Import permit for pet dog?

[MissIndy]

I will be bringing my dog with me when I move to Thailand shortly. I am flying with Emirates and will bring him as excess baggage.

I have found lots of information on line and am aware that I need to obtain an import permit in advance, and most sites refer me to http://www.dld.go.th/th/. However when I click on the "English" tab, I just get a blank page.

Has anyone got advice on how to get the import permit?

Thanks,

Trisha

[CWMcMurray]

You only need import permit if bringing in as freight .. Not needed if bringing in as accompanied baggage

You will still need health cert and vaccinations

[kowpot]

http://thaiembdc.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Permit-form-R-1-1.pdf

[kowpot]

http://www.pettravelstore.com/pet-passport-thailand/

[Sheryl]

Moved to pet forum.

As above you do not need an import permit in advance, you get that and the health certificate on arrival at the Animal Quarantine station located near the baggage carousels. (Don't be put off by the name, they will not quarantine your dog).

Some airlines however require you to have the import permit already to bring the dog on board (they shouldn't, since not a Thai requirement, but apparently some do). If so then you will need to contact Animal Quarantine in Thailand. Otherwise, just get it on arrival

See http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/88593-importing-a-pet-into-thailand/

[MissIndy]

Thanks all,

I am flying with Emirates and they require the permit.

@ post #3 - what do I do with the form you have provided the link for? Do I send it somewhere or fill it in and take it with me?

Trisha

[Rimmer]

A post with an inappropriate user name has been removed

[marty147]

I brought my cat from the Middle East just a few days ago.

This is a copy of the e-mail that I sent to request an import permit.

I received a reply after just three days with the permit attached ready to print out.

Subject: Request for import permit

To: [email protected]

Date: Thu 10/03/2016 07:39

Dear Sir

I would like to request an import permit for my cat.

I have attached the following documents and information:

• · My Passport
• · Vaccination Card
• · Photograph of cat

Flight details:

QR830 Qatar Airlines

Depart - March 22^nd from DOH at 6pm

Arrive - March 23^rd BKK 6:55am

Address:

(Insert your own address!)

Do you require any further information?

regards

Martin Kean

[MissIndy]

Thanks Martin, will e-mail right now!

Will post back with the result.

Trisha

[marty147]

Some additional information:

My boy didn't arrive with the regular luggage.

I collected him from the oversize baggage counter at the end of carousel 15.

Next I took him to the quarantine office at the end of carousel 9. Here they stamped some documents and I filled out a simple form then paid 100 baht.

After that, I went to the red 'Goods to Declare' channel where I had to pay a further 1000 baht.

The entire process took about 30 minutes and 1100 baht then I was good to go.

[MissIndy]

Thanks for the update marty147. Good to hear all went well for you, and that makes me less nervous about my upcoming trip.

I don't fly till the end of May, so as all the vaccinations need to be within 60 days of travel, I can't start the process for another week or so.

I'm feeling much more confident about it now - thanks again and I'll post again when there.

Trisha

[Sheryl]

When I have done this I did not go through "Goods to declare" but rather green channel. Most times never even stopped me, once or twice asked to see the Animal Quarantine import certif but then waved me through. I am not sure why one would have to pay custom duty on an accompanying pet.

[marty147]

With hindsight, I would have followed Sheryl's lead and hidden the pet carrier behind one of my big bags and walked the long way around to the green channel thereby bypassing the beady eyes of the red channel staff.

Worse case scenario is that they spot you and you then have to play the part of a confused foreigner ;-)

That is part I can play very well!

[mrsomchai]

How big is the dog? airlines have certain specs and it may not be able to go in as a baggage but in cargo.

If it does go as a cargo, then it becomes VERY expensive with loads of paperwork.

Make sure to check if the dog be allowed as excess luggage, keep in mind some may require airline approved crates and those are fairly large in size and weight

[Trenton]

Have a border collie in Bangkok, I desperately need to find a home for if anyone interested.

