Bringing pets into New Zealand
You can bring your cat or dog here, but they must meet specific health standards. These change depending on the country your pet is coming from.
Check the NZ Customs Service website for updates during COVID-19.
Cats and dogs must land in Auckland or Christchurch first
Cats and dogs from Australia will be cleared for entry.
All other cats and dogs must be transferred to a quarantine facility.
Get help from a professional
A professional pet exporter can help you bring your pet here safely — most airlines require you to use one to make sure you’ve followed all the rules.
They offer a range of services like arranging tests, treatments, flights, permits to import, shipping crates, and other requirements.
Find an exporter who can help you ship to New Zealand:
International Pet and Animal Transportation Association
Permits for cats and dogs
If you’re bringing a cat or dog from:
- Australia, you usually do not need a permit — but your pet will need a post-arrival inspection
- an approved country, you need a permit to import
- another country, your pet will not be allowed into NZ until it’s spent 6 months in an approved country and you can provide a vet certificate.
You have to pay for permits, inspections, and other costs as needed, for example quarantine fees.
You can download a PDF of approved countries from the Ministry for Primary Industries website.
Steps to importing cats and dogs
Banned dogs
There are certain types of dogs that are not allowed to be imported to NZ at any time:
- the American pit bull terrier
- Brazilian fila
- dogo Argentino
- Japanese tosa
- Perro de Presa Canario.
Other pets you can and cannot bring into NZ
You can bring:
- horses
- ornamental fish
- chinchillas — from the United Kingdom (UK) only
- guinea pigs — from Australia only
- rabbits — from Australia only.
You’re not allowed to import:
- birds
- ferrets
- mice and rats
- reptiles
- snakes
- some breeds of dog.
Steps to importing pets other than cats and dogs
When you arrive in NZ
You need the right documents to go through Customs, and you may have to pay a fee.
Quarantine
Cats and dogs coming from Australia do not need to be quarantined.
Cats and dogs from all other countries must be quarantined for at least 10 days.
Quarantine facilities for cats and dogs
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