Travelling with pets

When travelling with your pet dog, cat or ferret, the rules you must follow depend on the country you are going to or coming from.

Pet Travel after EU Exit

The UK left the European Union (EU) on 31 January 2020.

A ‘Withdrawal Agreement” has been agreed with the EU. The Withdrawal Agreement Bill provides the legal basis for the implementation of the Agreement in the UK. The Bill has cleared all stages of the Parliamentary process and has received Royal Assent, so the UK will now enter a transition period until 31st December 2020.

During the transition period although the UK ceases to be an EU member, the relationship will remain the same and it will continue to follow the EU's rules for pet travel. At the end of the transition period, the U.K. Government hope to have a new arrangements in place for pet travel.

Overview

You can enter or return to the UK with your pet cat, dog or ferret if it:

has been microchipped
has a pet passport or third-country official veterinary certificate
has been vaccinated against rabies – it will also need a blood test if you’re travelling from an “unlisted country”
dogs may require tapeworm treatment (except when travelling from Rep of Ireland, Finland and Malta)

Pet passports

Your dog, cat or ferret must have a pet passport or third country official veterinary certificate to enter (or re-enter) the UK.

Getting a pet passport if you live in Northern Ireland:

You can obtain a pet passport directly from one of the veterinary practices participating in the scheme. See link below for details

List of veterinary practices

If you live in England, Scotland or Wales you can obtain a pet passport from your vet. If your vet does not issue pet passports, ask them for the nearest one that does, or contact the Animal and Plant Health Agency (please ring 0370 241 1710 or email pettravel@apha.gov.uk.

The passport stays valid as long as you continue to meet the entry requirements.

Third country official veterinary certificate

Outside of the EU authorised vets issue official veterinary certificates instead of pet passports.

This certificate allows your pet to enter the UK (or another country in the EU). You will need other supporting documents too. Check your certificate for full details.

You must arrive in an EU country within 10 days of the date the certificate was issued. You can then use it for up to 4 months for travel within the EU.

Travel with more than 5 pets

You must get a health certificate for each group of more than 5 pets you want to travel with. You get this from the country you’re coming from.

You must do this at least 10 days before you want to travel.

You need this certificate in addition to the other rules for pet travel for the countries you’re travelling to and from.

Taking your pet out of the UK

There are different rules for travelling with your pet to another country from the UK. Check the rules for the country you’re travelling to. If your pet requires a UK issued official veterinary certificate this can be obtained by contacting Trade section, DAERA on 028 7744 2141 or by email at tradeadminpost@daera-ni.gov.uk.

To apply for a pet export health certificate in Northern Ireland please follow the instructions in the following page:

Pets exports

If you are planning to return to the UK with your pet it will also need a pet passport.

Travelling within the EU (or into the EU from another ‘listed’ country)

When travelling to or returning to the UK from another EU or non-EU listed country, your pet needs:

a microchip
a rabies vaccination (make sure your pet is microchipped first or the vaccination won’t count)
a pet passport or official third country veterinary certificate
tapeworm treatment (for dogs only)

You must wait 21 days from the date of the rabies vaccination before travelling.

Travelling into the EU from an unlisted country

An ‘unlisted’ country is any country not included in the list of EU and non-EU countries.

When travelling to or returning to the UK from an unlisted country, your pet needs:

a microchip
a rabies vaccination (make sure your pet is microchipped first or the vaccination won’t count)
a blood test - the vet must take the blood sample at least 30 days after the rabies vaccination (the date of vaccination counts as day 0, not day 1)
an official third country veterinary certificate
tapeworm treatment(for dogs only)

You must wait 3 calendar months from the date the blood sample was taken before travelling. The vet must give you a copy of the test results. These must show that the vaccination was successful.

You don’t have to wait 3 months if your pet was vaccinated, blood tested and given a pet passport in the EU before travelling to an unlisted country.

Commercial movement of pets

The EU Pet Travel Scheme covers the movement of pets with their owners. In the sale or commercial movement of pets (or where more than 5 pets are travelling in a consignment), as well as the preparations needed for pet travel, the requirements for commercial trade laid down by the ‘Balai’ Directive (Directive 92/65/EEC4) must also be met.

Commercial trade includes any transfer of ownership and therefore also relates to dogs travelling for the purpose of re-homing.

If you need to apply for an export health certificate for commercial pet movements in Northern Ireland please follow the instruction in the link below:

Pets exports

Before travelling it is recommended that you contact the competent authority of the country of destination as there may be additional requirements that have to be met.

Going to shows

Although travelling with 5 pets or more is considered a commercial move, if the travel is for the purpose of a competition, show or training for an event, then a Declaration can be completed which will allow exemption from the requirements for commercial movements.

Pet owners travelling to an event in Northern Ireland (NI) should complete the Declaration using the link below and make the completed Declaration available to a DAERA Portal Inspector upon arrival in NI.