See post below

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/907626-expat-dog-needing-new-home/?view=getnewpost

[Jimi007]

When I have done this I did not go through "Goods to declare" but rather green channel. Most times never even stopped me, once or twice asked to see the Animal Quarantine import certif but then waved me through. I am not sure why one would have to pay custom duty on an accompanying pet.

I have exported and imported my dog several times. To import my dog who is Thai and born in Thailand, from the USA, I need a veterinarian that is approved by the USDA to examine my dog. I then have to make an appointment with the USDA office near SFO to get the official seal stamped on it and it can't be stamped more than 10 days before arrival in Thailand. So I have to drive there. Also I have call BKK Animal Quarantine and get a permit from them. I now have an account with them, and password that I have to give them over the phone. They then email me an import permit. Also proof of vaccines, rabies and the combination parvo virus, which is also entered on the USDA form. Your dog must also have an RFID chip.

Then we pick her up at oversized baggage and a stop at the quarantine office and pay them 100 Baht import fee, then clear customs. First time we brought her back customs charged a 1,000 Baht fee. We said, she's a Thai dog, we are just bringing her back... That's nice... 1,000 Baht! Next time we still had the receipt from the first time, no customs fee, it's one time only.

Exporting her back to the US is almost as bad, but cheaper. But that's another whole story as Thailand changed the rules in the past year to do that... I used to just go to my Thai veterinarian and he'd take care of it. Now We have to bring our dog to the airport quarantine office, not more than 10 days before departure fill out a bunch of forms, they want original vaccine records, but the US only gives copies, scan your dog's RFID chip to make sure it matches, then come back in a few days to pick up the export permit. Pay the 60 Baht fee. We do it at the Phuket Airport Animal Quarantine office, so that was about an hour drive each way, twice! Thailand just loves embossed stamped paperwork!

Good luck to the OP. I suggest you start by calling the BKK Airport Animal Quarantine office to see what they require from you and your country. A few breeds are excluded from import as well. Pit bull types. I believe it's against the rules to post phone numbers, you can find it here: http://www.thaiconsulatevancouver.ca/consulate/documents/pets/transit-pets-en02.pdf

Edited April 3, 2016 by Jimi007

[MissIndy]

This is the e-mail I received this week from the Dept of Livestock Development at the airport.......

Thank you for contact us to consult 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 an importation.

Enclose copies of :

1. A copy of passport or a copy of identification card an importer

2. Address in your country and address in Thailand

3. Detail of your animal (such as type of breed, sex, age, microchip etc.)

4. History of vaccination (A copy of Vaccination record : rabies and DHP/L vaccination) Please you translate in English.

5. Picture of your animal

6. Approximate date, flight and time of arrival to Thailand

7. Name of port of exit from your country

8. Please fill application request form r1-1 (Attachment)

9. You bring pet to Thailand (hand carry or cargo)

Send directly to Suvarnabhumi Airport Animal Quarantine Station at e-mail here with (with in 60 days but not less than 7 days prior arrived to Thailand). Our officer at the airport will issue the import permit and requirement for your animal (about a few days after document approved) send to you by e-mail. The import permit is valid 60 days after issued. (Office open on Mon-Fri 08.30 am.-04.30 pm. my local time Tel: +66 2 1340731)

Trisha

[Jimi007]

This is the e-mail I received this week from the Dept of Livestock Development at the airport.......

Thank you for contact us to consult 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 an importation.

Enclose copies of :

1. A copy of passport or a copy of identification card an importer

2. Address in your country and address in Thailand

3. Detail of your animal (such as type of breed, sex, age, microchip etc.)

4. History of vaccination (A copy of Vaccination record : rabies and DHP/L vaccination) Please you translate in English.

5. Picture of your animal

6. Approximate date, flight and time of arrival to Thailand

7. Name of port of exit from your country

8. Please fill application request form r1-1 (Attachment)

9. You bring pet to Thailand (hand carry or cargo)

Send directly to Suvarnabhumi Airport Animal Quarantine Station at e-mail here with (with in 60 days but not less than 7 days prior arrived to Thailand). Our officer at the airport will issue the import permit and requirement for your animal (about a few days after document approved) send to you by e-mail. The import permit is valid 60 days after issued. (Office open on Mon-Fri 08.30 am.-04.30 pm. my local time Tel: +66 2 1340731)

