Bringing pets to Thailand from USA when moving...

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2000VIPERGTS
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Bringing pets to Thailand from USA when moving...

Post by 2000VIPERGTS » January 28, 2011, 1:45 am

Hi all! I am Gary and in New Jersey engaged to a Thai woman. We have a K-1 Visa in progress to get her to the USA, but we are considering moving to Thailand permanently at this time in case of any problem getting her the visa or if we want to later. I have 4 cats that I love and I would never leave without them. So she would be a Thai citizen and me as a US citizen and anyhow is it possible to bring pets into Thailand with a change of residence? If so, any cost or issues from personal experience? I would hate to do the quarantine process and would even be willing to circumvent this somehow with a token of my appreciation if need be, but anyhow all ears. Thanks for the forum too, I am happy to learn and getting ready for my third trip to Thailand soon and will be in Namson for part of this visit.

Best,

Gary



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Re: Bringing pets to Thailand from USA when moving...

Post by Zidane » January 28, 2011, 11:05 am

Yes,you can bring pets from USA to Thailand but you need to get an Animal Import Certificate from Thai Customs before you can do this,so you would need to get a friend in Thailand to obtain this and mail it to you in New Jersey before your journey.
A Vet will have to ensure that all their injections are up to date and give you a Certificate of Good Health for each animal dated the day before you travel.
A good airline for taking pets used to be Eva Air.They had a good reputation for taking care of the pets in what is a very long journey in the cargo hold.
But the best people to advise you are your local Royal Thai Consulate in the USA.I'm presuming you have one in New York so maybe a phone call or even a visit will ensure everything runs smoothly for you.
Good Luck.

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Re: Bringing pets to Thailand from USA when moving...

Post by jimboLV » January 28, 2011, 12:36 pm

Hello Gary, I brought my dog with me when I moved here from the US two years ago. No Need to circumvent the system if you follow the rules. Here are the rules: (click on "Rules and Regulations" at the top of the page.)

http://moacdc.thaiembdc.org/

The quarantine requirement looks scary, but if you have the proper paperwork you just write on the form "quarantine at residence" and put the address where you will be staying.

You don't need any paperwork from Thailand. The health certificate you get from your vet in the US certifying that they have the required shots and are in good health. But your vet has to send this certificate the the US Dept. of agriculture to get it approved. They send it back with a raised seal. (This is important, the Thais like raised seals.) Your vet should know how to do this, if not, find another vet. Note that some of the shots have to be given at least 21 days before departure.

The Animal Import Application form is on the site I mentioned above. I filled this out at the Agriculture Inspector's office at the airport.

When you arrive at Swampy you collect your kitties from baggage claim and take them, still in their cages, to the agriculture Inspector who is located somewhere near the baggage area. He will look over the paperwork and stamp it and you're good to go. I think he's supposed to look at the animal, but he didn't even do this for mine. Ironically when I went through Customs they just waved me through, didn't even look at the paperwork.

As always in Thailand, your results may vary. It would be good to hear from someone who has done this more recently, and you might check with the Embassy to be sure that things haven't changed. I know my Vet had to call to clarify the shots as one of them was not clear in the terminology.

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Re: Bringing pets to Thailand from USA when moving...

Post by kopkei » January 28, 2011, 12:40 pm

well, i did bring my 2 dogs from europe , only thing i needed was a vet report from my own country stating the animals are healthy and have all the vaccinations needed , ( rabies ) , when i arrived in thailand you must check with animal control they told ( it is on the airport ) when we did arrive nobody was there to check and we where able to take them without any problem ,so it is not so complicated as zidane says but maybe things changed ...,i have a friend from germany who always takes his cat here on vacation ,but maybe europe or america different rules.. if it is not urgent i will give him a call and update later.......

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Re: Bringing pets to Thailand from USA when moving...

Post by jackspratt » January 28, 2011, 12:53 pm

kopkei wrote:..........i have a friend from germany who always takes his cat here on vacation ,..........
Taking tea to China springs to mind. :D

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Re: Bringing pets to Thailand from USA when moving...

Post by 2000VIPERGTS » January 28, 2011, 10:40 pm

Thank you very much folks-I sincerely appreciate it and this essentially encapsulates what I was seeking when I posted. At least I know there is a solution should we decide to move to Udon area for my little critters and it seems relatively easy to do. I'm learning a lot on here as well as studying Thai at home now and then, so I look forward to contributing to this forum and thanks again. Gary

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Re: Bringing pets to Thailand from USA when moving...

Post by Philrjones » January 29, 2011, 8:22 am

Hi,

Here is a message I just posted on topic "importing a car/insurance". It's really about importing my dog. You can sort all the paperwork out beforhand, but picking up from customs can be tricky!

"Well I wouldn't import an old car for all the reasons stated by previous posters. Plus you run the risk of being ripped off at customs when you go to collect it.Yes a 2nd hand car will cost more here, but there some really good ones for sale. We picked up a nearly new (12,000kms) Honda Jazz for around 500,000 baht, 12 months old, still under warranty from a terrific dealer. Even been back to the same garage where they fixed a couple of minor problems at no charge.

