Bringing Pets Home from Vietnam & Asia
A step-by-step guide to importing dogs and cats into South Africa from Vietnam, Thailand, and other Asian countries.
Dogs: quarantine applies
Vietnam and most Asian countries are not on South Africa's quarantine-exempt list, so dogs face a minimum 14-day quarantine on arrival.
Cats: no quarantine
Cats are not quarantined when arriving from any country, provided their import permit and health certificate are correct and original.
Cargo only
All pets must arrive in South Africa as manifested air cargo in an IATA-compliant crate — airlines do not allow in-cabin arrival.
Entry points
Dogs going into quarantine may only enter via O.R. Tambo (Johannesburg) or Cape Town International. Cats and non-quarantine pets may also use Durban.
Start 4–5 months ahead
Dogs now need a separate compliance permit before the import permit process can even begin — budget at least 16–20 weeks from Asia.
Importer pays all costs
Quarantine fees, vet fees, and airline handling are for the importer's account. Non-compliant pets can be quarantined, returned, or refused.
Why Imports from Asia Need Extra Care
South Africa maintains a list of countries whose dogs may skip quarantine when paperwork is in order. Vietnam, Thailand, China, India, Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, and most other Asian countries are not on that list — largely because rabies remains endemic in the region. That means the documentation must be flawless: a single error can turn a 14-day quarantine into a much longer stay, or see your pet returned to the country of origin at your expense.
Common origin countries we assist with:
Note: There are no direct passenger flights from Vietnam to South Africa. Pets typically route via hubs such as Singapore, Doha, Dubai, or Hong Kong. South African regulations limit transit time, and layovers should be short and avoid changing airlines — routing must be planned carefully before anything is booked.
The Import Process, Step by Step
All steps must be completed in the country of origin, in this order. The microchip must always come first — every document that follows must carry the chip number. Dogs have two extra steps cats don't: a compliance permit before anything else can start, and a five-disease blood panel.
Microchip
Do this first, right at the start of your timeline (around 18–20 weeks before travel). Your pet needs a 15-digit ISO 11784/11785-compliant microchip, implanted before the rabies vaccination. The chip number must appear on every document in the pet's file. If the existing chip is not ISO-compliant, you'll need to supply a scanner that can read it.
Animal Improvement Compliance Permit — dogs only
Start immediately, alongside the microchip (~18–20 weeks out). New requirement since 1 April 2024: before anything else, dogs need a separate Animal Improvement Compliance Permit, issued by the Registrar of Animal Improvement, confirming compliance with the Animal Improvement Act. Processing takes around 30 working days, and the Veterinary Import Permit application (step 5 below) cannot even be submitted until this one is granted — so this is the step that sets your earliest possible travel date. One permit can cover up to five dogs travelling together. Confirm current requirements directly with the Registrar, as this is a recent change and details can be refined further.
Rabies Vaccination
Aim for around 14–16 weeks before travel — comfortably inside the legal window but with margin if anything needs redoing. Proof of a current rabies vaccination administered between 30 days and 12 months before entry. South Africa does not accept three-year rabies vaccines — if your pet is on a 3-year schedule, a fresh vaccination will be needed. The vet must record the chip number on the certificate or vaccination booklet, sign, and stamp.
Blood Tests — dogs only
Draw bloods within 30 days of your travel date — but book the lab slot as soon as the rabies vaccination is done, since results (especially Trypanosoma evansi, tested abroad) can take time to come back. All dogs must test negative for five diseases: Brucella canis, Trypanosoma evansi, Babesia gibsoni, Dirofilaria immitis (heartworm), and Leishmania. Tests must be drawn within 30 days of entry using approved methods at approved laboratories — the Trypanosoma evansi test in particular must go to a WOAH (OIE) reference laboratory, so from Vietnam samples are often couriered abroad; allow extra time for this one specifically. If the exporting country holds official disease-free status for one or more of these, the corresponding test may be waived with formal confirmation from that country's veterinary authority. After a negative heartworm result, the dog must stay on preventive treatment until export. A rabies titre test is not required to enter South Africa (though you may need one to leave again — see below).
Veterinary Import Permit
Apply at least 4–6 weeks before your planned travel date, and only once the Animal Improvement Compliance Permit (dogs) is in hand — the application can't be submitted before that. Apply to the Director: Animal Health, Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD). For dogs from non-exempt countries the import permit is typically valid for a limited window around the travel date rather than the full 6 months allowed for exempt-country pets — confirm the exact validity on your specific permit. It must travel with the pet as the original document. Only SADC neighbours (Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Namibia, Zimbabwe) are exempt from needing this permit at all — every Asian country requires it.