Pets Declaration for Events in NI

Pet owners travelling to an event in Great Britain should complete the declaration form available from the gov.uk website.

Guide dogs and other assistance dogs

The rules for assistance dogs travelling under the EU pet travel scheme are the same as for other dogs.

Assistance dogs must meet all the requirements of the Pet Travel Scheme or may be subject to quarantine on arrival in to NI.

Assistance Pets may be permitted to travel in the aircraft cabin with their owner with carriers registered to carry assistance dogs and on approved routes. This may apply to other means of transport also.

You are advised to contact your travel operator in advance of your journey to ensure you are prepared and aware of all their requirements

The Guide Dogs Association website has advice about taking assistance dogs abroad.

When you return to Northern Ireland

As Northern Ireland does not have any pet approved routes, all pet animals travelling here must enter the UK through a pet approved route via Great Britain (GB) or the Republic of Ireland (RoI).

When the pet has been cleared in GB or RoI the pet is free to travel onward to NI.

Owners who travel directly into Northern Ireland must do so under an Import Authorisation, issued by the Department of Agriculture Environment and Rural Affairs Trade Section.

Please submit an application for an Import Authorisation at least 10 days before your pet enters Northern Ireland. If you complete the attached application you must also engage the services of an approved quarantine establishment to facilitate the checking of accompanying paperwork as we do not have the facilities at the airport to do this. You will have to pay for this service.

On arrival if you don’t have the correct documents or your pet hasn’t been properly prepared it will be licensed into quarantine until it fully meets the entry requirements or will be sent back to the country it travelled from. You must pay the costs for this.

Other types of pet

There are no restrictions on bringing pet rodents, rabbits, birds, ornamental fish, invertebrates, amphibians and reptiles to the UK from other EU countries.
Pet rabbits and rodents from other countries must spend 4 months in quarantine. They need a rabies import licence and must enter the UK at a Border Inspection Post.

Microchipping

Your pet must be microchipped before it’s vaccinated against rabies.

Make sure the vet records the number of the microchip on the pet passport or official third country veterinary certificate.

An official from DAERANI will read your pet's microchip on arrival in NI.

You must bring your own microchip reader when you travel if your pet’s microchip doesn’t meet ISO standards.

Tattoo

You don’t need to have your pet microchipped if it’s been tattooed with an identification number and all of the following are true:

your pet was tattooed before 3 July 2011
the tattoo is clearly legible
your pet was vaccinated against rabies after it was tattooed

Your vet must record the date of tattooing, the tattoo number and the date of the rabies vaccination in the pet passport or official third country veterinary certificate.

Rabies vaccination & boosters

You must get your dog, cat or ferret vaccinated against rabies before it can travel to another EU country or back into the UK.

Get your pet microchipped before the rabies vaccination or they will need to be vaccinated again.

EU and listed countries

You must wait 21 days after the vaccination before your pet can travel to or return to the UK from another EU or non-EU listed country.

After the first vaccination and waiting period, you can enter the UK whenever you like as long as booster vaccinations are given on time and you continue to meet the other entry requirements.

Unlisted countries

Your pet must have a blood test 30 days after the rabies vaccination. The date of the vaccination counts as day 0, not day 1.

You must wait 3 calendar months from the date the blood sample was taken before travelling. The vet must give you a copy of the test results. These must show that the vaccination was successful.

You don’t have to wait 3 months if your pet was vaccinated, blood tested and given a pet passport in the EU before travelling to an unlisted country.

Tapeworm treatment (dogs only)

Your vet must treat your dog for tapeworm and record it in the pet passport or third country official veterinary certificate every time you want to enter the UK.

The treatment must be given between 1 and 5 days (24 to 120 hours) before you are scheduled to arrive in the UK.

Your vet must record the following details in your dog’s pet passport or certificate:

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

The treatment must have praziquantel or equivalent as its active ingredient.
You don’t need to treat your dog for tapeworm if you’re coming directly to the UK from Finland, Republic of Ireland, Malta or Norway.

Quarantine

You must put your pet into quarantine when it arrives in the UK if it does'nt meet the entry requirements You must pay the costs for this.

You will need to book quarantine premises.

The quarantine premises will normally deal with all documentation on your behalf. They should:

submit an application form for an import authorisation
arrange to collect your pet when they land
organise clearance through customs
arrange transport for your pet to the quarantine premises

Check when making the reservation, if they don’t do these things, you will need to do them yourself.

Contact Trade Section, DAERA for advice by telephone 028 77 442141 or tradeadminpost@daera-ni.gov.uk

Release from quarantine

Your pet will become eligible for release when it meets the entry requirements.

A DAERA Veterinary Officer or quarantine kennel owner will tell you when your pet will be released from quarantine.