Bringing your beloved pet with you

Posted on 13 October 2018

The law changed a few years ago and it’s only 10 days for pets (cats / dogs) to remain in quarantine in NZ (as opposed to 4 months back in 2008 when we moved over!).

It’s well worth considering to bring your pet with you, as it could make the transition for you, your family and your children, so much easier.  There are some challenges with regard to finding rentals who allow dogs in the bigger cities, but it is possible to find those rentals with a bit of extra effort.

For pet emigration, it’s suggested that you have an organisation who usually deals with this. It is possible to arrange it yourself with some planning, but organisations who work with this know the latest standards and requirements (a bit like immigration services!). One does not want to add more stress when immigrating to try to do all yourself.

NOTE: Dog(s) - First blood tests (rabies titre tests) must be done between a few months before the dog(s) arrive in NZ.

Any vet can do this but the bloods must be sent to an accredited lab (this will be Onderstepoort if you live in South Africa) for testing purposes.

For the last 30 days’ tests, it is advised to use companies who arrange import to NZ as there are many tests to be performed, and there are many regulations regarding these tests (or use the company from the get go if possible)


The steps to import your beloved pet (cats/ dogs) can be found here:

https://www.mpi.govt.nz/importing/live-animals/pets/steps-to-importing-cats-and-dogs/


Companies who arrange import to NZ:

South Africa: Keringa Kennels   keringa.co.za

Worldwide: Jetpets.co.nz


Quarantine kennels (if in Auckland, I strongly suggest Pet Haven):

https://www.mpi.govt.nz/news-and-resources/resources/registers-and-lists/registered-quarantine-facilities/

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