Taking a dog or cat to South Korea, and bringing it home to France

At a glance

South Korea → France

Bringing a pet from South Korea to France

South Korea is listed in neither Annex I nor Annex II to Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/636. A dog or cat arriving from Korea therefore needs a favourable rabies antibody titre test on top of the usual conditions:

• An ISO microchip, implanted before or on the same day as the rabies vaccine.
• A rabies vaccination given at 12 weeks or older, with the primary course at least 21 days old on arrival.
• A titre test of at least 0.5 IU/ml on blood drawn at least 30 days after vaccination and at least 90 days before the health certificate is issued, run by an EU official lab or an EU-designated lab in a non-EU country.
• An EU animal health certificate (the Annex III model of Regulation (EU) 2026/705) endorsed by APQA within 10 days of arrival, with the owner's non-commercial declaration.
• Arrival through a travellers' point of entry, where the pet is declared and presented to customs.

The test does not need repeating as long as each rabies booster was given before the previous vaccine expired: French customs state it then stays valid for the pet's whole life.

Three situations on the way back

• Short stay, pet living in France, titre done before leaving and recorded in the passport, no booster given in Korea: the pet re-enters on its EU pet passport. The regulation states explicitly that the 90-day wait does not apply in this case.
• Booster given in Korea, or settled in Korea for good: the passport alone is no longer enough, French customs say. The pet needs the EU health certificate endorsed by APQA. A titre test done in France before departure still counts if vaccination was never interrupted; the 90 days between blood draw and certificate are then long past.
• Pet with no titre test: vaccination, a blood draw at least 30 days later at an EU-designated lab in Korea, then at least 90 days before the certificate can be issued. Allow about four months.

The APQA-endorsed certificate

According to the EU export guide of the Animal and Plant Quarantine Agency (APQA), the vet completes the EU certificate and an APQA inspector endorses it (or fills it in) within 10 days of arrival in the EU. The file includes the certificate, the application form, the titre report and ID. APQA's offices at Incheon Airport Terminals 1 and 2 are open every day from 9:00 to 18:00. Certificates on the old model (Regulation 577/2013) are accepted only if issued before 1 October 2026.

EU-designated labs in Korea

The European Commission lists five Korean labs: APQA in Gimcheon (designated 6 April 2026), the APQA Seoul Regional Office, Choong Ang Vaccine Laboratory (CAVAC), Komipharm and KBNP.

France → South Korea

Moving to South Korea with a dog or cat

Korea's rules are set out in APQA notice No. 2026-43 on quarantine methods, in force since 30 September 2026. Its Annex 9 lists the countries treated as rabies-free: Germany, Italy, Belgium, Austria, Portugal, Sweden, Finland and several French overseas territories (Guadeloupe, Martinique, Réunion, New Caledonia, Wallis and Futuna, French Polynesia) are on it, but France is not. The list follows notifications to WOAH and can change, so we check it before each departure.

What Korea requires

• A microchip; if there is none, one is implanted on arrival.
• A rabies antibody titre test for any pet aged 90 days or more: FAVN or RFFIT, at least 0.5 IU/ml, from an internationally recognised lab or a government lab of the exporting country, on blood drawn less than 24 months before. No waiting period applies after the draw.
• A health certificate from the exporting country's authority. For an EU country, APQA accepts the EU pet passport in place of the certificate. The titre result may come on a separate report, so carry the lab's original report.
• No import permit; advance notice is only needed for 10 or more animals.

Annex 9 sets no interval between vaccination and arrival; it checks the titre. We still advise drawing blood at least 30 days after vaccination, as the EU requires, so that the test also covers the return.

On arrival

A compliant pet is released the same day. With no titre test or a low result, it is held and tested once 30 days have passed since its vaccination: released if the result is good, otherwise revaccinated and released the same day. A pet arriving without a certificate is sent back.

Dogs classed as dangerous under Korean law: the importer must report the dog to the Ministry of Agriculture within 7 days of the quarantine certificate being issued.

Microchip and vaccination

For the EU, the pet must be chipped before being vaccinated (or the same day), vaccinated at 12 weeks or older, and the primary course must be at least 21 days old on arrival. Korea's rules set no vaccination timing but require the titre test from 90 days of age.

