The Norwegian Food Safety Authority (NFSA) has entered into an agreement with Thailand to electronically exchange health certificates.

Additionally, NFSA is working to establish electronic certificate exchanges with several other countries in Asia, including Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam, and Indonesia.

  • "An agreement has been reached for the exchange of electronically signed (e-signed) PDFs with Thailand, the Philippines, and Malaysia. For Vietnam and Indonesia, the process to establish an electronic solution is still ongoing," says Øystein Valanes, Head of Market Access at the Norwegian Seafood Council.

Test Period

For Thailand, a one-month test period for e-signed PDFs will be conducted. During this period, both e-signed PDFs and paper certificates will be exchanged with Thailand.

  • Once the test period is over, it will transition to a paperless solution with e-signed PDFs.

For Thailand, it has been confirmed that the test period will start on Tuesday, August 27, 2024. From October 1, only e-signed PDFs will be issued to Thailand.

Automated Processing

  • The test period for Malaysia and the Philippines will start a bit later. Updated information will be provided as soon as the start date is confirmed.

The procedure for applying for and processing certificates for these countries will be similar to the current system, with most applications being handled automatically. The only new feature is the download of e-signed PDFs, which is made very simple in the new solution.

  • For those exporting to the United Kingdom, we can inform you that the procedure for retrieving an e-signed PDF for Thailand, is the same as for retrieving e-signed PDFs for certificates to the UK.

You can read more on NFSA`s website (Norwegian text). 

Here you can learn more about how to apply for certificates to Thailand (Norwegian text).

Check out the procedure for such applications here! (Norwegian text).

Two Steps

The transition to electronic certificate exchange with Thailand will occur in two steps:

  1. Test Period: August 27, 2024 – October 1, 2024
  2. Paperless certificate exchange: starting from October 1.

No Changes

There are no changes to the actual certificate for Thailand or the requirements of the certificate.

  • The e-signed PDF certificates can easily be downloaded from the new solution.
  • All exporters must send both a paper version and an e-signed PDF version of the certificate to Thailand during the period from August 27 to October 1.
  • This is done by submitting the application for the certificate in the new export solution as usual. Only one application per certificate.
  • Once the certificate is approved, you retrieve the paper version of the certificate from the certificate office as usual.
  • Additionally, you download the PDF version of the certificate, which is secured, verified, and electronically signed by Mattilsynet from the export solution. The procedure is very simple, and you will receive guidance on how to do this within the solution.
  • It is the exporter’s responsibility to ensure that the e-signed PDF is forwarded to the importer and subsequently to the Thai authorities. The importer must upload the e-signed PDF into the import system.