Advance notification requirement for importation of trees from the EU and GB
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The commercial importation of certain tree species to Northern Ireland from countries within the European Union (and from Switzerland) must be notified to DAERA Plant Health, by completing and submitting the form linked below.
These woody plants are any species within the genera of Castanea (Sweet Chestnut), Fraxinus (Ash), Olea (Olive), Pinus (Pine), Platanus (Plane), Prunus (e.g. Cherry, Plum, Laurel), Quercus (Oak) and Ulmus (Elm).
Importation into Northern Ireland of all plants originating in Great Britain must also be notified in advance, by creating and submitting a ‘Common Health Entry Declaration’ (CHED) via the online platform called ‘TRACES NT’ (or ‘IMSOC’). Further information about this process and ‘TRACES NT’ use can be found at the Plants and Plant Products page.
Note: From the above list, only importations of Olea, Pinus, Platanus, Prunus avium, P. armeniaca, P. canescens, P. cerasus, P. domestica, P. incisa, P. persica, P. pseudocerasus, P. spinosa, Quercus petrea and Q. robur are permitted from Great Britain into Northern Ireland. Under the legislation CIR (EU) 2018/2019, a number of other woody plant types cannot currently be imported from Great Britain to Northern Ireland. For up-to-date information on the genera and species of woody plants whose importation from GB is prohibited, please check the following link:
Export of high risk plants to the EU - UK Plant Health Information Portal
For notification of landing plants from the above-named eight genera from the EU or Switzerland, please use the form linked below. Notification to DAERA PHIB must be done in advance, or no later than 4 days after their arrival in Northern Ireland. The form can be downloaded and completed by hand, then scanned / photographed and attached to an email, addressed to: phhort@daera-ni.gov.uk.
If you prefer to complete the form electronically, open the downloaded copy in “Adobe Acrobat Reader” and select the “Fill & Sign” tool to type the information into the various boxes. You may wish to rename the file and save a copy for your business records.
When emailing your completed form back to us at phhort@daera-ni.gov.uk, please enter “Import Notification Form” into the subject line of your message, which will assist rapid processing of the notification. An inspector from DAERA PHIB may need to call out to inspect the plants on site.