Trisha

Maybe they made it a bit easier. I don't see where you need a certified, by your country, health certificate, which I have been required to do twice. I just brought my dog to Thailand on 15 September 2015. We left again on February 2, 2016. Watch out for tick bourn disease that my dog caught last time we were there. It called Ehrlichia. It blinded my dog in one eye and could have killed her if we didn't see a specialist here in the US. See more here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ehrlichiosis_(canine)

[cliveshep]

We got an animal export certificate from DEFRA in the UK - you have to get it from them and they need time to post it. We had some confusion over this with our vet in the UK as we had assumed they did it, we also got the dog a EU Pet Passport - not necessary actually. The DEFRA certificate was still not in our possession the day before we flew out, I called them in a panic, and they said "fine- we'll do it over the next hour and not the next 3 days as normal, can you come and collect it?"

"Sure" says I, "where are you?"

"Carlisle"

"Oh 'ordure', we are in Sandhurst, Berkshire!"

"Get a courier to collect it".

So £350 later a man with a van drives to the Hampshire Surrey Berkshire border from Carlisle and delivers it at 8.30pm that night. Next morning we flew out, the dog travelled as excess baggage, and we flew EVA because they look after the dog.

In Thailand collected dog, got collared by Customs, sent to Quarrantine station, filled form, paid fee, got the import permit, paid customs, walked out with dog! We never did have an import permit before we flew, but the DEFRA form and the Pet Passport had innoculation details for the animal. Bringing the dog cost more than bringing my wife and I combined!

We have a cocker spaniel, but bought the IATA approved LARGE crate - doberman etc sized to give her lots of space. Anyone needing an IATA large crate pm me and we'll sell it!

Edited April 25, 2016 by cliveshep

[laurad3]

Hi all, I'm trying to obtain an import permit for my dog as we are relocating to chiang mai next month and bringing her with us. I've tried literally every phone number and email address I could find online to get in touch with the quarantine station, and have sent them my details several times but had no response. Anyone have any advice or a similar experience? Do we need to have the import permit before we arrive? Thanks in advance.

[MissIndy]

This is the email address that I communicated [email protected].

Sometimes I had to send an email twice to get a response.

I had a major problem on arrival because the health certificate I had was from my local vet, and it should have been from a Government vet. I had read lots online about how lax the officials at the airport are, and how you can wander through the green channel with a pet, but I found the opposite. Horrible experience.....

I brought my 7kg dog as excess luggage. Emirates were thorough prior to travel, but the check in staff (Larnaca, Cyprus) were very casual - even asking if I'd sedated him! I attached a funnel to the cage so he could be given water en route, but I'm sure he wasn't.

Trisha

[laurad3]

Thanks for the replies both of you. Trisha what do you mean a government vet? If they are a uk registered vet then is this acceptable? I've not heard anyone else have any problems with the vet they used or seen this mentioned.

[MissIndy]

Where I lived (Paphos, Cyprus) there was a "Government Vet". I was only aware of it as the office you contacted if you wanted to report animals being mistreated. I had my dog vaccinated etc at the vet I'd always used, and got the medical cert from them.

On arrival at BKK, after collecting my luggage, I went to the "oversized baggage" area where my dog was waiting and then headed towards the exit. I was redirected to the Quarantine Office by a couple of officials on segways.

I had all the documents I needed. The problem was that the medical cert was not issued by the "Government" vet, and it was a major problem.

It seems that there are 560 Government Vets in the UK....

https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/civil-service-government-veterinary-surgeons/about

Trisha

Edited July 20, 2016 by MissIndy

[cusanus]

YES, you do need the import permit in advance by 15+ days. This link should straighten it all out, because this forum is quite unclear. I had trouble getting it right myself. Here's what you have to do: 

http://thaiembdc.org/bringing-pets-into-thailand/