🇰🇷Taking a dog or cat to South Korea: entry rules and flights
✓ Rules checked: May 31, 2026Official sources only
Preparing from scratch takes about 4 weeks, wherever you fly from.
South Korea sets its own requirements for bringing in dogs and cats. There is no single set for everyone: what exactly is needed — microchip, additional vaccination, rabies antibody titre test and veterinary health certificate — depends entirely on the country you fly from. The rules are the same for dogs and cats.
There is no quarantine if the rule's conditions are met — otherwise the pet is held. Pets may not enter through just any airport: there are 7 designated points. Order matters more than the list: the microchip goes in before the rabies vaccination, or the vaccination does not count. 34 carriers in our directory fly direct to South Korea, and their pet conditions differ.
Check your own route
Free, no signup: timings, documents and airlines for your pet
🐕 🐈 Same rules for dogs and cats
Airlines with direct flights
34 airlines in our directory fly direct to and from South Korea. Their conditions differ — the cabin weight limit, whether they carry pets in the hold, the fee and breed restrictions — so it is worth choosing the carrier before buying the ticket.
no snub-nosed breeds in the hold · banned breeds: 9
no pets
✓ up to 32 kg
—
from 12 cities in 1 country
Showing the 10 carriers serving the most cities out of 34 with direct flights. Schedules: AeroDataBox, AirLabs, Travelpayouts; pet conditions come from our airline directory.
Restrictions
The limits people find out about last: how many animals one person may bring, the minimum age and which breeds are turned away at the border.
QuarantineYes, if the conditions are not met+
What the quarantine depends on:
Missing or unreadable microchip
Microchip number does not match the one stated in the veterinary certificate
No rabies antibody test (for non-rabies-free countries, pet aged ≥90 days)
Titer below 0.5 IU/ml
No veterinary certificate (pet is sent back, not placed in quarantine)
No Hendra/Nipah certificate for cats from Australia or pets from Malaysia (quarantine +21 days)
Banned breedsNo bans+
These are the country's rules. Airlines refuse some breeds on their own — their limits are in the carrier table above.
Pets per personNot stated
Minimum ageNot stated
Points of entry7 airports+
CJJ
CJU
GMP
ICN
MWX
PUS
TAE
Without a veterinary certificate the pet will NOT be admitted and will be sent back to the country of departure at the owner's expense. Action required: obtain an international veterinary certificate from the government vet of the country of origin (no later than 10 days before departure).
What you need to enter South Korea
The full list of documents and procedures for entering South Korea. Every item carries its official source and last-checked date, and is marked as always required or required only from some departure countries.
Identification
Microchipdepends on origin+
Not required from every departure country — checking your own route gives the exact answer.
Microchips implanted in cats and dogs must be ISO-compliant (ISO11784 and 11785 standards). For any other chips, importers must bring their own microchip scanners.
«Microchips implanted in cats and dogs must be ISO-compliant (ISO11784 and 11785 standards). For any other chips, importers must bring their own microchip scanners.»
Not required from every departure country — checking your own route gives the exact answer.
Cats imported from Australia and cats and dogs imported from Malaysia required an additional certificate confirming that there has been no cases of Hendra and Nipah virus disease in exporting country or state...or that the animal produced a
«Cats imported from Australia and cats and dogs imported from Malaysia required an additional certificate confirming that there has been no cases of Hendra and Nipah virus disease in exporting country or state...or that the animal produced a negative result in a Hendra and Nipah virus test(within 14days prior to export) and the animal has been kept in an area where no cases of Hendra and Nipah viru»
Not required from every departure country — checking your own route gives the exact answer.
A microchip implant and a rabies-neutralizing antibody test are mandatory for cats and dogs aged 90 days or older originating from countries that are not rabies-free. The rabies-neutralizing antibody test must be administered by an internat
«A microchip implant and a rabies-neutralizing antibody test are mandatory for cats and dogs aged 90 days or older originating from countries that are not rabies-free. The rabies-neutralizing antibody test must be administered by an internationally approved laboratory or by the competent authority of the exporting country within 24 months after collecting blood samples.»
Not required from every departure country — checking your own route gives the exact answer.
owners must submit to the animal quarantine officer at the port of entry a health certificate issued by the government agency of the exporting country which states the animal's microchip number and birth date.
«owners must submit to the animal quarantine officer at the port of entry a health certificate issued by the government agency of the exporting country which states the animal's microchip number and birth date.»
The order matters more than the list: a step done too early has to be repeated. The intervals come from the same rule fields the engine uses for the earliest departure date.
Microchipdepends on origin
before the rabies vaccination
Rabies antibody titre testdepends on origin
no earlier than 30 days after the vaccination
Additional vaccinationdepends on origin
Veterinary health certificatedepends on origin
Steps marked “depends on origin” are not needed by everyone — see the table above or check your own route.
Compared by departure country
Lapaport's engine on six examples, counted from zero: a dog of no particular breed with nothing done yet — no microchip, no vaccination, no tests — starting preparation today. Columns marked “always” are required from anywhere.
If the microchip and vaccination are already done, the wait is shorter: the clock runs from the vaccination date, not from today. Breed, weight and connections change the answer too — check your own route with the form above.
Arrival airports
Pets may not enter through just any airport. Below: where direct flights go and whether animals are accepted.
Depends on the departure country: microchip, additional vaccination, rabies antibody titre test, veterinary health certificate.
Is a rabies titre test required for South Korea?+
It depends on the departure country. From United Kingdom, for example, it is required. The form above gives the exact answer for your route.
Which breeds are banned from entry?+
The country's rules list no breed bans. Individual airlines have their own restrictions — see the carrier table.
Which airlines take pets in the cabin?+
For example: Korean Air, Asiana Airlines, T'way Air, Jeju Air, Jin Air, Eastar Jet. The full list with conditions is in the table above.
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