Canada to New Zealand
Pet Shipping from Canada to New Zealand
We provide international pet transport from Canada to New Zealand, planned around its import rules, the Canadian winter and your move date.
Book door-to-door pet relocation, or only the parts you need.
- Airline booking
- The travel crate
- The CFIA export paperwork and the New Zealand import permit
- Check-in at your Canadian airport
- Collection from quarantine with delivery to your new address
New Zealand at a glance
Full requirementsIn New Zealand, a cat or dog from Canada spends at least 10 days in an MPI-approved quarantine facility. MPI’s new import standard also asks for an official ID check at least six months before export for a pet arriving from 1 April 2027, required from 1 October 2026.
- Microchip
- Read at each vet visit for the move; MPI advises a chip meeting ISO 11784 or Annex A of ISO 11785
- Rabies vaccination
- From 12 weeks of age, kept valid to the day of shipment, with a first dose no later than 6 months before
- Rabies titre
- 0.5 IU/mL or more, from blood drawn between 3 and 12 months ahead of shipment
- Identification check
- An official veterinarian reads the microchip 6 months or more before departure, and again before the titre sample if that comes later
- Import permit
- Online, 30 working days or more before you need it, sent with the vaccination history, the titre report, the Rabies Certification Form and a signed facility booking
Pet Shipping from Canada to New Zealand
For now New Zealand runs two import health standards for cats and dogs in parallel. The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) has applied its 2026 standard since 1 July 2026 and requires it of every arrival from 1 April 2027, while a pet landing before then may still be prepared under the 2021 one. Which fits your dates is a question MPI suggests putting to the CFIA or a pet transport company, and under either the titre test and the quarantine booking are what the calendar hangs on. If you would like a simple overview of international moves first, start with our guide to international pet shipping destinations. Bringing a pet the other way, into Canada? See our guide to bringing a pet to Canada.
Which route does a pet take into New Zealand?
Only Auckland and Christchurch airports receive cats and dogs arriving by air under MPI’s import health standard, and the animal travels as manifested cargo. Staff of the facility the permit names collect it at the airport and drive it directly to quarantine, using transport that an MPI inspector has signed off. Airline booking and checking your pet in at the Canadian airport can each be arranged separately.
What are the entry requirements for pets going to New Zealand?
The short answer
For a cat or dog from Canada, MPI asks for a permit to import, with at least 30 working days allowed for it and the quarantine booking confirmation sent in alongside the application. The tests and treatments come from the model veterinary certificate that covers the pet’s country.
Which pets can enter New Zealand?
Five dog types cannot enter New Zealand at all: the Brazilian Fila, the Dogo Argentino, the Japanese Tosa, the Perro de Presa Canario and the American Pit Bull Terrier type. Under MPI’s 2026 standard a pet from a category 3 country such as Canada should be about nine months old when it is shipped, an approximate age that follows from the rabies timings, and a female cannot travel if she is more than 42 days pregnant that day. Hybrids other than Bengal cats are likely to be treated as a new organism, MPI says, needing approval from the Environmental Protection Authority first. Any one of these can rule a move out, so they are checked before anything is booked.
Within 72 hours of the pet reaching the facility an MPI veterinarian examines it, and does so again at the end of its quarantine. The stay lengthens if the paperwork is not in order, if fleas or ticks are found, or if the animal falls ill, all at the importer’s cost. A dog found with ticks is retested for Babesia gibsoni as well. Ready to start? Request a quote.
What vet work and documents does a pet need for New Zealand?
