Importing your dog or cat the uk can be hard, especially with different rules for different parts of the UK. There are 2 slightly different rules for importing your pet into Great Britain (England, Wales and Scotland) and Northern Ireland.
We will start with Great Britain.
- They have been microchipped. (Always make sure your pet is registered on a Defra compliant microchip database. You can register with MyPet HERE.
- They have a pet passport or health certificate
- They have been vaccinated against rabies. They will also need a blood test if you’re travelling from a country that is not ‘listed’
- If your pet is a dog, the must also have a tapeworm treatment.
- Your pet must arrive in Great Britain no more than 5 days before or after you, or there is a different set of rules
- You must use an approved route unless you’re travelling within the UK or from Ireland.
- You need to fill in a declaration confirming you are not going to sell or transfer the ownership of the pet.
- Confirm the company you’re travelling with will accept pets
- Check if the company needs any proof that your pet is fit and healthy to travel such as a letter form your Vet.
You should always check HERE to check for the latest update.
Importing your dog into Northern Ireland
Post Brexit Northern Ireland is still considered a member state when it comes to the EU pet travel regulation.
Under the EU pet travel regulations there are 4 categories:
Check EU member states HERE.
A pet needs:
- A microchip (Make sure it’s registered on an approved microchip database. You can check if your pet is registered HERE and register HERE.)
- A rabies vaccination administered by an authorised vet and must be in date at the time of travel. Your pet must be microchipped beforehand and be at least 12 weeks old at the date the vaccine is administered.
- A valid EU issued pet passport or an EU animal Health certificate
- Tapeworm treatment for dogs if you’re travelling directly to Finland, Ireland, NI, Norway or Malta
- to wait 21 days from the date of the rabies vaccination before travelling
- Check with the company you’re travelling with if they need a statement from your vet confirming your pet is fit to travel.
Part 1 listed countries can be found HERE.
A pet needs:
- A microchip (Make sure it’s registered on an approved microchip database. You can check if your pet is registered HERE and register HERE.)
- A rabies vaccination administered by an authorised vet and must be in date at the time of travel. Your pet must be microchipped beforehand and be at least 12 weeks old at the date the vaccine is administered.
- A pet passport issued by a part 1 listed country or an EU animal health certificate (Valid for 10 days from issue to entry of an EU member state including Northern Ireland and for 4 months onward travel within the EU.
- Tapeworm treatment for dogs if you’re travelling directly to Finland, Ireland, NI, Norway or Malta
- to wait 21 days from the date of the rabies vaccination before travelling
- Check with the company you’re travelling with if they need a statement from your vet confirming your pet is fit to travel.
Part 2 listed countries can be found HERE.
A pet needs:
- A microchip (Make sure it’s registered on an approved microchip database. You can check if your pet is registered HERE and register HERE.)
- A rabies vaccination administered by an authorised vet and must be in date at the time of travel. Your pet must be microchipped beforehand and be at least 12 weeks old at the date the vaccine is administered.
- A single use EU animal health certificate confirming microchip and vaccinations (valid for 10 days from issue to entry of an EU Member state including Northern Ireland.) and for 4 months onward travel within the EU.
- Tapeworm treatment for dogs if you’re travelling directly to Finland, Ireland, NI, Norway or Malta
- To enter the EU including Northern Ireland through a travellers’ point of entry
- To wait 21 days from the date of the rabies vaccination before travelling
- Check with the company you’re travelling with if they need a statement from your vet confirming your pet is fit to travel.
Category 4: Travelling from an unlisted country into an EU Member state (including Northern Ireland)
An unlisted country is a country not included in the list of EU countries HERE and Part 1 or part 2 listed countries HERE.
A pet needs:
- A microchip (Make sure it’s registered on an approved microchip database. You can check if your pet is registered HERE and register HERE.)
- A rabies vaccination administered by an authorised vet and must be in date at the time of travel. Your pet must be microchipped beforehand and be at least 12 weeks old at the date the vaccine is administered.
- A blood test taken at least 30 days after the rabies vaccination and the blood test must show the vaccination was successful. (The date of the vaccination counts as day 0 not day 1)
- A single use EU animal health certificate confirming microchip and vaccinations (valid for 10 days from issue to entry of an EU Member state including Northern Ireland.) and for 4 months onward travel within the EU.
- Tapeworm treatment for dogs if you’re travelling directly to Finland, Ireland, NI, Norway or Malta
- To wait 3 calendar months from the date the blood sample was taken before travelling
- To enter the EU including Northern Ireland through a travellers’ point of entry
- Check with the company you’re travelling with if they need a statement from your vet confirming your pet is fit to travel.
(You don’t have to wait 3 months if your pet was vaccinated, blood tested and given a pet passport in the EU (including NI) before travelling to an unlisted country)
