Korean Job Discussion Forums

[mervanm]

Hello,

I will be bringing my cat with me to Korea this upcoming February 2011. He is 3 years old, and has recived his rabbies and FIV vaccine in early December 2010. This timeframe will allow him to enter over 30 days after reciveing shots. Also, I have his rabbies tag and the veternary paperwork that goes along with all the said vaccines given. Is there anything else I need before I enter with him? He is 15 lbs and I have a proper airline approved cat carrier that fits under the seat (thou quite tight for him!). If I am missing anything please let me know, it would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks you!

[Illysook]

As long as that rabies vaccine was the 3 year and not the 1 year version, it sounds like you have everything ready to go, but if you want to go the extra mile, there is a USDA paper that the airline will ask about. You don't need it, but they like it.

Also, I don't know where you are traveling from, but you should try to get the shortest flight possible, and you don't want one that stops in Japan. It's a huge headache and probably more extra charges.

[mellow-d]

I'm not sure if this applies now but you should check for any travel bans for pets. If you're planning on putting your cat in the cargo hold and not in the cabin with you, then this would be very important. The bans are usually in the winter because the cargo compartment isn't necessarily temperature controlled and it would be too cold for pets to travel in. Sometimes the bans are around holidays when there wouldn't be enough room for your pet carrier. Look on the website of the airline you're flying with to find this info out.

[Skippy]

First off, is this your first time in Korea? If so bringing a pet is difficult. Not impossible, just lots of baggage. Are you prepared with a job already? Because if you are going to deal with schools and recruiters and they find out you have cat/pet they very likely may skip you over. Next off, do you have housing for yourself, organized. Where are you located. Do you understand that the apartment you will be (very likely) getting is SMALL. Not North American small and Japanese Tiny still many single apartments will be very cramped (think 1 room with an attached little bathroom).

Do no forget that if you get here and the landlord says no to pets, do you think your school is going to say okay lets move you to another place. Most schools will tell you to get rid of the pet.

Also Cats and Koreans are not a good mix. It is changing but most Koreans are scared of or hate cats.

Is you cat an inside cat or outside cat. If outside you will have more difficulties, as this country is not the safest for cats to go outside in. Not impossible again just very very different. Of course that depends on where you are in a city, small city, country. Still the country can get still busy and dangerous. Plus are you ready to let your cat out on the tenth floor and walk it down so it can go outside.

Once again if this is your first time - reconsider brining a cat. If you can leave it behind. Later when you are settled foster one of the many cats around.

Still in the end - Good Luck.

[Illysook]

I love having my cat here in Korea. She's 14 years old and she sleeps a lot, so my little apartment is fine for her. She loves the heated floor and she's a real comfort when Korea gets on my nerves. That isn't often anymore, but I wish I'd brought her my first year.

[gaychel]

I just brought my cat to Korea two weeks ago.

Call the airline and reserve a spot in the cabin. Airlines limit the number of animals they allow in the cabin. I don't think anyone other than the people sitting next to me even noticed I had a cat, but I had his space reserved.

Paperwork-wise, it sounds like you have almost everything I needed. However, I was explicitly told I needed the USDA seal on the heath certificate. I found this out the Thursday before New Year's Eve, and my flight was leaving that Sunday. I had to change my flight so I could drive out to the USDA office in the state capital the follwing Monday. Also I was told that the health certificate must be no more than 10 days old.

AND, I discovered that if the cat is not able to stand and comfortably turn around in the carrier, the USDA makes the airlines turn the animal away. No one at check in even looked at my cat or my carrier, but make sure that's not an issue.

Here's the website, which appears to have incomplete information. Like, no timeframe on the heath certificate and no mention of the USDA seal.

http://www.nvrqs.go.kr/eng/rese_quarantine_02.asp?pageNumber=3-0

[delirium]

Thanks for asking this question! I'm coming over in March, and I'm going through the same thing myself.

Don't let people discourage you. I know several people who have brought their cats and dogs into Korea. It's not that uncommon. It is just some extra steps and precautions along the way.

[Illysook]

Look over the rules carefully and you will find that the USDA form is not actually necessary. Korean Air asked me about it, but let my cat travel in the cabin without it, and immigration didn't ask for it either. I did have proof of her rabies vaccine and they did ask for that. They kept the paper that I had and I have her tag for the return trip.

The CDC is in charge of animal import. Their website is very informative about your return trip.

[gaychel]

Where did you find the "rules"? I Google searched the keys right off my laptop to no avail, I called 5 different consulates in the US, was told absolutely nothing, and the Korean website I linked to doesn't have any of the relevant specifics. The USDA seal very well may not have been necessary, but I couldn't find anything trustworthy that specifically said anything either way about it, so I erred on the side of caution and got it done. The $35 fee was well worth the peace of mind that my 17 year old cat was not going to be quarantined for a month/put to sleep/whatever it is they do with animals that arrive in the country without proper documentation. I don't need a Korean immigration-like situation popping up where the rules change depending on which agent you are lucky/unlucky enough to run into at the airport.

Ilysook- The guy at the quarantine services checkpoint in the airport gave me a brochure (of course, it's in Korean, wasn't available in English, so I have no idea what it actually says) saying that the laws in Korea are changing this upcoming December. Not sure if it's import, export, or both. He did ask when I would be leaving the country with the cat and told me to be sure to have a Korean friend translate the brochure for me when he found out I was leaving no earlier than 2012, so that may be worth looking into!

[gaychel]

I'd also like to add that a friend of mine has been taking care of someone else's cat for the past 6 months because when the original owner went to the airport, moving away and planning on taking the cat with her, the airline said she was missing a piece of paperwork and they would not let the cat on the plane under any circumstances. She had to get on her flight and leave the cat with my friend. It's a completely different situation with different countries and different laws, but I was hyper paranoid about having all of the proper documentation.

[himynameishowie]

You also need to check the individual airline's restrictions on having pets in the cabin. My husband and I flew here on Korean Air in November 2008 with a 14-pound cat and a 9-pound cat, and at the time pets had to be less than 11 pounds WITH the carrier in order to fly in the cabin. They flew in cargo and were perfectly fine; the smaller cat is quite skittish around lots of people so I think it actually worked out better for us and him in the long run.

Some airlines also have limits on the number of pets they'll allow in the cabin per flight, so you need to call and reserve a spot for your cat.

PM me if you have any other questions.