🇰🇷 South Korea · Moderate · ~6-8 weeks (FAVN turnaround)
Moving a pet from the US to South Korea
Korea's FAVN lookback is 24 months — way more generous than China's 14-day cert window. After-arrival makeup is possible but expensive.
APHIS source last verified 2026-05-17 · USDA page last modified 2026-01-16
What ruins South Korea trips
The specific traps for this destination. Not the generic advice you’ll find on the first 10 Google results.
Korea allows after-arrival makeup — but at a cost
If you can't complete microchip/FAVN before flying, Korea will let your pet arrive but hold them in quarantine at the airport (≈$20–60/day) until completed. Use only as last-resort — pre-shipment is dramatically cheaper.
Source →Microchip must be implanted BEFORE the rabies vaccine
Any rabies vaccination given before the microchip is INVALID — destination will reject it. If your pet was vaccinated first, you'll need to re-vaccinate AFTER microchipping. This is the #3 most common reason trips get reset.
Source →Don't let the rabies vaccine lapse — it invalidates the FAVN
For FAVN destinations, if your rabies vaccine lapses by even 1 day, the prior FAVN becomes invalid. You'd need to re-vaccinate AND restart the 180-day wait (Japan) or 30-day wait (Hawaii). This is the highest-cost failure mode we see.
Source →
Want this checked against YOUR dates?
The free timeline tells you the rules. The $29 readiness analysis cross-checks your specific dates, shortlists nearby USDA-accredited vets, and shares the insider routing tricks we hold back from free.