MPI’s 2026 standard splits the vet work into two stretches: the rabies steps, opened by an identification check well ahead of departure, and a closing run of parasite treatments and, for a dog, blood tests for Babesia gibsoni and heartworm among others. Canada is among the countries MPI lists for canine influenza, so a dog must also be vaccinated against it no more than 12 months and no less than 14 days ahead of shipment. Otherwise, a sample taken in its last 10 days before departure has to test negative.
| Requirement | New Zealand, from Canada |
|---|---|
| Microchip | Read at each vet visit for the move; MPI advises a chip meeting ISO 11784 or Annex A of ISO 11785 |
| Rabies vaccination | From 12 weeks of age, kept valid to the day of shipment, with a first dose no later than 6 months before |
| Rabies titre | 0.5 IU/mL or more, from blood drawn between 3 and 12 months ahead of shipment |
| Identification check | An official veterinarian reads the microchip 6 months or more before departure, and again before the titre sample if that comes later |
| Import permit | Online, 30 working days or more before you need it, sent with the vaccination history, the titre report, the Rabies Certification Form and a signed facility booking |
| Parasite treatment | Worming twice, starting within 30 days of departure and repeated in the last 5. Flea and tick treatment: a cat once, a dog on two occasions, with the final one in the 16 days before |
| Health certificate | The category 3 model certificate, signed and endorsed by an official veterinarian, which in Canada means the CFIA |
| Quarantine | 10 days or longer at a facility MPI has approved, reserved before the permit is applied for |
Sources, read on 25 September 2026: MPI’s guide to choosing between the two versions and the Cats and Dogs 2026 import health standard itself, dated 12 May 2026. The CFIA’s New Zealand export page, date modified 2017-09-27, refers readers to MPI under its former name, the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, and says an import permit must be obtained before entry.
Planning Timeline for Pet Shipping to New Zealand
- The official check of the microchip
- The rabies vaccination, if one is due
- The titre blood draw
- The quarantine reservation and the permit application
- The treatments for parasites, blood tests for a dog
- An examination by a veterinarian within 2 days of the flight
Allow six months or more under MPI’s 2026 standard, because the official check of the microchip has to be done at least that far ahead of departure. After it come the rabies vaccination, if one is due, and the titre blood draw, which for a pet already vaccinated can happen the same day as the check; next the quarantine reservation and the permit application; and last, in the closing weeks, the treatments for parasites, blood tests for a dog, and an examination by a veterinarian within 2 days of the flight.
For a line by line breakdown of what this route costs, see our cost page for Canada to New Zealand.
Every Pet Travels Differently
Different destinations, different routes, different challenges.
Because timelines, airline rules, and New Zealand’s entry requirements all affect each other, we build a plan that fits your pet and your move date.
Destination-Focused Planning
We use New Zealand's official MPI import health standard as the baseline, then turn it into a simple checklist and timeline you can follow.
Smart Routing and Logistics
We help choose practical routes, travel windows, and handoff procedures so your pet’s trip is safer and more predictable.
Personalized Support
Pet Travel Advisors assigns a move coordinator who keeps you updated and checks details before travel so nothing important is missed.
Questions about moving a pet to New Zealand
Request a QuoteWhich Canadian airports will my pet fly from to New Zealand?
It follows from the airline: the departure airport is wherever the carrier chosen for the route accepts the pet on your dates, and a road transfer from your home to it can be booked separately.
When is the best time to fly a pet from Canada to New Zealand?
Air Canada Cargo’s restrictions page, read 15 September 2026, sets no seasonal limit on New Zealand by name. It moves a warm-blooded animal to a later flight whenever the outside ground temperature reaches 29.5°C or more at departure, arrival or any stop on the way, and from 15 December to 12 January it takes no cats or dogs on an international flight with a connection in Canada. Another airline is held to its own published policy.
How much does it cost to move a pet from Canada to New Zealand?
Every move is priced individually, because the route from Canada, airline fees, your pet’s size and crate, the season, and New Zealand’s requirements all change the total. Tell us your city and timing and we’ll put together an estimate: request a quote.
How does Pet Travel Advisors handle a Canada-to-New Zealand move?
Each part stands alone: booking the airline, a travel crate, the MPI permit application and the certificates, checked before they are sent, your pet handed to the airline in Canada, and pickup from the New Zealand quarantine facility with the drive to your new address. Together they make door-to-door relocation.
Ready to start?
Book door-to-door pet relocation, or only the parts you need.