Moving with your Pets
- By letgothailandexpatdemo
One concern that is always front of mind with anyone who owns pets, especially younger generations who may call their pets ‘fur babies’, is how to safely and securely transport their beloved animals to Thailand. While the process may be daunting at first, this section helps to explain the steps involved, and offer another tried and true process to ensure the smoothest and least stressful relocation possible.
If you are relocating your dog(s), cat(s) etc. from the U.S., the process is quite straight forward. The most important thing to note about this process is that international travel with pets, while it may be new to you, is not new to flight carriers and their staff, nor is it new to export or import officials. If you follow the correct steps, and have your pet’s paperwork in order, you should not need to worry. A few important things to note:
You will need a USDA Export Certificate from a USDA Certified Veterinarian issued no more than 10 days prior to the animal’s arrival in their destination country. This may sound easy, but some forward planning will be necessary due to weekends, travel time, time zone hours lost in transit, and any potential delays in transit. For example, a pet departing Thursday for a Saturday arrival in Bangkok from the U.S., would want to have its inspection at a Veterinarian no later than the preceeding Thursday or Friday in the U.S. Why is that? Simply put, it will take the USDA up to 48 hours to approve the export permit, assuming there are no issues. The USDA requires the owner/Vet to provide an online shipping label to return the physical documents back to the owner (via UPS or FEDEX), and an overnight envelope is preferred to minimize delays.
- Example. If the anticipated travel date of the animal is July 11th, with arrival in Bangkok on July 13th, the USDA Veterinarian appointment should be Thursday July 4th, or Friday July 5th. This allows sufficient time to have the appointment, have the Veterinarian submit the required paperwork electronically to the USDA Export office along with the scanned pre-paid return envelope, and allow sufficient time for it to return (in this case, likely Tuesday July 9th) in anticipation of travel.
You should have all of the pet’s vaccines that are required for the relocation to Thailand performed at least 21 days prior to the USDA Export Permit Veterinarian appointment. You do not have to have the vaccinations performed at the same Vet Clinic you are using for the Export Permit (in other words, you can use a non-USDA Veterinarian for the vaccines), but the USDA Certified Vet must be able to verify the vaccinations are the correct ones needed. The list of vaccinations required may change in the future, but at the time of writing the required vaccinations for dogs, for example, are:
- Rabies (1-Year Vaccine, although the 3-Year and 1-Year are the same Vaccine)
- Rabies Negative Test
- DHLPP Annual Vaccine
- Bordetella Annual Intranasal Vaccine
- Heartworm Test 4DX
- ProHeart 12 Injection
In addition to the above-mentioned vaccines, which your USDA Export Vet can provide you with, you must also have a ‘Chip’ installed in each of your pets so they can be identified should they ever go stray. The most popular and accepted is the HomeAgain chip, which can be read with a handheld scanner at the Thailand Department of Livestock office at Suvarnabhumi Airport (BKK) airport, and is widely available at most Vets in the U.S. You will want to take a photo copy of the ID Card, and include it with your vaccination and export permit paperwork to travel with the pet, and also have the physical HomeAgain ID card with you when you travel. Separately, it is recommended to have three total copies copies of the complete records with you, one to give to the departing airline at check in, one to attach to the animal’s crate, and one original copy of all paperwork including Export Permit with wet ink signature from the USDA on your person to give to the Thailand Department of Livestock inspector at arrival.
If you do the above-mentioned steps, your pet will be ready to travel out of the U.S., on its way to Thailand. However, you must also remember one additional important step.
In order for your pet to be cleared through Thailand’s Immigration and the Department of Livestock approval to enter the Country, you need to partner with a Thai provider of service for the pet to obtain an Import Permit. The best tried and true partner is Boonma Moving Services, specifically their pet relocation service. They will work directly with you to obtain the required documents that you have already obtained in the U.S. from the Veterinarian, and work directly with the Department of Livestock to obtain the Import Permit on your behalf. The fee for this is very reasonable, so there is no reason to go it alone, and risk your animal being quarantined unnecessarily. Boonma can also assist in providing logistics for your animal’s travel, such as having a shampoo service for after they arrive, and physical transportation from the airport to you home in Thailand.
That brings us to the next major decision; should you travel with your pet on the airline (either in the cabin or in the ‘luggage’ hold), or send them separately either ahead or behind you via cargo on a dedicated cargo flight for animals? There are many aspects to consider here, but your options will depend on your departure/origination location, the routes and carriers involved as a result, and your budget.
