As from the 1st of January 2012, the rules for bringing your pet dog, cat or ferret into the UK have changed.
Don’t delay – find out the rules in plenty of time before you travel.
If you wish to return to the UK with your pet after a trip abroad, or intend to bring your pet into the UK for the first time, you need to be aware of the changes to the UK pet entry rules that came into effect on 1 January 2012.
You are responsible for ensuring your pet meets all the rules for entering the UK.
Make sure you have had the procedures carried out in the correct order and your pet’s documentation is correctly completed. If you do not, your pet may not be able to enter the country or may have to be licensed into quarantine on arrival. This will mean delay and will cost you money.
Rules depend on which country you are travelling into the UK from:
• EU member states – see Part A
• Approved non-EU countries – listed below but please check
www.defra.gov.uk/wildlife-pets/pets/travel/pets/countries/noneu-countries/
for latest details – see Part A
• Non-approved countries (not in EU or not listed overleaf) – see Part B.
Approved non-EU countries and territories
|
Andorra |
Falkland Islands |
Norway |
|
Antigua & Barbuda |
Fiji |
Russian Federation* |
|
Argentina |
French Polynesia |
Saint Maarten* |
|
Aruba |
Guam |
San Marino |
|
Ascension Island |
Hawaii |
Singapore |
|
Australia |
Hong Kong |
St Helena |
|
Bahrain |
Iceland |
St Kitts & Nevis |
|
Barbados |
Jamaica* |
St Lucia |
|
Belarus |
Japan |
St Pierre & Miquelon |
|
Bermuda |
Liechtenstein |
St Vincent
& The Grenadines |
|
BES Islands (Bonair, Saint
Eustatius and Saba)* |
Malaysia* |
Switzerland |
|
Bosnia-Herzegovina |
Mauritius |
Taiwan |
|
British Virgin Islands |
Mayotte |
Trinidad and Tobago |
|
Canada |
Mexico |
United Arab Emirates* |
|
Cayman Islands |
Monaco |
USA (mainland) |
|
Chile |
Montserrat |
Vanuatu |
|
Croatia |
New Caledonia |
Vatican |
|
Curacao* |
New Zealand |
Wallis & Futuna |
*asterisk indicates specific information relating to these countries, so please go to:-
www.defra.gov.uk/wildlife-pets/pets/travel/pets/countries/noneu-countries/ for latest list.
Is your pet prepared?
PART A Entry to the UK from other EU Member States and
approved non-EU countries:
For your pet to enter the UK from these countries, you must answer ‘yes’ to the following questions:
• Is it microchipped?
• Is your pet currently vaccinated against rabies?
• Was it vaccinated after it was microchipped?
• Have you got an EU Pet Passport or Official Veterinary Health Certificate*
from your vet certifying the microchip and vaccination?
• Have 21 days passed since it was vaccinated?
• Are you travelling into the UK with your pet on an approved route?***
• Have you treated your dog for tapeworm 1-5 days before its arrival in the UK?
PART B Entry to the UK from non-approved countries:
For your pet to enter the UK from these countries, you must answer
‘yes’ to the following steps:
• Is it microchipped?
• Is your pet currently vaccinated against rabies?
• Was it vaccinated after being microchipped?
• Was a blood sample for a blood test taken at least 30 days after
it was vaccinated?
• Has it passed the blood test? (your vet will tell you)
• Have you got an EU Pet Passport** or Official Veterinary Health Certificate*
from your vet certifying the microchip, vaccination and blood test result?
• Have three months passed since the date the blood sample was taken?
• Are you travelling into the UK with your pet on an approved route?***
• Have you treated your dog for tapeworm 1-5 days before its arrival in the UK?
* Official Veterinary Health Certificates are issued by non-EU countries only.
** If your pet was successfully blood tested and issued with an EU pet passport before it left the UK or other EU country to go to a non-approved country, the three-month waiting period before re-entering the UK will not apply (but all other rules still apply, including the requirement for the blood sample to be taken at least 30 days after vaccination).
*** For certain assistance dogs, they must travel into an approved airport. See our website for further information.
Further Information
Travel arrangements with the Republic of Ireland
All pets travelling from the Republic of Ireland to the UK should be microchipped, vaccinated against rabies and accompanied by a pet passport. As both the Republic of Ireland and the UK have had no indigenous rabies for many decades, compliance checks on pets travelling between the two countries will not be applied. Pet owners travelling with their pets should therefore not experience any change on the ground from the 1st January.
Travelling abroad with your pet
The rules for pets travelling from the UK to other countries will not change. UK pet owners wishing to take their pets abroad should contact the Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency (AHVLA) for details of the export certification requirements for the destination country. Email: CatandDogExports.Carlisle@animalhealth.gsi.gov.uk
Pets in quarantine
Pet owners with pets entering quarantine from 3 July 2011 to 31 December 2011 may be able to have their pet released from quarantine from 1 January 2012 and before the current six month quarantine period has elapsed, if they have prepared their pets to meet EU rules. See the Defra website for further information.
To find out more detail
This page only contains a summary of the rules, so please go to the Defra website for the latest and comprehensive details on the rules for pet travel into the UK.
Website: www.defra.gov.uk/pets
Email: pettravel@ahvla.gsi.gov.uk
Helpline: +44 (0)870 241 1710
Please note: This page only contains a summary of the rules. Although we have done our utmost to ensure that the details are correct as of December 2011, the rules do occasionally change, so please go to the Defra website for the latest and comprehensive details on the rules for pet travel into the UK.