Moving Pets from Singapore to Thailand: Permits, Flights and Fees

Moving pets from Singapore to Thailand takes a flight of about two and a half hours and three sets of paperwork that run on different clocks: an export licence from Singapore’s Animal & Veterinary Service (AVS) that lasts 90 days, a Thai import permit that takes about seven working days, and a health certificate with its own short validity. A dog or cat can fly as checked baggage on Singapore Airlines or Thai Airways. It cannot fly on Scoot, and it cannot ride in the cabin on any of the three.

The catch is rabies. Singapore has been rabies-free since 1953, and AVS says rabies vaccination is encouraged but not compulsory for pets. Thailand’s instructions list a rabies vaccine for every dog and cat. A pet that has lived only in Singapore can reach the vet with every other record in order and no rabies vaccine at all, and the 21-day wait after a first dose then sets the earliest flight date.

Everything else fits inside that wait, provided it starts in the right order.

The Order, With a Finish Line for Each Step

Stop here before step 5 if the flight is not fixed or the Thai permit has not arrived. AVS issues a QR certificate that is valid for seven days, and the export licence lapses 90 days after issue, so a flight that moves after the paperwork is signed can strand a document that no longer fits the date. Fix the flight, hold the permit, then book the vet.

Two of the Three Airlines on the Route Take Pets, and None Allows the Cabin

Flightconnections, updated on 8 October 2026, lists three airlines flying nonstop from Singapore to Bangkok: Scoot, Singapore Airlines and Thai Airways. Together they run 109 flights a week, with departures from 6:30am to 9:00pm and a fastest flight time of 2 hours 25 minutes. Only two of the three will carry a dog or cat.

Flightconnections lists A320, A320neo, A321neo, A330-300, A350-900, 777-200 and several 787 variants on this route, without saying which airline flies which. No Boeing 737 appears in that list, so Singapore Airlines’ 737 exclusion looks unlikely to matter, while Thai Airways’ A320 exclusion could. Ask each airline to name the aircraft in writing, because a crate that fits one type can be too tall for another.

Breed rules cut deeper than the route does. The Singapore Airlines pet policy excludes dog breeds including the Akita, Boxer, the bulldogs, the Pug, the Shih Tzu and the Staffordshire Bull Terrier, and cat breeds including the British Shorthair, Burmese, Exotic Shorthair, Himalayan, Persian and Scottish Fold. Thai Airways keeps its own list of 34 dog breeds. Thailand adds restrictions of its own, which our guide to taking a dog to Thailand sets out, and our cat transport guide covers crates, vaccines and flat-faced cats.

The cabin question has the same answer on every Singapore flight: no. Our guide to cabin, checked baggage and cargo explains how the three differ for the animal, our guide to what happens when pets fly cargo follows a crate from drop-off to loading, and our crate sizing guide helps with the IATA container Singapore Airlines requires.

Moving Pets from Singapore to Thailand: A Rabies Rule Singapore Never Needed

Singapore’s rules and Thailand’s rules answer the rabies question from opposite starting points, and a pet that has only ever lived in Singapore falls between them. For pet relocation from Singapore to Thailand, the rabies vaccination for Thailand is the first task, not the last.

The DLD record also needs the pet’s microchip number, the vet’s full name, licence number and signature, and English text. So the order is microchip, then rabies vaccine, then the 21-day wait, then the flight. The other vaccines are shorter lists: for a dog, canine distemper, hepatitis, parvovirus and leptospirosis; for a cat, feline panleukopenia. A dog without a valid leptospirosis vaccine meets a requirement that the DLD text words two ways, a negative test within 30 days of departure or a 21-day wait after the vaccine, so settle which one applies in the permit email.

The Thailand Pet Import Permit Takes Seven Working Days From Anywhere

Thailand’s instructions for importing dogs, cats and rabbits are written with a US origin in mind, but the permit, vaccine list and arrival rules in them are general guidelines for Suvarnabhumi. The origin-specific part is the health certificate, which comes from the exporting country’s veterinary authority. That part is AVS’s job here, and the next section covers it.

A pet arriving as cargo needs its permit before it flies. A pet arriving as checked baggage can apply for the permit in advance or on arrival, and the instructions advise against the on-arrival option for passengers with short transit times. For moving pets from Singapore to Thailand as baggage we would still apply in advance, because the request goes by email at least seven working days before arrival and the permit stays valid for 60 days. If the flight changes date inside those 60 days, the same permit still works.

The package is the Form R1/1 with the importer’s details and the pet’s breed, sex, date of birth, colour and microchip number, plus the microchip implantation certificate, the flight itinerary, a copy of the importer’s passport, a colour photo showing the pet’s face, and the English vaccination record. The station asks for one PDF per animal. Our guide to Thailand’s R1/1, R-6 and R-7 forms walks through each form.

The Suvarnabhumi station works Monday to Friday, 8:30am to 12:00pm and 1:00pm to 3:30pm, excluding Thai public holidays. The DLD text puts the fee at 500 baht per pet and 10 baht per shipment, and says a pet with complete documents is released on its arrival date. The microchip number on the paperwork has to match the number the pet carries. A pet whose documents are not in order can be fined or sent back to Singapore at the owner’s expense. Our Suvarnabhumi arrival guide describes what the station does once the pet is there, and our guide to choosing between Bangkok, Phuket and Chiang Mai covers the other entry points.

What Singapore Asks For, and What the Published Fees Are

AVS’s page on exporting dogs and cats, last updated on 21 September 2026, sets out five steps for moving pets from Singapore to Thailand or anywhere else, and three of them involve money or a clock.

