Pet Export from Thailand to Indonesia: The Requirements Behind Duo Duo's Flight to Jakarta

Pet export from Thailand to Indonesia comes with its own set of requirements, separate from the EU rules that apply to a destination like Italy or Germany. Duo Duo, a Labrador Retriever exported from Bangkok to Jakarta, had to clear every one of them before departure.

Indonesia's Ministry of Agriculture sets its own conditions for pet dogs and cats entering from Thailand, and none of them match the EU's fixed 90-day rabies titer wait. Duo Duo's case shows what those requirements actually look like in practice.

Two of the conditions have nothing to do with vaccination directly. The exporting country's veterinary authority has to certify that rabies hasn't been reported in the area where the dog has lived for the last six months, and that the dog has actually lived in that country of origin for at least six months before export. Duo Duo, having lived in Bangkok well beyond that window, met both without complication.

The vaccination side is more specific than it first looks. Indonesia requires the dog to be at least three months old and vaccinated against rabies with a killed-rabies vaccine, with blood showing a rabies antibody titre of at least 0.5 IU/ml. Duo Duo's titer result came back at 17.80 IU/ml, well above the threshold, after vaccination in late November and a blood draw roughly two months later.

What Indonesia does not require is the 90-day wait between the titer test and travel that EU countries apply. Instead, the dog has to be examined by a veterinarian within five days of departure and certified healthy, free of any clinical sign of rabies or other infectious disease. That exam has to land close to the flight, not months ahead of it.

Indonesia also requires an import approval issued in advance by its Ministry of Agriculture, confirming the receiving address and the animal's details before the dog ever leaves Thailand. That approval is only valid for three months from the date it's issued, which sets the outer edge of the export window.

None of these requirements overlap neatly with the checklist for an EU destination. Duo Duo's export worked because each one, the residency history, the vaccination record, the titer result, the pre-flight exam, and the import approval, was confirmed against Indonesia's own rules rather than assumed from a different country's process.

The Facts Behind the Story

• Indonesia's Ministry of Agriculture requires written certification that rabies has not been reported in the area where the dog has lived for the last 6 months.

• The dog must have lived in the country of origin for at least 6 months immediately before export.

• The dog must be examined by a veterinarian within 5 days of departure and certified healthy, with no clinical signs of rabies or other infectious or contagious disease.

• The dog must be at least 3 months old and vaccinated against rabies with a killed-rabies vaccine, with a resulting rabies antibody titre of at least 0.5 IU/ml.

• Indonesia does not require the fixed 90-day wait between the titer test and travel that applies to EU destinations; its requirements center on the pre-export health exam and vaccination record instead.

• Indonesia's import approval letter, issued in advance by the Ministry of Agriculture's Directorate General of Livestock and Animal Health Services, is valid for only 3 months from its date of issue.

Does My Dog Need the Same 90-Day Rabies Wait for Indonesia as for the EU?

No. The 90-day wait between a rabies antibody titer test and travel is an EU requirement, not an Indonesian one. Indonesia's Ministry of Agriculture asks for a titer result of at least 0.5 IU/ml, proof the dog has lived in its country of origin for at least six months, and a health exam within five days of departure, but it does not fix a waiting period after the blood draw itself. That makes the Indonesia timeline shorter in one sense, but the import approval letter is only valid for three months, so the paperwork still has to be sequenced correctly rather than assumed to be flexible.

Every destination sets its own requirements, and assuming one country's rules apply to another is one of the easiest ways an export gets delayed. We check each requirement against the destination's own regulations before anything is booked, the way we did for Duo Duo's flight to Jakarta. See how we handle destinations like Indonesia on our Destinations page, see how the whole process fits together on our Process page, or request a quote today and we'll map out exactly what your pet's destination requires.