Parasite Treatment — dogs
Treat within 30 days of travel — can often be combined with the same vet visit as the blood draw. Dogs must be treated for internal and external parasites within 30 days of travel, recorded by the vet with product names and dates.
Health Certificate & Government Endorsement
This is the last step — within 10 days of travel, and it can't be rushed earlier since the certificate is only valid for that window. A licensed vet in the origin country completes the official health certificate — using the exact template specified on your import permit — within 10 days of entry, confirming the pet is fit to travel, not from a rabies-restricted area, and free of contagious disease symptoms. It must then be endorsed by the government veterinary authority of that country (in Vietnam, the Department of Animal Health) before departure.
What Happens on Arrival
On landing, the original import permit, the Animal Improvement Compliance Permit (dogs), and the health certificate are presented to the quarantine officer. Cats with correct original paperwork are released after clearance. Dogs from Vietnam and other non-exempt Asian countries go into an approved quarantine station for a minimum of 14 days — the booking must be arranged with the Quarantine Officer at the port of entry before arrival, not after.
Quarantine practicalities
- Approved stations are near Johannesburg (Kempton Park) and Cape Town (Milnerton); you cannot visit freely, but stations provide updates.
- Special diets and medication can usually be accommodated — declare these when booking.
- A dog testing positive during quarantine for Brucella canis, Babesia gibsoni, or Leishmania must return to its country of origin; a positive Dirofilaria immitis or Trypanosoma evansi result allows the owner to choose treatment in quarantine instead.
- All quarantine, transport, and clearance costs are for the importer's account.
- After release, the pet can be collected or delivered home.
Special Cases & Restrictions
- Puppies: Puppies under eight months may not be imported unless accompanied by their mother.
- Kittens: Kittens under three months can only travel with proof the mother was rabies-vaccinated more than 30 days and less than 12 months before the kitten's birth; the kitten must then be vaccinated in South Africa at three months.
- Sterilisation: Under the Animal Improvement Compliance Permit requirement, dogs generally need to be spayed or neutered, with documentation included in that application — confirm exact current conditions with the Registrar, as pedigree/breeding exemptions may apply.
- Restricted animals: Wolf hybrids and Savannah or Bengal cats (unless 5th generation removed) cannot be imported. Rabbits and ferrets are not permitted at all.
- Birds and exotics: Birds need an import permit and pre- and post-shipment quarantine; check CITES if your pet is a parrot, turtle, or other listed species.
- Service animals: Certified service dogs (with proof of training) may be exempt from the cargo requirement — arrangements must be made with SA authorities in advance. Emotional support animals do not qualify.
Planning to travel out of South Africa again later? Leaving SA has its own rules set by your destination. Most EU countries, for example, require a rabies titre test done more than three months before entry — and approved titre testing on SA samples is often processed overseas, which can take months. If a return or onward trip is likely, plan the titre test before you leave Asia and have it recorded properly.
Official Forms & Applications
Start with these directly — requirements and forms are revised periodically, so always use the current version from the department rather than a saved copy.
Contact directly before starting: Directorate: Animal Health, Import Export Policy Unit, DALRRD, Pretoria — because requirements (especially the newer Animal Improvement Compliance Permit) are revised periodically, confirm the current process, forms, and fees with them before you book anything or start testing.
A Realistic Timeline from Vietnam
- 18–20 weeks out: Confirm/implant ISO microchip. For dogs, apply for the Animal Improvement Compliance Permit immediately — its ~30 working day processing time is the first thing on the critical path, since the import permit application can't start until it's granted.
- 14–16 weeks out: Rabies vaccination (must be at least 30 days before entry, and needs to be current at time of travel); submit the Veterinary Import Permit application once the compliance permit (dogs) is through.
- 8–12 weeks out: Book flights and crate; pre-book quarantine (dogs); start crate training with familiar bedding and a worn item of your clothing.
- Within 30 days of travel: Five blood tests drawn and sent to approved labs (dogs); parasite treatments; heartworm prevention continued from negative result onward.
- Within 10 days of travel: Health certificate completed by the vet, then endorsed by the government veterinary authority.
- Arrival: Customs clearance and vet inspection at O.R. Tambo or Cape Town International; cats released, dogs to quarantine for 14+ days; then home.
This guide is a general overview compiled for South Africans bringing pets home from abroad. Import regulations are set and enforced by the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD) and change periodically — this page was last checked against DALRRD and industry sources in July 2026, and the Animal Improvement Compliance Permit in particular is a recent addition (April 2024) that may be refined further. Always confirm current requirements with DALRRD's Directorate: Animal Health, a registered pet relocation agent (see IPATA.org), and your airline before making bookings. Non-compliance can result in quarantine at your expense, return of your pet to the country of origin, or worse.