkk will probably depend on where you have to clear customs. Try to arrange it so that arrival is during normal working hours as sometimes the vet is not in the office off hours and that causes delay,

[Morden]

You really, really do not need an agent for this.

All you do is one arrival, go to the animal quarantine station which (in Bangkok at least) is in the baggage carousel area. They briefly examine the dog, look at the vaccination records, have you fill out some forms. 30 minutes to maximum an hour, cost about 100 baht. Having an gent won't make much difference except in what you pay.

Whether you have to do this in CM or in Bkk will probably depend on where you have to clear customs. Try to arrange it so that arrival is during normal working hours as sometimes the vet is not in the office off hours and that causes delay,

That applies if the animal is on the same flight as yourself. If it isn't, you go to the cargo area next to the main building.

The need for an agent is at the other end, not in Thailand. The requirements before shipping imposed by the Thai authorities are onerous. Failure to get this right will result in either the animal being sent back or destroyed.

[nahkit]

My daughter shipped her dog in by cargo just over a year ago. She submitted all the required paperwork online and verified with the Thai authorities the day before the dog was due to arrive that everything was in order. When she went to collect the dog she was told in no uncertain terms, by the customs officer, that she wouldn't be seeing her dog unless she employed an agent.

My daughter said there were plenty of agents hanging around the area just waiting for business (and also that there were several foreigners getting upset having also been told to use an agent).

The agent cost her around 12,000 baht, having first asked for a lot more.

As far as I know, there is no legal requirement to engage an agent.

[DesertRose]

Thanks for the replies and advice, I appreciate any help I can get with this.

I don't need an agent at my end, I can do it myself, it just involves a lot of running around, dealing with authorities etc. and I don't want to pay somebody US $1000 to do that (which is what I've been quoted).

My concern is how responsive the Thai authorities will be when I'm in a different country and emailing/faxing them documents and waiting for them to send the required authorisation.

nahkit, it's good to know that your daughter done this recently and it all worked smoothly, at least till she arrived. Sounds like a nice like scam going on at the airport - was that at Bangkok?

I have no idea where she'll clear customs if she'll just be in transit in Bangkok while waiting the connection to CM, any ideas?

We can either travel with her or one of us with her, one the day before etc. We're entirely flexible according to what's best for her (eg any chance of seeing her during the transit) and for ease if the process.

[nahkit]

Thanks for the replies and advice, I appreciate any help I can get with this.

I don't need an agent at my end, I've worked out what's involved and can do it myself, it just involves a bit of running around, dealing with authorities etc. and I don't want to pay somebody US $1000 to do that (which is what I've been quoted).

My concern is how responsive the Thai authorities will be when I'm in a different country and emailing/faxing them documents and waiting for them to send the required authorisation.

nahkit, it's good to know that your daughter done this recently and it all worked smoothly, at least till she arrived. Sounds like a nice like scam going on at the airport - was that at Bangkok?

I have no idea where she'll clear customs if she'll just be in transit in Bangkok while waiting the connection to CM, any ideas?

We can either travel with her or one of us with her, one the day before etc. We're entirely flexible according to what's best for her (eg any chance of seeing her during the transit) and for ease of the process.

Yes, it was at Bangkok. I stayed out of the way thinking that if they saw a foreign face then we'd have problems but it didn't make any difference. If you are travelling with your dog as accompanied baggage then it should be straight forward (and cheaper) as Sheryl says in post #2.

The only negative comment I can recall seeing on a similar thread was that in one case the customs wanted a vet present and the owner had to pay for one to come out to the airport.

I really have no idea regarding whether the customs clearance would take place in Bangkok or Chiang Mai, logic suggests that if you can check your bags right through to Chiang Mai then thats where you pet will clear customs but then logic always has a habit of tripping me up.

[DesertRose]

With the weight of the crate on top of my dog's weight it's much more than the 32kg max for accompanied baggage so she's going cargo sadly.

[Nienke]

When a pet travels by cargo you need an agent in Thailand. Import duties etc is about 40% of the value of the animal plus the price of the ticket and then there is the fee of the agent.

Not sure if they do import as well, but you could try Dynamic Air Cargo. For exporting pets I have had good experiences with them.

