Pet Travel EU, Northern Ireland and Worldwide
We are able to prepare your pet for an Animal health certificate for EU pet travel including insertion of microchip, vaccinations, blood testing (if required), and worming treatment as required by the country of entry and then issue a certificate. This is required, for entry to and return home from countries that are included in the EU Pet Travel scheme. Up to 5 pets can be included in one certificate that is valid for 10 days for outward travel but 6 months onward travel within the EU and re-entry to Great Britian before the certificate expires. These pet movements are for non-commercial reasons only.
EU Pet passports are no longer valid for travel into the EU. This is an EU decision. To qualify for an EU pet passport the current owner of the animal must reside as a permanent resident within the EU.
Rabies Vaccination
Your pet must be at least 12 weeks (84 days) old before it may be vaccinated against rabies for the purposes of pet travel. These rules are the same across the EU and help pet checkers carry out compliance checks. It will also prevent very young pets being moved across the EU. This vaccination needs to be current the whole of the possible validity of the Animal health certificate.
It is your responsibility to ensure that your pet is fully compliant with the rules of the EU Pet Travel Scheme before you leave the UK. In particular, you must wait 21 days from the date of your Pet’s primary rabies vaccination before you travel (the day of vaccination counts as day 0 not day 1).
If you have more than five pets and wish to travel with them within the EU and/or return to the UK (unless you are going to a show or competition) you will need to comply with additional Rules.
Worldwide Pet Travel
We are also able to help process pets for export to countries that are not covered by the scheme (outside EU or non- listed countries) using an EHC. Some counties have very rigorous entry requirements needing some quite forward planning, so please check well in advance of required date for entry to the country of your choice.
Please ask us for more information or visit the official Gov.UK Pet Travel web pages: www.gov.uk/taking-your-pet-abroad
The Process
Generally the process is straightforward and these are the steps that you will need to follow.
- Your pet must be over 12 weeks of age and have been microchipped before a rabies vaccination may be given.
- Your pet needs to have a rabies vaccination. It is no longer necessary for your pet to have a rabies titre blood test. The Rabies vaccination clinical history needs to include the transponder check in the written notes.
We ask that you fill in a questionnaire in advance to establish if your pet qualifies for an AHC, what we may need to do for your pet to comply and to create the correct version of the AHC we ask which point of entry into the EU you will be using.
For UK resident animals, a rabies booster will be required every 3 years (this will depend on the vaccine used) and the transponder details recorded in the animal’s clinical history. This booster should not go overdue by one day as this would mean restarting the 21 day waiting process again.
If you are planning to have an extended stay abroad the booster requirements may be different, please check with a vet in the country of destination.
All dogs entering the UK will be required to be treated for tapeworms by a vet and recorded on the AHC between 24 and 120 hours before entry. It is no longer mandatory for owners to treat their animals against ticks when bringing in animals from abroad, but it is advisable to ensure that your pet is protected against parasites that we do not have in Great Britain.
If you take your pet abroad it may be exposed to diseases which we do not have in the UK. We recommend you book an appointment with us to discuss your pet’s health and fitness to travel before you take it abroad. We can then give advice on the appropriate treatments for your chosen destination, regarding insects and diseases likely to be encountered.
Northern Ireland
From Great Britain to Northern Ireland – The Northern Ireland Pet Travel Scheme from June 4th, 2025
The Northern Ireland Pet Travel Scheme allows for the non-commercial movement of pet dogs, cats and ferrets and assistance dogs between Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
From 4 June 2025, pet owners in Great Britain will be able to use the Northern Ireland Pet Travel Scheme if they are travelling with their eligible pet or assistance dog to Northern Ireland, providing that they are not travelling onwards to Ireland or the EU.
To take advantage of the scheme, GB residents will require a Northern Ireland pet travel document (PTD), which is valid for the lifetime of the pet and can be used for repeat trips to Northern Ireland.
Pets and assistance dogs must be microchipped, and the pet owner must live at an address in Great Britain and be over 16 years old to apply. No Rabies vaccination or worming treatment is required.
Pet owners can apply for the lifelong pet travel document free of charge via the following link: www.gov.uk/taking-your-pet-abroad/travelling-to-northern-ireland