I've never imported a vehicle and wouldn't, but when I imported my dog (and being new to the import side of things), I was really ripped off at customs. They looked through the paperwork for the most expensive itme they could find, then based a tax on that. They asked how much the dog cost to buy, which was $200 (about 6,000 baht). Then they saw a much higher figure on the papers - around $1000 - and asked what that was. I said that was the cost for getting him here - initial kennel costs in Melbourne, flights, crates etc. They based their "tax" on that!

Needless to say I wasn't pleased and refused to pay. TW was with me, but it didn't help. I eventually had to pay about 18,000 baht before they would release him. Yes, a 60% tax which was based on the cost of me bringing him here! Damn rip off merchants.Goodness knows what paperwork and hoops you will have to jump through for a car. And the cost!

Don't forget, once you are here and the car is here, you are at the mercy of customs. If they find a way to extract another 100,000 baht from you, they will. Then you're stuck as you have no options but to pay and they are well aware of that."

Cheers
Phil

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Re: Bringing pets to Thailand from USA when moving...

Post by 2000VIPERGTS » January 29, 2011, 11:50 am

Thanks Phil and even $1M Baht for my cats I would pay for them in a heartbeat. Of course I would never tell customs that, but anyhow I appreciate the post on this. I am even going to leave my cars behind here becuase of tax-I could see me paying $62 Million Baht in taxes on cars or something crazy.... Gee, that is a supercharger on there, and rims and GOD knows what else being shaken down for this and that nonsense.

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Re: Bringing pets to Thailand from USA when moving...

Post by kopkei » January 29, 2011, 3:22 pm

what all ridiculous talking , comparing bringing pets or a car to thailand , bringing pets nothing to do with customs, like a car or what ever), as i told before , when i brought my 2 dogs ,it was very easy , i have the vet paper declaring all needed vaccinations for thailand ( your vet will have the list what required for thailand) , you need to buy the small plastic cages ,
( about 1200 bath/piece) , and for the airliner you will pay for the cats a price same as overweight luggage, ( including the cage) ,of course you must book your cats tickets same your tickets, overweight that time was only 500bath / kilo,better you also mention with check-in , your cats get sedative all ready, sometimes they get one in holding area after your check-in , so they not get OD :D , when arriving bangkok , customs are not keeping your cats , they will come up together with your suitcase ...., if needed report to animal control, but in my case and a friends case , it was an easy walk out..do not make things more difficult than they are
but as i have said before maybe things have changed now....
anyway good luck in bringing them.....

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Re: Bringing pets to Thailand from USA when moving...

Post by Philrjones » January 29, 2011, 4:35 pm

Kopkie completely misses the point and fails to read the post properly.

Anyway, I forgot to mention that I also brought a cat with me at the same time as the dog. The cat was much less hassle. Just interested in the dog. As long as the paperwork is all done, should be no probs. But bring extra baht just in case!

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Re: Bringing pets to Thailand from USA when moving...

Post by grozza » January 29, 2011, 8:32 pm

http://www.dld.go.th/webenglish/movec1.html

i was reading somewhere that certain dogs are not allowed into thailand cant seem to find though,ie pitbulls staffys.

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Re: Bringing pets to Thailand from USA when moving...

Post by jimboLV » January 29, 2011, 9:12 pm

That's true Groz. It's on the link I posted earlier.
Pit Bull Terrier, American Staffordshire Terrier and American Staffordshire Bull Terrier are prohibited for importation into the Kingdom of Thailand.


http://moacdc.thaiembdc.org/

What baffles me is that when I lived in Udon the neighbors on either side of me had identical dogs that looked to me like dead ringers for American Staffordshire Bull Terriers. But I guess they were Thai natives and not imported. :?

One of them was the sweetest dog you'd ever want to meet, played with the kids, etc. the other one...well they couldn't even park their car in the driveway as he ate their front bumper, ripped it clean off! Whenever I went outside he would look at me and growl and bare his teeth. Scary.

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Re: Bringing pets to Thailand from USA when moving...

Post by grozza » January 30, 2011, 2:50 pm

jimbo ive got a friend who has a pitbull and several friends who have staffys,and there all good dogs it goes back to the owners and how they bring them up.
we just got a staffy for the kids christmas present so i did a lot of research on them and there very friendly with people, with other dogs its a different story unless you socialise them early on with other dogs they will be aggressive towards other dogs,also if you want a staffy for to guard your house forget it they are not guard dogs.
i did read on thai visa that there a lot of pit bulls in thailand how they got them in is anyones guess maybe a bit of baht changed hands or took a punt and got lucky.
if there worried about dogs being vicious some of the thai dogs ive come across scared the hell out of me,theres two dogs in our estate in nong sung that roamed the streets chasing people and bailing them up,my daughter went to go and see her aunty up the street and was nearly attacked by one of them,it took a threat to the owners by our brother in law to keep them inside there premises,by the way this same family has 5 dogs and there block of land would be no bigger than 350 square metres,anyway thats my rant for the day.

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Re: Bringing pets to Thailand from USA when moving...