• Export licence. Applied for through the GoBusiness licensing portal within 90 days of leaving. AVS charges S$50 for normal service, issued two working days after complete documents, or S$100 for express, issued after one. The licence lasts 90 days from issue, so applying months ahead wastes it.
• Veterinary health certificate. A licensed private vet examines the pet and completes the importing country’s certificate template, which AVS then endorses by hand. That takes at least two working days and AVS offers no express service for it. Documents go into a drop-off box at the Raffles Building in the Singapore Botanic Gardens, and AVS contacts you to collect the endorsed certificate.
• QR certificate. When the destination has no specific template, AVS converts the private vet’s certificate into a QR-verifiable one that you print yourself. It is valid for seven days from issue.
• Pre-export inspection. Only if the destination demands one. The appointment goes through NParks e-services at least five days before departure. Thailand’s instructions that we read do not list one.
• Dog licence. AVS asks owners to cancel a dog’s licence in PALS once the dog has left Singapore.

We found no Singapore-specific certificate template on the Thai pages we read. The DLD text says only that the certificate must be endorsed and stamped by the government, and must be legible, accurate and complete. Which of AVS’s two routes the Suvarnabhumi station accepts is therefore a question for the permit email, asked once, in writing, before the vet visit. Our reading is that either could be accepted, but that is a reading, not a ruling.

We do not total these, because the largest items are the ones nobody publishes. Get the airline’s charge for your pet and crate in writing before you compare the two.

A Flight Schedule Becomes a Quarantine Problem at the Landing End

A dog from Singapore to Bangkok is a short hop, so the landing hour matters more than the flying time. Bangkok runs one hour behind Singapore and neither changes its clocks, so the arithmetic is the same all year. Using the fastest listed time of 2 hours 25 minutes and the station’s published hours:

These are our own sums from a published flight time, not a timetable, and the fastest time is the shortest the route takes, so a typical flight lands later than shown. The weekday matters as much as the hour: a Friday flight that lands after 3:30pm meets a closed station until Monday.

The sources disagree on this point. An older copy of the Thai instructions on the foreign ministry’s website lists a quarantine counter next to baggage carousel 8, open 24 hours, for hand-carried pets, and gives the cargo terminal hours as 8:30am to 4:30pm. The DLD text we read gives 3:30pm and no separate 24-hour counter. We plan to the shorter hours and ask the station to confirm in the permit email, which is cheaper than learning the answer at the carousel.

A Cat That Has Never Left Singapore

Illustrative case: a three-year-old cat has lived in a Singapore flat all its life. Its record shows a feline panleukopenia vaccine and a microchip number, and nothing for rabies. The owners want to fly on a weekday about three weeks away.

The belief to test is that a two-hour flight means short paperwork. The cat’s rabies vaccine goes in on day 0, which is the one task nothing else can replace, because Thailand’s instructions require 21 days between a first dose and departure. The Thai permit request can go out the same week, since it needs about seven working days and the vaccine record it asks for already shows the dose. The AVS export licence is applied for in the last fortnight, and the vet visit and AVS certificate come last, once the airline has confirmed the aircraft and the permit is in hand. Singapore Airlines’ two weeks of notice fits comfortably inside the 21 days.

The result: the belief holds for the flight and fails for the vaccine. Whatever else is ready, the earliest departure is day 21. A booster on record would remove the wait, though the earlier records would then go in with the permit request.

The general rule is that the first vaccine date, not the airline booking, starts the calendar for a rabies-free-origin pet. Your own check takes a minute: open the vaccination record and look for a rabies line. If it is missing, the first call is to the vet, not the airline.

Coming Back to Singapore After Moving Pets Abroad

Bringing a dog or cat back is an import into Singapore, with its own rules. Singapore Airlines’ page lists an import licence valid for 90 days, an indemnity form, a veterinary health certificate and vaccination records showing the microchip number among the documents for a pet travelling to Singapore. AVS publishes the requirements in its general information on importing and exporting a pet. Read them before the pet leaves, because a step that needs a vet or a waiting period is easier to complete in Singapore than in Bangkok.

The Household Move Around the Pet

Many pet moves sit inside a household move. Our guide to moving from Singapore to Thailand covers tax clearance, work pass cancellation and shipping through Laem Chabang. For owners comparing origins, our guides to moving pets from Canada and from the USA show how a longer route changes the airline and certificate questions.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I take my dog or cat in the cabin from Singapore to Thailand?

No. Singapore Airlines carries pets as checked baggage only, Thai Airways takes pets as checked baggage or cargo, and Scoot carries no pets at all apart from service dogs for passengers with visual or hearing impairments. Pets fly in the hold. Our cabin versus cargo guide explains how the two differ.

Does my pet need a rabies vaccination when moving pets from Singapore to Thailand?

Yes. Thailand’s DLD instructions list a rabies vaccine for every dog and cat, even though Singapore is rabies-free and does not make the vaccine compulsory for pets. A first dose must be given at 12 weeks or older, and the pet waits 21 days after it before departure.

Which airlines carry pets from Singapore to Bangkok?

Singapore Airlines and Thai Airways, as checked baggage, with breed and aircraft exclusions on each. Scoot does not carry pets. Singapore Airlines asks for two weeks’ notice, and a pet and crate over 32 kg together must go through a cargo agent.

What does it cost to export a pet from Singapore to Thailand?

AVS publishes S$50 for the export licence and S$23 for the veterinary certificate on normal service, and Thailand charges 500 baht per pet and 10 baht per shipment on arrival. Airline charges, vet fees, vaccines and the crate are not published, so get quotes in writing.

What time should my pet’s flight land in Bangkok?

On the fastest listed flight time of 2 hours 25 minutes, a Changi departure between 7:05am and 10:35am, or between 11:35am and 2:05pm, lands while the Suvarnabhumi quarantine station is open. The 9:00pm flight lands at about 10:25pm Bangkok time, after the station has closed.