Taking pets to New Zealand: origin categories and the 2026 transition

Updated: 2026-10-30

A transition is not a menu of exemptions

MPI accepts a complete 2021 or 2026 pathway during the transition ending 1 April 2027. The 2026 IHS has a twelve-month RNATT window, new official identity checks and changed treatment/testing schedules. The old twenty-four-month result window, four-day last internal treatment and six-month heartworm threshold must not be mixed with new exceptions. This website currently has no standard-version, residence, age or NZ-origin selector; every 2026 task is conditional on that chosen pathway. Confirm the certificate version with the official veterinarian.

Use the New Zealand list

Australia is Category 1; Category 2 is the recognised rabies-free list and Category 3 has rabies vaccination/testing. NZ includes origins that do not share Australia’s classification, such as Marshall Islands and specified Malaysian regions. Hong Kong/Macau/Taiwan are distinct from mainland China. The Dutch Caribbean is not simply metropolitan Netherlands. Hawaii appears twice in the May 2026 official table, so ask MPI rather than choosing an exemption. Unlisted origins need a genuine categorised-country pathway or formal country approval, not just a connecting flight.

Identity and rabies clocks differ from Australia

2026 Category 2 non-NZ-origin adults need an official ID check six months before shipment, subject to the young-animal alternative. Category 3 identity timing depends on whether RNATT was sampled six–twelve or three–under-six months earlier. NZ allows same-day scan before sampling. Ordinary Category 3 primary rabies vaccination is six months before shipment and RNATT sampling three–twelve months before shipment, with at least 0.5 IU/mL. These are shipment and sample-collection clocks, not Australia’s laboratory-receipt 180 days. Documented NZ-origin returns have different options.

Cargo, permit, seal and quarantine

Ordinary air arrivals are cargo and enter Auckland/Christchurch. Category 2/3 requires permits and at least ten days in an approved facility; Category 2 also requires an official seal, unlike Category 3 and direct Australian air entries. Compliant direct Australian arrivals may clear after checks, with five-working-day advance notice; sea arrivals still require permits. The 2026 guidance recommends applying eight weeks before a permit is needed and allowing thirty working days from complete documents. Additional tests, parasites or illness can extend quarantine.

Species and history control the veterinary plan

The 2026 cat external treatment is within sixteen days, while dogs need continuous flea/tick cover before Babesia sampling and two treatments. Internal treatment is twice in thirty days, at least fourteen days apart, last within five days. Dogs additionally have lungworm, age-specific heartworm and Babesia, Brucella/breeding, Leishmania/vaccine history and Canicola branches; African history remains relevant after moving elsewhere. CIV vaccine/PCR applies to listed dog origins; the twenty-one-day respiratory declaration applies to both species. AU Leishmania wording and Hawaii classification remain questions for MPI. Do not self-prescribe the listed veterinary medicines.