How Much Does It Cost to Ship a Pet from Canada to South Korea?
APQA’s pages, read on 25 September 2026, name no import permit, and ask anyone bringing ten or more cats and dogs for advance notification and approval to use a quarantine facility. What the route does ask for is one blood test done well in advance, and that decides whether the arrival ends at the airport or in a quarantine facility, where the owner pays the costs. A dog or cat with complete paperwork, a matching microchip and a passing titre is released the day it lands; our South Korea requirements page has the detail.
What it costs, line by line
| Cost | Amount | Who charges it |
|---|---|---|
| Advance notification | Only for ten or more cats and dogs, with approval to use a quarantine facility | Animal and Plant Quarantine Agency |
| Rabies neutralizing antibody test | Set by the laboratory | Internationally accredited rabies laboratory |
| Quarantine on arrival | None when chip and titre pass; otherwise transport, upkeep, testing and implanting, paid by the owner | Korean quarantine authority |
| Export certificate endorsement | Set by the CFIA at the endorsement appointment | CFIA |
| Microchip | Set by your clinic | Your veterinarian |
| Vet examination and health certificate | Set by your clinic | Your veterinarian |
| IATA crate | Amazon.ca, read 18 September 2026, lists the Petmate Sky Kennel at CAD $188 to $674 across sizes 200, 300, 400 and 700 | Retail |
| Airline freight | Quoted per booking | Airline |
The antibody result has to reach 0.5 IU per millilitre, from an internationally approved laboratory or the exporting country’s competent authority, APQA says. Korea accepts it for 24 months from the date the blood was drawn, so a titre test done for an earlier move may still be valid for this one. Check the date before you pay for a second test.
The paperwork itself is the CFIA veterinary health certificate for dogs and cats to Korea, completed by your veterinarian and endorsed by a CFIA office. It records the animal age, the microchip number, the vaccination and the test result, so every earlier step has to be finished before the certificate can be signed.
What happens on arrival follows directly from all of that. A pet whose documents are in order is inspected at the airport and released the same day. A pet missing the microchip, the vaccination or a qualifying antibody result is held until each of those is put right, and the holding period is not fixed, because the clock runs on the requirement rather than on a calendar. That is the outcome the planning is designed to avoid.
How flight pricing works on this route
Live animal freight from Canada to Seoul is quoted per booking rather than taken from a rate card. The airline needs the crate outside dimensions, the loaded weight and the date before it will price anything. Air Canada Cargo, Korean Air Cargo and Asiana serve the route from Vancouver and Toronto, so most dates have more than one option and the quotes are worth comparing rather than accepting the first.
A direct flight costs more than a connection and is usually the better buy on a route this length, because each transfer adds a handling stop and a period on the ground. Summer is the constraint to plan around. Heat embargoes at the departure airport, at any connecting hub and at Incheon are applied on forecast temperature, so a booking that was accepted one week can be refused the next.
What is not included here
Your veterinarian sets their own fees. The examination, the certificate paperwork and the blood draw are priced by your clinic and vary widely between cities. Ground transport at the Korean end, from Incheon to your address, is charged separately, as is any boarding in Canada if the flight date and your own moving date do not line up.
What moves the price
Crate size drives the flight cost, as on every route, because freight is charged on the space the crate occupies rather than on what your pet weighs. After that the variables are ordinary ones: which city you leave from, whether a direct flight is available on your date, and the season. When the paperwork is complete, the government side of this move is close to fixed, and almost all of the movement in the total is on the airline line.
Figures and sources
Figures verified September 2026. CFIA fees are re-indexed for inflation every 31 March, and Korea revises its import conditions periodically, so check the sources if you are reading this later.
- Animal and Plant Quarantine Agency, bringing a dog or cat to Korea
- CFIA export requirements for dogs and cats to the Republic of Korea
- CFIA Fees Notice, Part 11, item 26(2)
Terms used here are defined in our pet relocation glossary.
Want this priced for your pet and dates?
Send us the route, the breed and roughly when you want to travel. Request a quote and we will reply with an itemized plan, a timeline and clear next steps.
For entry rules and the full paperwork timeline, see our guide to pet shipping requirements for South Korea.
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