How do you bring a pet to South Korea in 2026?

Every dog or cat needs a readable microchip. QIA expects the chip number on the health certificate. If the chip is missing or the number does not match, officers can implant a chip and hold the animal at your cost.

Animals younger than 90 days, or animals from countries QIA treats as rabies-free, still need the microchip and a government health certificate stating chip number and birth date. They do not follow the same pre-arrival rabies antibody path as older pets from non-rabies-free countries.

For dogs and cats 90 days or older from non-rabies-free countries, QIA requires a rabies-neutralising antibody test from an internationally approved laboratory or the exporting country’s competent authority. The result must reach at least 0.5 IU/ml, and QIA ties validity to the blood-collection window stated in its guidance (commonly treated as within 24 months). Unlike some destinations, QIA does not publish a fixed waiting period after a passing titer before travel; follow the live QIA page for your origin country.

Submit an original health certificate issued by the exporting country’s government authority. For many US departures, that means a USDA-endorsed certificate aligned with APHIS pet-travel rules for Korea. EU pet passports can replace the certificate only where QIA expressly allows that substitution. Keep paper copies in your cabin bag with the pet.

At the Korean airport or port, present the pet and documents to the animal quarantine officer. QIA states that verified paperwork plus a healthy clinical exam can allow same-day release. Incomplete titer results, unreadable chips, or certificate mismatches can trigger extended quarantine until the gap is fixed, entirely at the owner’s expense.

Airlines set cabin versus cargo rules, breed limits, and crate standards separately from QIA. Book the animal space when you book your own ticket, and confirm whether your route lands at a QIA-staffed terminal that can process pets on arrival.

After release, register the dog under Korean animal-protection rules, find a pet-accepting lease, and check building and park limits before you sign: how to rent. Incheon and Jeju addresses change clinics and outdoor access: living in Incheon and living in Jeju. Human immigration steps remain a separate stack: paperwork after moving.