Transporting a dog from England to Shenzhen

I have not personally transported my pet via flight.  but here are few things you need to check before you think of choosing.

1. Must double and triple check that the airline/aircraft of your select have oxygen in the cargo hold.( i had a friend who did locally within china... crazy stress as even ground staff are informed of your pet upon check in ) yes there are flights that don't have oxygen in cargo hold.... please check once you arrive at airport as well... ( u should do initial one when booking the flight and making arrangements ) its cheaper to take your pet along with your flight... but if the ordeal on prep is not for you best use a pet transport company to make arrangements. )

2. Must ensure that your pet cage(transport box ) complies with the airline requirements. ( big issue as it would be shame if you got the wrong one and airline staff refuse to accept ) silly stuff like cage door grit size,lock type, cage strength etc...

3. Make sure your dog undergoes accustoms to being in cage in cold dark and noisy location ( or he/he will be too much stressed after the trip )

4. last but not least... please ensure even small dog is muzzled  or the cage is rapped in netting ( Chinese 80% populations are afraid of dogs no idea why  ,  some wont handel with care if they worried tiny mouth or claws will touch them) you can put a go pro in the cage to check out..

And yes there is a quarantine before you leave your place and a mandatory 5-7 days here in china as well ( they do for even local domestic flights )

make sure you have given the dog all shots ( i don't have the link on hand.. but there are some shots that need on its medical list i am sure your vet must know whats needed )

i am sorry to say if any of the above fail to meet here they don't say take back the pet to point of origin...its euthanize)

Thanks a lot for your reply AnoopDalian. I'm trying to gather as much info as possible to be prepared for everything. Thanks again.

I transported my 4 cats into China. Let me know if you're still looking into it and I can give you a full description/instruction on how to do it

Hi Djlpio

Yes, we're still planning on taking the dog to China. It'd be great if you could share anything you know about the whole process. I've contacted all places possible to gather info is but I'd love to hear from someone who actually did it.
Thanks a lot for help

China has a one pet per passport rule so if you are bringing in more than one pet, make sure you have someone else with you. Mkae sure your pet is up to date with all vaccines and health checks and tell your vet that you'll be exporting your pet to China and your vet should help you get the necessary documents needed for the customs at the airport. Now, depending in which Chinese port you'll be coming into, there is normally a 30 days quarantine period. I was moving to Hefei so Shanghai was the closest city for transfer but I read tons of horror stories about the quarantine there, plus it was 100 rmb per day. If you have your pet go through Guangzhou, they let you bring your pet home for a 30 day IN HOME quarantine, which means you bring your pet home and just make sure they don't go out for a month.

So after I was up to date with all pets vaccines and health checks, there was a 2 week waiting period where they were sure they weren't sick, then got the documents needed for Chinese government. Remember to get 3 official copies as airline and Chinese customs would need to keep a copy. I flew with China Southern to Guanzhou, and they needed 3 days notice if you'll bring a pet on board. I had to go in person to pay for my cat's flight fees, which was around USD$100 per pet from Ho chi Minh City to Guanzhou. At the aiport, they helped me check then into cargo, and we're very very friendly.. at Guanzhou, you just go to customs with all your paperwork and you fill up a form in Chinese, but they have a translated version you can just see and fill yours up in English. They were very friendly and wasn't tough at all. From there, I had to go out and check in again for the connecting flight to Hefei, had to pay additional 60 RMB per pet, and checked them in in over weight baggage...

That's pretty much the whole procedure... I was really considering using a pet transport company since we had 4 cats... But they were gonna charge USD4000 per pet... And honesty, the airlines and customs were really helpful so it was pretty straight forward... But let me know if you have any more questions.