This may sound daunting at first, leaving your pet to travel without you for 24+ hours, in the hands of strangers who promise they will do their best to ensure your loved one’s wellbeing. However, there are only a few carriers who do this service, and they are good at it. Think about all the race horses worth millions of dollars, this is how they travel to races across the globe. Two major international carriers to excel at this are Lufthansa and Turkish Airlines. Boonma Pet Relocation services will provide you with a cargo quote based on your route and they can quote any cargo airline, but you will find that Lufthansa and Turkish Airlines run most routes from the U.S. to Thailand. One thing to note if flying Lufthansa; any animal now entering the EU (even just changing planes or re-fueling) are required to have two USDA Export permits. This is because the EU has placed import laws stating that any animal traveling through the EU is the same as an animal permanently residing in the EU. However, if you fly the pet via Turkish, it is likely to change planes in Istanbul (IST), which is not within the EU, thus requiring only the one USDA Export Permit. The price generally for Cargo is quite expensive, from Texas to Bangkok, you can expect a bill of at least $3,500 per pet to ship them Cargo.
This option is the preferred option after going through the process. Not only is it cheaper at around $1,500 per pet, but you get to accompany your pet the whole journey which can give you peace of mind if there are delays, hold ups, etc. If your pet is under the weight threshold for bringing the pet inside the plane, and the carrier allows it, this is the preferred method. If your pet is a medium or larger sized pet, say, 20+KG (40lbs or so), this will not be an option. In this case you will contact the airline and ask if the pet can fly in a IATA-certified container/crate and be put in the planes excess baggage compartment. Please note that this is not always what it seems. For example, Turkish Airlines has one spot per plane, per flight, for an IATA-certified crate to contain an animal. Not only is this spot walled off from the rest of the luggage, it is pressurized, air conditioned, and the Pilot and Co-Pilot watch the conditions of the compartment in-flight with gauges just as they do the passenger compartment. The compartment also has emergency access by the flight crew in-flight should there be a sudden drop in pressure, oxygen, etc. Another thing to note, at the time of this writing, American Airlines is only allowing passengers to travel internationally with their pets if they have standing Department of Defense or State Department orders. If your route includes this carrier, you can skip it and look at others. If your route offers it, it is recommended to start with Turkish Airlines, as they are experienced with flying pets, and almost every international flight has a pet onboard as these spaces are in high demand for obvious reasons. The staff are all well trained both at check-in, in-flight, and at IST where the pet will no doubt have a few hours layover (as will you) during their travel. You can go to the Turkish Airlines customer service kiosk in IST and check in on the pet as often as you like, and they will send you photos, and make sure they have ample water and food (always good to attach a small Ziploc of food to the top of the IATA-certified crate for them to feed the pet during the layover).
Other general notes are to make sure the crate you purchase is well reviewed and approved by IATA. Many crates will come with plastic fasteners to secure the top lid to the bottom lid; you can swap these out for metal fasteners from the hardware store if you are uncomfortable with plastic fasteners. One brand that is recommended is PetMate Sky Kennel, a 40 Inch version is available for approximately $200 on Amazon at time of writing. You will also want to add a large water bottle, such as Septillar Pet Water bottle, which is also available on Amazon for $20 for a 24oz version. I would recommend travelling with a spare water bottle in case it gets damaged in flight, so the airline staff at the transfer airport can swap it out if needed. Some pets will want to chew on the water drain nozzle, and if it gets damaged, water may leak out inside the crate on to the floor. You can also provide a small blanket, and it is required to put a urination absorbing mat inside the crate to absorb any pee your pet may dispense during transit.
Once you and your pet arrive at BKK airport, the process is straightforward. You go through Immigration yourself as you normally would, turn left to go to the excess baggage area, let the Thai staff know that you are travelling with a pet and your flight number, and ask them to assist you in grabbing your bags off the carousel while the pet is brought to the excess baggage area. Once you collect your bags, the Thai airport staff will bring you back over to excess baggage to collect your pet, and you will put them on an airport luggage cart and wheel them over to the Department of Livestock Inspection office, pay a small 500-600THB fee (good to have some Thai Baht cash in hand before you land) and they will review your paperwork and inspect the HomeAgain chip for verification. You will then you will be escorted over to the Import Permit office where you will pay a one-time 2,000 THB fee (again, good to have some Thai Baht cash in hand), and you are on your way. This whole process might take 30 minutes. A small tip to your airport staff assistant who helps you will be most appreciated, and well worth your money as you won’t be able to push two baggage carts and keep your (understandably) excited pet well behaved during this leg of the journey. You will then exit the airport normally and get in to your transportation to head home with your pet. It is recommended that you arrange ground transportation in advance through Boonma Pet Relocation services, so they are waiting for you once you are through this process and don’t have any delays, or are left looking for transportation that will accept you and your pet. The fee for Boonma to arrange this airport ground transportation is relatively small (under $100 USD) for anywhere in Bangkok. After a 24 hour journey, you and your pet will appreciate the convenience and friendliness of their service offering.
Finally, it is recommended that you begin the process of Pet logistics and vaccination planning as soon as you know your target date for moving to Thailand. You should aim to book your and your pet’s travel 90 days before the travel date to get the best pricing and the most available options.