China Southern Airlines Pet Policy: How to transport a pet in 2026

1. China Domestic flights: Passengers must present an animal quarantine certificate from a quarantine department at county (or regional) level or above.
2. Hong Kong/ Macau/ Taiwan, China/ International flights:
a. “Certificate of Quarantine” and “Certificate of Rabies Immunization” issued by the department responsible for plant and animal immunization in the People’s Republic of China;
b. A departure and arrivals card or transit permit;
c. Any additional documentation required by the destination or transiting countries (please refer to TIM for national regulations).

Requirements for Pets Entering China:
Valid quarantine certificate and rabies vaccination certificate issued by an official animal quarantine organ of the exporting country or region shall be presented to the China customs for pet importation.

Pets must have microchips that meet the international standards of ISO 11784 and 11785. The 15-bit microchip code shall contain only numbers and must be readable with a reader. For any non-compliant microchip, the pet owner may prepare a reader to read the implanted chip.

Pets shall be under 30-day isolation and quarantine in a quarantine station designated by the customs except for the following circumstances where pets are exempt from isolation and quarantine:
a. Pets arrive from 19 designated countries or regions, i.e., New Zealand, Australia, Fiji, French Polynesia, USA (Hawaii and Guam only), Jamaica, Iceland, United Kingdom, Ireland, Liechtenstein, Cyprus, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland, Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong SAR(China), and Macao SAR (China), hold valid microchips and pass on-site quarantine.
b. Pets arrive from non-designated countries or regions (any countries or regions other than the designated ones), hold valid microchips and rabies antibody test report (blood titer or antibody amount must be above 0.5IU/ml) from an approved laboratory, and pass on-site quarantine.

rabies vaccination certificate

Animals which are too small (such as mice or ornamental fish), too big (their cage size exceeds the maximum volume limitation), or may pose risks to transportation as well as wild animals, creatures with a repulsive appearance, and offensive animals (such as snakes) are not considered to be small animals and cannot be transported as baggage.
Short-nosed canines and felines as well as aggressive breeds of these animals cannot be carried onto a flight
The aggressive dog breeds and breeds of short-nosed felines and canines that are prohibited from using luggage transportation are as follows:
Short-nosed felines：Burmese、Exotic shorthair cats、Persian、Himalayan、British Shorthair Cats.
Short-nosed canines：Affenpinscher、Boston Terrier、 Boxers(all breeds)、Brussels Griffin、 Bulldog(all breeds)、Bull Terrier、Pug(all breeds)、Cane Corso、Chow Chow、Dogue de Bordeaux、English Toy Spaniel、Japanese Chin/Japanese Spaniel/Chin Chin、Cavalier King Charles Spaniel、Lhasa Apso、Mastiff(all breeds)、Pekinese、Presa Canario、Shar Pei、Shih Tzu、Tibetan Spaniel、American Bully、YankeeTerrier、Gull Ter、Staffordshire Terrierr.