Travel Abroad

Travelling to an EU country or Northern Ireland with your dog, cat or ferret post Brexit

*PLEASE ENSURE YOU ALLOW AT LEAST 6 WEEKS NOTICE FOR US TO ARRANGE YOUR APPOINTMENT FOR AN ANIMAL HEALTH CERTIFICATE DURING BUSY PERIODS THERE MAY BE A LONGER WAIT**

You can no longer use a pet passport issued in Great Britain (England, Wales and Scotland) for travel to an EU country or Northern Ireland. You can still use a pet passport issued in an EU country or Northern Ireland.

Checklist:

You will need the following when travelling to an EU country or Northern Ireland:

• a microchip. Pets must have a microchip before (or it must be implanted at the same time) as a rabies vaccination.

• a valid rabies vaccination. Pets must be 12 weeks old before they can receive their primary rabies vaccination. You must wait 21 days before you can travel after a pet’s first rabies vaccination

• an animal health certificate unless you have a pet passport issued in an EU country or Northern Ireland

• Tapeworm treatment for dogs if you’re travelling directly to Finland, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Norway or Malta. The treatment must have been given no less than 24 hours and no more than 120 hours (5 days) before you arrive. It must be approved for use in the country it’s being given in and contain praziquantel or an equivalent proven to be effective against the Echinococcus multilocularis tapeworm

Repeat trips to an EU country or Northern Ireland:
Your pet will need a new animal health certificate for each trip to an EU country or Northern Ireland.
Your pet will not need a repeat rabies vaccination so long as the rabies vaccinations are up to date.

Tapeworming treatment on return to Great Britain:
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. When returning from any other EU country, 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.

Animal Health Certificates:
You must take your pet to your vet to get an animal health certificate. You need to do this no more than 10 days before you travel. The certificate needs to be signed by an ‘official veterinarian’ (OV). Additional dogs, cats & ferrets (up to five in total) can travel on the same AHC at an additional cost per pet. The rabies vaccination is at an additional cost.

We ask that you leave your pet’s rabies vaccination and proof of identity (ie passport or vaccination card with rabies entry) with us prior to your appointment to allow the vets time to prepare the AHC documents ahead of your final appointment. When making the appointment, we need to know destination, planned date of departure and duration of stay.

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
- 4 months for re-entry to Great Britain

Your pet will need a new animal health certificate for each trip to an EU country or Northern Ireland from Great Britain.

Travelling to a non-EU country

If you’re travelling to a non-EU country, you’ll need to get an export health certificate (EHC). You’ll also need to complete an export application form (EXA) if you’re in England, Scotland or Wales.

The export health certificate and the export application form for each country and pet will tell you how to apply.

An EHC checks that your pet meets the health requirements of the country you’re travelling to.

You must nominate an official vet who will be sent the EHC. They’ll check your pet has met the correct health and identification requirements before you travel.

Check the rules of the country you’re travelling to for any additional restrictions or requirements before you travel.

OV66 ID Checks

If you are travelling to Australia we offer OV66 ID checks which ensure your pet's identity is verified by two different OV's from separate practices. These checks enable eligibility for the reduced 10 day quarantine period when arriving in Australia.  Without these two checks your pet will be subject to the mandatory 30 day quarantine period. 

For more information, please visit: www.gov.uk/taking-your-pet-abroad