Cheers,
Jeff

Hi Jeff
Thank you so much for your reply. Everything you said is really helpful and most of all very reassuring. I was worried sick that airlines (especially Chinese ones) or airport people in China who deal with pets don't care about furry passengers and that our dog would be forgotten and left somewhere to die This was my imagination talking but you hear all those horror stories which make you worry.
What you said about the procedures is pretty much what I found out but I really wanted to hear what it's like in practice. You're the third person who I spoke to, who transported pets without a company, who said they had a very good experience.
Could you tell me if you had a working visa and if they wanted to see it. All official places say you must have such visa but the other two people I spoke to said they were never asked about it at the border.
We're moving from the UK to Shenzhen and we were advised to travel through Hong Kong as it's easier than directly to China. Have you heard that before? I was told that there's no quarantine at all if you move animals through HK.
Thanks again for your help. I really appreciate it.
Gosia

Hey.. so I'm originally from Hong Kong and I transported my cat from Toronto to Hk before. Yes there is no quarantine there, but then again, you would have to have more paperwork when transportating from Hk to SZ.

I actually have a "Home visit permit" from HK, and my girlfriend is Vietnamese with just a travel visa. The customs never checked the visa at all and they were really helpful trying to help us with paperwork and saying how cute our cTs were. Just as long as you there is one per per person, I don't think it will be really hard. We thought the first time we just lucked out but the second time it was pretty much the same. I've read horror stories about Shanghai quarantine, so really a relief when GZ customs were so nice.

Personally, I wouldn't go through HK. It would be a lot easier flying into Guanzhou and then transiting to SZ.. you could even hire a car to take you if you're worried about flying domestic.

I just made the move from Hefei to Shenzhen today and had my 4 cats and 1 puppy flown down here too.

Hi Jeff

It's good to hear you moved to Shenzhen. I hope you settle down quickly. We're planning on joining you there in April/May
I'm going to look into the routes again but if I remember correctly the reason we chose HK was that there were no direct flights from London to Shenzhen or Guangzhou.
I know there's more paperwork if you go through HK but not that many. We would book trans-border transport and HK airport custom officer would assists us to the Chinese border and help with everything. There's a girl in Shenzhen called Judy who runs a dog shelter. She moved her dog from US to Shenzhen via HK and described every step on her website. It looked really straight forward and easy.
Was it easy to find a landlord who allows animals in the flat? Did you use Sheznhen Party or an agency to find a place to live? Which are do you live in? We heard the most animal friendly districts are OCT and Shekou.

Cheers
Gosia

sounds great

Hi Jeff,

I am wondering if, after you got through customs in Guangzhou with your dog, were you able to take the dog outside to walk and go to the restroom, etc., before checking it in for the next flight?

I am wondering, with their 30 day (home) Quarantine, how strict the airport is about the dog leaving the airport (I have an 11-hour layover there / flying with my dog in cargo on China Southern from LAX).

Thanks in advance for any information!

~Shawna

Get a professional petrelocator to do it - a bit pricey but assume the pets are worth it

Make sure your living shelter in CN  allows pets

Contrary to what Western Media says, China is very pet friendly.

Do this...

Get your apartment in China first. Then, locate a nearby VET. Contact the vet and ask them for their assistance in moving your pets to China. They will get you in touch with the local (LOCAL-local) people, and your processing should be a breeze.

best of luck.

Hi-- I too am contemplating a move to Shenzhen with pets.  I have two cats but there is only one of me.  Someone had mentioned traveling with another person in order to get the second cat in but it's my understanding that both people must have a Z visa in order to bring a pet.  Anyone have any information on a single pet owner being able to bring more than one pet?  Thanks!!

Hi

Petrelocation of my two Cats from Malaysia to China , Dalian was done by petrelocator

1 Visa - 1 pet was what i was told, so that was all I could bring - 2 cats

Was also wondering if my maid in Malaysia could fly over with additional pet, but I scrapped the idea as I considdered it too creative

Petrelocation not cheap - do a proper Google search and read reviews. Get your employer to include in package if you can (i did not succeed in pet relo cost - set my back about 40000 RMB from MY-CN)

I have Z visa, my lawfully wedded Malaysian wife has Spousal Visa, both of us have the residence permit sticker in passport. My employers workpermit agent does everything transparently - no hanky panky.

Good luck

chubbyhubby

Thanks for the reply.  Appreciate it.

Hi,
Which airport did you use to transit to Dalian? HK or Guangzhou? Any quarantine is required upon arriving to Dalian? Thanks.

Shenzen