How to take a dog or cat to Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, China, Japan and Bali: the rules for each country, documents, quarantine and the unexpected ban on direct import of animals to Bali.
Here is a scene that repeats in expat chats and on forums every week: a person has already bought a ticket, rented an apartment, arranged a job — and only then, a month before the flight, learns that their dog actually cannot be brought to where they are flying. Not “difficult”, not “expensive”, but literally cannot — a plane with a pet on board simply will not be released from the destination airport. Asia is not a single space with the same rules for everyone: what is easy in Thailand is categorically forbidden in Bali, and what seems a formality in Vietnam turns in Japan into a preparation lasting almost a year. We go through each country separately, honestly and without rose-tinted glasses.
First — what is the same almost everywhere
Before going through country after country, let’s deal with the flight itself — because here the rules are set not only by the destination but also by the airline. Most carriers divide animals into two categories: small ones (usually up to 8–10 kg together with the carrier), which can be taken into the cabin under the seat, and all the others, who fly in a heated and ventilated cargo hold. The carrier must meet IATA standards — rigid or semi-rigid, with ventilation around the perimeter, with a sum of dimensions usually no more than 115 cm. The cost of carriage on international flights is from 3,500 to 13,500 ₽, and it is not a single variable: the price depends on the airline, the destination and the animal’s weight, so clarify at the booking stage, not at the moment of check-in.
An important detail that is often forgotten: a dog and a cat cannot be carried in the same cabin at the same time if they are different passengers with different pets — airlines forbid such combinations. And another thing: each carrier has its own separate quota for the number of animals in the cabin of one flight, so book a place for your pet in advance, and don’t count on it “somehow working out” at the airport.
Thailand: the most welcoming option in our selection
Let’s start with the good news. Thailand is relatively simple: you need to send, 7 days before the trip (but no later), an application for an import permit by email to the Thai veterinary service, and on arrival go to the airport quarantine station (AQS), present the documents and pay the fee. A dog needs a rabies vaccination made at least 30 days before the trip, but no more than 12 months before — so the window is quite workable if you plan the trip not at the last moment. For a cat an international veterinary certificate is additionally needed. There is no long quarantine by default — which is why Thailand remains the most frequent choice of those moving to Asia for the first time and bringing a pet with them.
Vietnam: simple, but with a weight limit
Vietnamese airlines (including Vietnam Airlines) accept dogs and cats older than 10 weeks for carriage, but with a strict restriction: the animal’s total weight together with the carrier must not exceed 6 kg — this cuts large and medium breeds off from cabin carriage and forces them to fly as cargo, with the corresponding requirements for the carrier and temperature regime. The procedure for entering Vietnam itself in terms of documents is closer to the Thai one than the Japanese, but the specific details of quarantine and additional certificates are better checked in current sources directly before the trip — the rules here are updated more often than one would like, and relying on last year’s instruction from a forum is risky.
Bali (Indonesia): yes, you really cannot go there directly
And here begins the most interesting part — and the most unpleasant for those who learn about it too late. In 2008 a severe rabies outbreak occurred in Bali, affecting both animals and people (according to local media, the count of infections ran to tens of thousands of cases). In response the province’s authorities introduced strict control over animal movement — and since then direct import of dogs and cats to Denpasar airport has been officially banned: Bali is considered a “rabies-free zone”, and its status is protected in precisely such a radical way.
That does not mean that bringing a pet to Bali is physically impossible — but the path is noticeably longer than “bought a ticket and flew”. The standard scheme: the pet is imported into Indonesia through Jakarta (or another permitted port of entry on the “mainland” part of the country), undergoes quarantine there of 7 to 14 days depending on the epidemiological status of the country of departure, an Indonesian Ministry of Agriculture permit is arranged — and only after that do specialized pet transport companies organize overland and ferry transportation from Java to Bali. You need an international-standard vet passport, an ISO 11784/11785 standard microchip, a rabies vaccination certificate, a fresh health certificate, an export permit from Rosselkhoznadzor and a notarized translation of the documents into English and Indonesian. The process takes weeks, costs noticeable money for intermediary services — and that is exactly why almost no one does it independently, and instead turns to specialized pet relocation agencies, which guide the client from the first document to the final ferry crossing.
A separate warning without embellishment: an attempt to get around the rules and bring an animal to Bali bypassing the procedure can end with confiscation of the pet up to euthanasia, fines and an entry ban for the owner. This is not a case where it is worth taking risks to save time.
