Pet Travel

Pet Passports are no longer available if you live in the UK and if are looking to take your pet on holiday with you, you now need an Animal Health Certificate (AHC) if travelling to an EU country or Northern Ireland. We can issue these for you!

These certificates can ONLY be issued by an Official Veterinarian (OV). We currently have one OV within our team, Jacob.

These certificates are very lengthy and require a lot of time and patience to complete. It is important to contact us in plenty of time so we can arrange an appropriate appointment time and get important information from you to be able to fill the paperwork correctly and efficiently. You may be able to wait for your paperwork or we may ask you to pop back.

Please contact the surgery for more details, the current cost and to book an appointment.

PET TRAVEL SCHEME

As of 1st January 2021, the UK has Part 2 listed status under the EU Pet Travel Scheme, meaning that people travelling from GB with their pets will need to follow new requirements in order to travel to the EU and Northern Ireland.

This guidance applies to people travelling to and from Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales) with their pet cats, ferrets or dogs, including assistance dogs. This guidance is only for travel for non-commercial reasons.

Always check the rules of the country you are travelling to or through for any additional restrictions or requirements before you travel – it is your responsibility to check the current rules for travel and arrange the appropriate documents.

Before taking their dog, cat or ferret to the EU for the first time after 1 January 2021, pet owners must complete the following steps. The only new requirement for travel to the EU is the use of a certificate, rather than a pet passport:

Ensure their dog, cat or ferret is microchipped.
Ensure that their dog, cat or ferret is vaccinated against rabies – pets must be at least 12 weeks old before they can be vaccinated.
Wait 21 days after the primary vaccination before travel
Check with state of entrance if a blood test for rabies antibodies titre is needed a month after rabies vaccination and before travel.
Dogs must be treated against tapeworm 24-120 hours before landing, if they are travelling to a tapeworm free country.
Visit their vet to get an animal health certificate (AHC) for their pet, no more than 10 days before travel to the EU.

Pets and assistance dogs will also need to enter the EU through a travellers’ point of entry (TPE), which includes all the major French ports such as Calais, Caen and Dunkirk.

‘Part 1’ listed countries

Great Britain accepts pet passports or a Great Britain pet health certificate from the following countries (known as Part 1 listed countries):

EU countries

Andorra
Azores and Madeira
Canary Islands
French Guiana
Gibraltar
Greenland and the Faroe Islands
Guadeloupe
Iceland
Liechtenstein
Martinique
Mayotte (French territory)
Monaco
Norway
Réunion (French territory)
Saint Barthélemy (French Territory)
San Marino
Saint Martin (French part of the island - French territory)
Switzerland
Vatican City State

‘Part 2’ listed countries

Great Britain accepts a Great Britain pet health certificate from the following countries (known as Part 2 listed countries):

Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Aruba, Ascension Island, Australia, Bahrain, Barbados, Belarus, Bermuda, BES Islands (Bonair, Saint Eustatius and Saba), Bosnia-Herzegovina, British Virgin Islands, Canada, Cayman Islands, Chile, Curaçao, Falkland Islands, Fiji, French Polynesia, Hong Kong, Jamaica, Japan, Malaysia, Mauritius, Mexico, Montserrat, New Caledonia, New Zealand, North Macedonia, Russian Federation, Saint Maarten, Singapore, St Helena, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Pierre and Miquelon, St Vincent and The Grenadines, Taiwan, Trinidad and Tobago, United Arab Emirates, USA (includes American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico and the US virgin Islands), Vanuatu, Wallis and Futuna.

Great Britain does not accept a pet passport from these countries.

Pet passport and other documents

You’ll need one of the following documents to enter Great Britain (England, Wales and Scotland) with a pet:

A pet passport, if you’re travelling from a ‘Part 1’ listed country, or if it was issued in Great Britain before 1 January 2021.
An Animal Health Certificate (AHC) issued in Great Britain within 10 days from departure and valid up to 4 months after it was issued.
A Great Britain pet health certificate, if you’re travelling from a ‘Part 2’ or ‘not listed’ country, or a ‘Part 1’ country that does not issue pet passports

You can check the country you’re travelling from to see if it’s Part 1, Part 2, or not listed.

Your pet will not need this documentation if it’s entering Great Britain from:

Northern Ireland
The Channel Islands
The Isle of Man

You must bring originals of all your pet’s documents, not photocopies.

Vaccination record

Your pet’s vaccination record in their pet passport or health certificate must show:

your pet’s date of birth
microchip number, date it was put in or read, and where it is on your pet’s body
vaccination date
vaccine manufacturer and product name, for example Nobivac
vaccine batch number
date the vaccination is valid until
the vet’s signature and contact details

Your pet can be stopped from travelling if the details in their pet passport are in the wrong place.

Tapeworm treatment for dogs

A vet must treat your dog for tapeworm and record it in the pet passport or health certificate every time you want to bring it to Great Britain (England, Wales and Scotland).

The treatment must have been given no less than 24 hours and no more than 120 hours (5 days) before you enter Great Britain. Your dog can be refused entry or put into quarantine if you do not follow this rule.