Apisit Jettana (Kob)
Customer Service Department

Dynamic Air Cargo Co.,Ltd.
Tel : 662-693-5999 ext. 103
Fax : 662-693-9644

Emal: service @ dynamicaircargo. com
www.dynamicaircargo.com

A pet can go in transit in BKK and then go through customs in Chiang Mai.
However, be very aware of the times of arrival and departure in BKK and time of arrival in Chiang Mai. In hot and rainy seasons temps go up quickly during the day. There is no special pet department in the planes between BKK-CNX, so the pet travels with the luggage. It is the transport from the cargo area to the plane and back which is the most risky for the pets when it is hot and/or humid. Dogs have died due to overheating during travel between BKK and CNX. Especially the snub-nosed, thick-coated and anxious dogs suffer the most.

Best is to put two water bottles on the crate, one filled with water and the other filled with ice.

[kurnell]

When a pet travels by cargo you need an agent in Thailand. Import duties etc is about 40% of the value of the animal plus the price of the ticket and then there is the fee of the agent.

Not sure if they do import as well, but you could try Dynamic Air Cargo. For exporting pets I have had good experiences with them.

Apisit Jettana (Kob)

Customer Service Department

Dynamic Air Cargo Co.,Ltd.

Tel : 662-693-5999 ext. 103

Fax : 662-693-9644

Emal: service @ dynamicaircargo. com

www.dynamicaircargo.com

A pet can go in transit in BKK and then go through customs in Chiang Mai.

However, be very aware of the times of arrival and departure in BKK and time of arrival in Chiang Mai. In hot and rainy seasons temps go up quickly during the day. There is no special pet department in the planes between BKK-CNX, so the pet travels with the luggage. It is the transport from the cargo area to the plane and back which is the most risky for the pets when it is hot and/or humid. Dogs have died due to overheating during travel between BKK and CNX. Especially the snub-nosed, thick-coated and anxious dogs suffer the most.

Best is to put two water bottles on the crate, one filled with water and the other filled with ice.

I can confirm that Dynamic are very good.

[DesertRose]

Thanks for the above. Nothing I've read talks about import duty and I don't know how they'd value her as she's a rescue dog and they could say anything.

It's the bit between flights I'm worried about. We'll be travelling at the end of June. However, my dog is a Saluki cross so designed for the heat. It's still not ideal for her to be out in heat for too long, though.

I'll contact Dynamic and see what they say. Thanks.

[Sheryl]

The pet is traveling with her per her post.

The problems people have picking up pets sent as unaccompanied cargo are not usually experienced when the pet travels with you. you never go over to the cargo area (which is indeed a den of vice) at all. You collect your pet right in the baggage claim area, go into the animal quarantine office that is right there, get the papers, and hand them to the custom guy on your way out, if he even bothers to look your way to take them, which he may or may not.

The issue seems to be that the weight of the dog exceeds what is allowable for accompanied baggage. Is this true even if you pay the overweight charge? As it is vastly better and easier to do it that way and avoid dealings with the cargo area of the airport (where, unlike the passenger terminal customs point, they will indeed try to levy a duty. Be sure the import certificate says "mixed breed").

[DesertRose]

I've been in touch with Dynamic as suggested above and they've been helpful. Our dog will be travelling as cargo as the airlines say the maximum allowed as excess baggage is 32kg and dog and crate are going to be around 40kgs. They won't allow us just to pay more so there is no choice but transport her as cargo. To make sure I've understood correctly: she is travelling cargo but we will travel on the same flights, does this mean (because she's cargo) that we do in fact need an agent?

Dynamic have told me their fee is $280. What's shocked me is that they are saying the import duty will be 30% of the AWB (airway bill or her air freight costs). It's going to cost around US $1500 for the flight so that means another $500 on top of that

Just for general info for anybody else reading this, Dynmaic have said she will have to clear customs in BKK and the minimum time between flights should be 4 hours. I'm assuming as we will be on the same flight and therefore airside that we will be able to see her. Can anybody confirm this?

Thanks again for everybody's input.

[WilBangkok]

Hi,

Did you have any joy/problems importing your dog in the end? I'm just going through the process myself, bringing my lab in from kenya...

My girlfriend is flying out with him in the next couple of days, we already have the export certificate from kenya, the import certificate from this end (via dynamic) but he is having to fly cargo... if they are on the same plane does anyone know if he will pop out at the baggage carousel, or if she'll have to go through the nightmare that is the cargo area?

Any advice greatly appreciated!

Wil

[DesertRose]

Already replied to Wil in PM but just for info for the thread, I'm now also using Dynamic and they've told me that on arrival I have to go to the cargo terminal (with the Dynamic rep) to go through the import procedure with the dog before flying on to CM.

Good luck with your dog, Wil!