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Bringing a dog from Thailand to the United Kingdom

Yes — but plan on about 4 months. Thailand does not appear on Great Britain's list of 'listed' countries, so a dog from Thailand is treated as coming from a not-listed country: on top of a microchip and rabies vaccination it needs a rabies blood test at an EU-approved laboratory and a full 3-month wait from the day the blood sample was taken, then a Great Britain pet health certificate and — for dogs — a tapeworm treatment 24–120 hours before arrival. There is no quarantine if every step is right; get one wrong and quarantine can run to 4 months at your expense.

~4 months

Start preparing

30 days to the blood sample + 3-month wait

3 months

Wait after blood test

Counted from the sample date, not the result

24–120 hours

Tapeworm window

Dogs only, timed to arrival in Great Britain

10 days

Certificate window

Enter within 10 days of the certificate being issued

Step-by-step checklist

Requirements — Dog · Thailand → the United Kingdom
Step	What to do	When
Check the breed first	You cannot bring a banned type of dog into Great Britain unless it already has a valid Certificate of Exemption. The banned types are the Pit Bull Terrier, Japanese Tosa, Dogo Argentino, Fila Brasileiro and XL Bully — and 'type' is judged by appearance, not by pedigree papers.	Before anything else
Microchip	Your dog must be microchipped before, or at the same time as, its rabies vaccination — a vaccination given before the chip does not count and must be repeated. The chip must meet ISO 11784/11785 or you travel with your own reader; a chip that cannot be read on arrival means refusal or quarantine, and the whole preparation starts again.	Before vaccination
Rabies vaccination	Vaccinate at 12 weeks of age or older with an inactivated or recombinant vaccine approved in the country of use. You must wait at least 21 full days after the first vaccination before travel — but on this route the blood-test wait runs far longer, so vaccinate as early as you can.	Day 0 of the clock
Rabies blood test	Because Thailand is not a listed country, a blood sample must be taken at least 30 days after the rabies vaccination and sent to an EU-approved blood testing laboratory. The result must show a rabies antibody level of at least 0.5 IU/ml. The vet records the sample date on the Great Britain pet health certificate, and the result stays valid while rabies vaccinations are kept up to date.	≥30 days after vaccination
Wait 3 months	You must wait 3 months from the date the blood sample was taken before your dog can enter Great Britain. There is no way to shorten this wait for a pet vaccinated and tested in Thailand.	3 months from sampling
Thai export inspection (DLD AQS)	Bring your dog, your passport and the originals plus copies of the microchip certificate, vaccination record and titer report to the Animal Quarantine Station at your departure airport (for most flights, Suvarnabhumi) 1–5 business days before departure, no appointment needed. The station examines the dog and issues the export permit and the endorsed certificate paperwork. Station fee: 250 THB per pet plus 10 THB per shipment, cash only; allow 2–3 hours.	1–5 business days before departure
Great Britain pet health certificate	The document a dog from Thailand travels on. It must be signed, stamped and dated by an official veterinarian with authority from their government to issue it, and your dog must enter Great Britain within 10 days of the certificate being issued. You also sign a declaration that the dog is not for sale or transfer of ownership.	Final 10 days
Tapeworm treatment (dogs only)	A vet must treat your dog with a product containing praziquantel (or an equivalent effective against Echinococcus multilocularis), no less than 24 hours and no more than 120 hours (5 days) before you arrive in Great Britain, and record the product name, date and time, with stamp and signature, on the health certificate.	24–120 hours before entry
Approved route & carrier	You must enter on an approved route with an approved company. On a plane, pets travel as cargo unless they are recognised assistance dogs or you charter a private plane.	Booking stage

Your preparation timeline

1~4 months out — Microchip, then rabies vaccination
2~3.5 months out — Blood sample (≥30 days after vaccination) to an EU-approved laboratory
3Months 1–3 — The 3-month wait runs from the sample date
4Final 10 days — Great Britain pet health certificate issued; DLD AQS export inspection in the final 1–5 business days
5Final 24–120 hours — Tapeworm treatment, recorded on the certificate
6Arrival — Chip and document check — compliant dogs go straight home

The mistake that causes trouble on this route: Counting the 3 months from the wrong date. The wait runs from the day the blood sample was taken — not from the vaccination, not from when the lab result arrives. Arrive at 2 months and 29 days and the paperwork fails, with quarantine of up to 4 months at your expense as the consequence. Watch the tapeworm window too: it is counted to your arrival in Great Britain, so a long layover can push a treatment given '5 days before' out of range.

Costs you can plan for

GOV.UK publishes no government fee for the Great Britain pet health certificate — your costs are your vet's charges, the EU-approved laboratory's blood-test fee (not published by GOV.UK), and air cargo on an approved route. On the Thai side, the Suvarnabhumi Animal Quarantine Station charges 250 THB per pet plus 10 THB per shipment (cash only) for the export inspection, health certificate and export permit. The expensive scenario on this route is failure, not paperwork: quarantine for up to 4 months is at your expense.

✈️ Government rules are only half the trip. Airlines set their own pet carriage rules (crate size, breed limits, seasonal embargoes). Re-confirm carriage with your airline after you meet the rules above.

Questions people ask about this route

Are any dog breeds banned in the United Kingdom?

Yes. It is illegal to own Pit Bull Terrier, Japanese Tosa, Dogo Argentino, Fila Brasileiro and XL Bully types, and you cannot bring a banned type into Great Britain unless it already has a valid Certificate of Exemption. Whether a dog is a banned type depends on what it looks like, rather than its breed name or papers.

Why does my dog need a blood test when dogs from the US do not?

Great Britain sorts countries into 'listed' and 'not listed'. The US is listed, so no blood test applies. Thailand does not appear in GOV.UK's listed-country table, so the not-listed rules apply: blood test plus a 3-month wait from the sample date.

Can my dog fly in the cabin to the UK?

No. On approved routes pets travel as cargo on planes, unless they are recognised assistance dogs or you use a chartered private plane.

What happens if the paperwork is wrong?

Your pet can be put into quarantine for up to 4 months at your expense, or refused entry if it arrived by sea. The certificate dates, the blood-test dates and the tapeworm timing are the three things to check twice.

Related guides

✓ Last verified: 2026-11-12

Official sources for this page

We check each rule against the exporting country's official page and the destination country's official page. If the two disagree, we show the disagreement instead of guessing.

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