You do not need to treat your dog for tapeworm if you’re coming directly to Great Britain from Finland, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Malta or Norway or if you’re travelling directly to Finland, Ireland, Northern Ireland, or Malta.

The treatment must:

be approved for use in the country it’s being given in
contain praziquantel or an equivalent proven to be effective against the Echinococcus multilocularis tapeworm

Short trips:

If you’re leaving Great Britain for a short trip, your dog must be treated by a vet before you go. You must wait for 24 hours before re-entering Great Britain and return within 120 hours or you’ll need to get another treatment abroad.

You should treat your dog again within 28 days of returning to Great Britain.

Information your vet needs to record:

Check the vet has put the following details in the ‘Echinococcus treatment’ section of your dog’s pet passport or health certificate:

the name and manufacturer of the product
the date and time they treated your dog
their stamp and signature

Your pet will need a new Animal Health Certificate for each trip to an EU country or Northern Ireland.

Non-commercial declaration

You must fill in this form to confirm that you won't sell or transfer the pet dog, cat, ferret or assistance dog to a new owner in the UK.

REQUEST FOR AN ANIMAL HEALTH CERTIFICATE

You must book an appointment with one of our Official Veterinarians to get an Animal Health Certificate.
The certificate will be specific to the country via which you are entering the EU but can then be used for onwards travel through other EU countries. So please let us know in advance the country of entrance of your travel.
The certificate must be issued no more than 10 days before you travel. Do not book an appointment earlier than 10 days from the date of your trip. Please give us as much notice as possible when booking the appointment. Only Official Veterinarians with the relevant qualification can undertake these appointments; this, along with the time required to complete the certification process, means we cannot guarantee a last-minute appointment for an Animal Health Certificate.
We will request you send us information about your pet and the travel in advance of your appointment.
When you come to your appointment for the Animal Health Certificate, you must bring proof of your pet’s:

microchipping date, if available
rabies vaccination history

Your pet’s Animal Health Certificate will be valid after the date of issue for:

10 days for entry into the EU or Northern Ireland
4 months for onward travel within the EU or until the date of expiry of the validity of the rabies vaccination whichever is sooner
4 months for re-entry to Great Britain provided the rabies vaccination is kept up to date

6) If you are planning a trip which extends beyond the expiry date of validity of your pet’s rabies vaccination, we recommend a booster vaccination prior to completing the AHC. We also advise taking evidence of your pet’s full rabies vaccination history with you on the trip.

7) Check routes and travel companies

You must travel using approved routes. Check the routes before you travel – they can change or may only operate at certain times of the year. Your pet’s documents and microchip will be checked when entering GB.

Owners of assistance dogs returning to GB do not have to travel on approved routes. You must notify the point of entry in advance that you’re travelling with an assistance dog.

EU residents travelling to and from the UK

If your pet has an EU passport and their rabies booster is due close to the period of travel we advise you to have the rabies vaccination done in your EU country of residence before travel, as vets in GB are no longer allowed to update EU pet passports.

Additional guidance for people travelling to and from Northern Ireland with their pet cats, ferrets or dogs, including assistance dogs.

Between Northern Ireland and the EU

From 1 January 2021, EU pet travel rules will continue to apply to Northern Ireland. This includes the need to have a pet passport** and a rabies vaccination. There will be no change to the requirements governing pet travel between NI and the EU including the Republic of Ireland (ROI).

From Great Britain to Northern Ireland

It has been confirmed that from 1 January 2021, Great Britain (GB) will be treated as a Part II listed country. This means that pet travel from GB to NI, including where a traveller is returning to NI from GB, will require:

an EU pet passport** or an Animal Health Certificate
rabies vaccination with a 21 day wait from the successful rabies vaccination
tapeworm treatment
entry to NI via a Travellers Point of Entry (TPE) at Belfast Port; Larne Port, Belfast International, Belfast City or City of Derry Airports.

Northern Ireland residents already in GB needing to travel back

It was expected that on 1 January 2021 a number of pet owners would be unable to comply with the EU Pet Travel Regulation, for movement of pets between GB and NI. For example, pet owners who had already travelled from NI to GB and intended to return following the Christmas period. Pets travelling from GB to NI will therefore not be subject to routine compliance checks until 1 February 2021.

Current EU pet passports issued in NI and GB up to 31 December 2020, will not be valid for travel to the EU (including NI) after the 31 December 2020.

Interim measures have been put in place. If you are travelling in early 2021, you should contact your vet in Northern Ireland who will arrange to update your pet passport appropriately to allow travel. A new style UK (NI) branded EU Pet Passport will be available shortly and these will be distributed to veterinary practices in Northern Ireland in due course.

Help and support

You can contact the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) if you’ve got questions or need more information.

If you’re travelling to the EU or Northern Ireland

Contact the Pet Travel Scheme helpline if you need more information about pet travel.

Pet Travel Scheme helpline

pettravel@apha.gov.uk

Telephone: 0370 241 1710

Monday to Friday, 8.30am to 5pm (closed on bank holidays)

Find out about call charges

If you’re travelling to a non-EU country

Contact APHA if you need more information about pet travel to a non-EU country.

Animal and Plant Health Agency