China: long, but predictable
Only dogs and cats are allowed into China — no exotic companions. A microchip is mandatory (the ISO 11784/11785 standard), vaccination against rabies too, and for animals from countries not free of rabies (Russia is among them) an antibody test is additionally needed. Quarantine, if required, lasts up to 30 days, and entry with a pet is allowed only through a limited list of checkpoints with specially equipped quarantine facilities — among them the airports of Beijing, Guangzhou, Shanghai and Xinjiang, as well as Shanghai’s railway station and international cruise terminal. The practical conclusion: if you are flying to China with an animal, check in advance that the airport of your flight accepts pets at all — otherwise you will have to rebuild the whole route.
Japan: a marathon, not a sprint
If Bali is the most unexpected destination in this selection, then Japan is the most drawn-out. A dog must be no younger than ten months at the time of import. The order of actions: microchip installation → rabies vaccination → a repeat vaccination after 30 days → a rabies antibody titer test at a certified laboratory (in Russia one is done in Moscow) → and only after a successful test does the mandatory waiting period begin, which under the standard scheme is 180 days. It is precisely these six months that catch off guard those who plan a move to Japan “in a couple of months” — with an animal this period is realistic only if you prepare in advance, even before the exact date of the move is determined.
There is also a shortened option: if the animal is imported from a region officially free of rabies and can be unambiguously identified by a microchip registered in the export certificate, the waiting period is reduced to 12 hours — but this option is rarely applicable to owners leaving Russia, where the country’s rabies status does not fall under the preferential category. Separately, you must notify the arrival airport no later than 40 days before the flight by filling in a form from the specific airport’s website. The penalty for trying to import an animal without the necessary documents is severe: the pet is either sent back at the carrier’s expense or placed in quarantine for up to 180 days — with the cost of keeping it borne by the owner.
Cambodia: an underrated simple option
Against the background of the Japanese epic, Cambodia looks almost frivolously simple. You need: a rabies vaccination 30 days to 1 year before the trip, a full veterinary set (distemper, hepatitis, parvovirus), an ISO microchip, a veterinary health certificate issued no more than 10 days before departure, a copy of the owner’s passport and a photo of the owner with the pet, and an import permit from Cambodia’s Ministry of Agriculture. There is no long mandatory quarantine in standard practice, and entry with an animal is possible through the international airports of Phnom Penh or Siem Reap. If you compare our whole six countries by the ratio of “simple and homely”, Cambodia is a real dark horse.
A checklist: how to prepare without losing half a year of life
- Start 6–8 months before the intended date if you are going to Japan — otherwise you may simply not manage to go through the whole chain of tests and waiting.
- Check the current rules on the official sources of the country of entry and on the Rosselkhoznadzor website, not by year-old social media posts — regulations change, and a difference of a few days in vaccination can shift everything.
- Check the microchip in advance: it must be installed and read BEFORE the rabies vaccination that is “written” to it — the reverse order makes all subsequent documentation invalid practically everywhere.
- For Bali, budget for a pet relocation agency — passing the Jakarta quarantine and organizing the ferry transport on your own is theoretically possible, but in practice almost no one does it alone.
- Check the airline’s quota for animals in the cabin of the flight and book a place for your pet separately as soon as you decide on the departure date.
- Bring paper copies of all documents, even if the originals are electronic — not everywhere at the border is it possible to quickly print something on the spot.
FAQ
Is it true that you cannot bring a dog to Bali at all? You can, but not directly: direct import into Denpasar airport is prohibited, the pet must first get into Indonesia through Jakarta, go through quarantine there, and only then is it transported to Bali by land and ferry — usually with the help of a specialized agency.
Into which of the six countries is it easiest to bring an animal? By the sum of requirements — Thailand and Cambodia: relatively short preparation times, no long mandatory quarantine if the vaccination schedule is observed.
How much does carrying an animal on an international flight really cost? The ticket for the pet itself on international flights usually comes to 3,500–13,500 ₽ — plus separate expenses for tests, microchipping, certificates and, for difficult destinations like Bali, the services of intermediary pet relocation agencies.
What happens if the veterinary documents are not in order on arrival? At best — quarantine on the spot at the owner’s expense, at worst — refusal of entry and return of the animal to the country of departure at the carrier’s expense. The difference in rules between countries is precisely why it matters so much: what gets away in one country can turn into serious problems in another.
Does an animal need a visa of its own? No, a visa is arranged only for the person; for the animal a separate package of veterinary documents is needed and, where required, an import permit from the relevant ministry of the country of entry.
The rules for importing animals change periodically — before your trip be sure to check the current requirements of Rosselkhoznadzor and the embassy/consulate of the destination country.