Post by chilli657 » January 31, 2011, 12:26 am

Ok, slight concern here..... We have a two year old staffy from the uk, uk bred etc. Are these also prohibited from entering los? I`ve tried to look on the thai/uk embassy website and found a form to download but it sais the file is corrupt! Any ideas as this will scupper any plans we have of moving!!

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Re: Bringing pets to Thailand from USA when moving...

Post by grozza » January 31, 2011, 9:09 am

chilli ive been looking on thai visa and there seems to be a lot of english have brought there english staffies over to los,now from what jimbo said it could be only amstaffs and pitbulls that are banned hope that helps you.

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Re: Bringing pets to Thailand from USA when moving...

Post by polehawk » January 31, 2011, 2:04 pm

2000VIPERGTS wrote:Hi all! I am Gary and in New Jersey engaged to a Thai woman. We have a K-1 Visa in progress to get her to the USA, but we are considering moving to Thailand permanently at this time in case of any problem getting her the visa or if we want to later. I have 4 cats that I love and I would never leave without them. So she would be a Thai citizen and me as a US citizen and anyhow is it possible to bring pets into Thailand with a change of residence? If so, any cost or issues from personal experience? I would hate to do the quarantine process and would even be willing to circumvent this somehow with a token of my appreciation if need be, but anyhow all ears. Thanks for the forum too, I am happy to learn and getting ready for my third trip to Thailand soon and will be in Namson for part of this visit.

Best,

Gary
Gary, we brought our two cats from Florida 4 years ago and it wasn't much of a hassle. Keep in mind most airlines only allow a maximum of two pets on board per flight. Our cats traveled in Sherpa pet carriers (google for where to buy) which met all size requirements and traveled on board with us as carry-on baggage because they fit underneath the seat in front of us. As mentioned by others you will need an international health certificate with up-to-date shots from your vet for the cats. Take the certificate to the nearest USDA office (leave the pets at home) and they will administer the required paperwork with seal.

Airlines. We took JetBlue from Ft Laud to JFK and I don't remember even having to show the paperwork to them. Back then, Thai Air had a direct flight from JFK to BKK, 17 hour flight, which was great but that flight has been discontinued. Thai Air's pet policies are considered more liberal than most so would suggest checking out their LA to BKK direct flight. Thai Air checks the health cert and USDA paperwork closely and there is an excess baggage charge which, for us, was around $400. Avoid any airline with a stopover in Hong Kong as I hear they are very strict with pets even passing through their airport. In Bangkok we walked through customs and were directed to the Animal Control office where the official glanced over the paperwork and charged around 100 baht per animal.

The cats survived the long flight with no problems. The day after we arrived in Udon they were chasing around the house, trying to catch lizards. Guess they figured they were still in Florida. :lol:

Good luck.

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Re: Bringing pets to Thailand from USA when moving...

Post by 2000VIPERGTS » January 31, 2011, 5:00 pm

polehawk wrote:Gary, we brought our two cats from Florida 4 years ago and it wasn't much of a hassle. Keep in mind most airlines only allow a maximum of two pets on board per flight. Our cats traveled in Sherpa pet carriers (google for where to buy) which met all size requirements and traveled on board with us as carry-on baggage because they fit underneath the seat in front of us. As mentioned by others you will need an international health certificate with up-to-date shots from your vet for the cats. Take the certificate to the nearest USDA office (leave the pets at home) and they will administer the required paperwork with seal.

Airlines. We took JetBlue from Ft Laud to JFK and I don't remember even having to show the paperwork to them. Back then, Thai Air had a direct flight from JFK to BKK, 17 hour flight, which was great but that flight has been discontinued. Thai Air's pet policies are considered more liberal than most so would suggest checking out their LA to BKK direct flight. Thai Air checks the health cert and USDA paperwork closely and there is an excess baggage charge which, for us, was around $400. Avoid any airline with a stopover in Hong Kong as I hear they are very strict with pets even passing through their airport. In Bangkok we walked through customs and were directed to the Animal Control office where the official glanced over the paperwork and charged around 100 baht per animal.

The cats survived the long flight with no problems. The day after we arrived in Udon they were chasing around the house, trying to catch lizards. Guess they figured they were still in Florida. :lol:

Good luck.
Leave it to the Jarhead to help the Squid-lol. Many thanks bro and glad to see some cat folks stepping up. I would get a person to get my other 2 so they are all together and fly them back if need be, or go to Cali first and use Thai direct to BKK. Then meet the Misses at BKK to UDON or drive up, but anyhow this is all good news. I want to go to Udon so bad now, but trying to hold off as flying each month is a lot of loot and takes me away from my business to boot. I think the airlines are running a racket on fares and would love to find last minute deals for $600 round trip or something like that-lol. The $1300-$1500 flights are brutal :shock:

Gary, USN 87-90

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Bringing pets to Thailand from USA when moving...

Post by frenchFARANGbkk » June 1, 2011, 6:24 pm

Hi,


So it's really that easy to bring a cat ? Just vaccination and letter from Veterinary stating that the pet is healthy when arriving at Bangkok airport ?

And can you bring the cat even when you have a tourist visa ?

And how much did you pay for the cat trip ? Is a cat allowed to travel in cabin ?




Thanks a lot.

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