Pet Transport Colombia to South Korea: 2026 APQA Guide

Colombian pet owners moving to East Asia face a stark choice between Japan and South Korea in terms of preparation complexity. Japan’s AQS imposes a 180-day post-titre waiting period for non-designated regions, making Japan preparation a 7 to 9-month commitment. South Korea’s APQA does not impose this waiting period.

For the Colombia to South Korea route, once the titre test passes (typically 1 to 2 weeks after the blood draw), travel can be planned immediately. Total preparation is 2 to 3 months, most of which is taken up by the ICA export documentation process and the titre test turnaround.

Both destinations require arrival inspections. South Korea’s APQA inspection at Incheon is typically completed on the day of arrival when documentation is in order. Japan’s AQS inspection also takes approximately 12 hours when compliant, but reaching that point requires 7 to 9 months of preparation.

ICA (Instituto Colombiano Agropecuario) is Colombia’s agricultural and animal health authority. An ICA-registered vet must issue the health certificate and an ICA export permit is required before your pet leaves Colombia. Allow 3 to 4 weeks for ICA permit processing.

The health certificate must be endorsed by ICA and must follow the format APQA specifies. Confirm the specific APQA format requirements with a specialist agent or at qia.go.kr, as the format for South Korea imports has particular fields and endorsement requirements. Keep all original ICA documents: APQA does not accept copies.

The titre test result must be included in the documentation chain. Your Colombian vet draws blood and sends it to an approved laboratory. The result and the lab accession details form part of the health certificate supporting documents.

There are no direct flights from Colombia to South Korea. The standard routing goes via the United States: Avianca or American Airlines from Bogota (BOG) or Medellin (MDE) to Los Angeles (LAX), then Korean Air or Asiana Airlines from LAX to Seoul Incheon (ICN).

This two-sector journey means your pet is in transit for a significant period. The BOG to LAX sector takes roughly 7 to 8 hours. The LAX to ICN sector takes approximately 11 to 12 hours. Total journey time including transit can reach 20 to 25 hours. Confirm with both carriers that live animal cargo is accepted on your specific flight combination and get written confirmation of the through-routing arrangement.

Some routings go via Atlanta or Miami to Korean Air connections. Discuss the best combination with your cargo agent based on flight schedules and transit duration at the time of booking.