Keep vaccination up to date without a break. That is what keeps a titre test done in France valid for the return: a booster given after the previous vaccine expired means a new test and a new wait. If a booster falls due while you are in Korea, the passport alone will not be enough to come back, but the titre test remains valid as long as there was no gap.

Puppies and kittens: to enter France from Korea, with the vaccine at 12 weeks, 30 days before the blood draw and 90 days before the certificate, a pet born in Korea cannot arrive before it is about six and a half months old.

Documents to prepare

• Leaving France: the EU pet passport with the rabies vaccination and titre test recorded; the lab's original report.
• Leaving Korea on the passport: an EU passport showing a titre test done before leaving the EU and a valid vaccination with no booster given in Korea.
• Leaving Korea on a certificate: the EU health certificate endorsed by APQA within 10 days of arrival; a certified copy of the titre report; the owner's non-commercial declaration; your boarding pass.
• Authorised person: the owner's written authorisation if the owner is not travelling with the pet (within five days before or after).

See veterinary documents.

Rabies antibody titre test

On this route the test is required both ways, under different rules:

France has three approved labs: ANSES Nancy, Laboratoire départemental 31 (Launaguet) and INOVALYS (Le Mans). APQA's English page links to the EU list of approved labs. We recommend ANSES, a public lab and the EU reference laboratory for rabies serology: it fits Korea's "government lab of the exporting country" wording beyond any doubt.

For more on titre timing and pitfalls, see rabies vaccination and the titre test.

Typical timeline

Before leaving France

1. Microchip and rabies vaccine as early as possible

   No need to repeat a vaccine that is up to date.

2. Blood draw for the titre test at least 30 days after the vaccine

   Sent to ANSES, LD31 or INOVALYS; your vet records the result in the passport.

3. Flight booking at least 48 hours before departure

   The airlines' minimum notice; booking much earlier is wiser.

4. Departure

   Passport and the lab's original report. No wait after the blood draw for Korea.

Allow 1–2 months in all, depending on the lab.

Coming back to France

1. Rabies boosters before each expiry date

   Without a break for the whole stay.

2. APQA-endorsed certificate, if needed within 10 days before arrival

   If a booster was given in Korea or you have lived there long term.

3. Arrival in France travellers' point of entry

   Presentation to customs, then I-CAD within 7 days for stays of 3 months or more.

Without a titre test done before leaving, allow about 4 months: vaccine, 30 days, blood draw, 90 days, certificate.

How pets travel

Airline rules as published on 19 October 2026. Nonstop Paris–Seoul services and their frequency this winter could not be checked on official pages; we confirm them when booking.

A pet travelling without its owner goes as air cargo. In the hold, the travel crate must meet IATA standards. If your route connects through another country, check its transit rules too.

Airports and border checks

In Korea: APQA checks the pet on arrival and releases it the same day if the file is complete. For the return, its offices at Incheon Terminals 1 and 2 endorse certificates every day from 9:00 to 18:00.

In France: a pet from Korea must enter through a travellers' point of entry. France refers to the border-crossing list published in 2021, which includes Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Paris-Orly, Lyon-Saint-Exupéry and Nice-Côte d'Azur; customs note that not every post can check animals. Document and identity checks are systematic, including for a pet coming home on its EU passport. See French airports.

A pet that does not comply: in France the authorities can isolate it until it complies, send it back outside the EU or, as a last resort, order it to be put down, at the owner's expense. That is the real risk of coming home without a valid titre test.

What drives the cost

A titre test done in France before leaving costs one blood draw and one analysis; forgetting it costs a second test in Korea and three months' delay on the way back. The other items are APQA endorsement if a certificate is needed, the flight (cabin, hold or cargo) and the crate.

APQA's guide gives a fee of KRW 10,000 per case for the EU export certificate (checked 19 October 2026). We found no Korean import fee in the texts we read, and no official published fee for the French labs: our quote shows each item separately.

Common mistakes

• Leaving for Korea without a titre test done in France because entry into Korea is easy: the three months are missing on the way back.
• Assuming Korea is exempt from the EU titre test like Japan or Taiwan: it is not.
• Letting the rabies vaccination lapse during the stay: the titre test has to be redone.
• Coming home on the passport alone after a booster given in Korea: the APQA-endorsed certificate is then needed.
• Forgetting the lab's original report on arrival in Korea.
• Not reporting a dog classed as dangerous in Korea within 7 days.

Frequently asked questions

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