Pet Travel - EU & Worldwide

Arranging your pet’s Animal Health Certificate

At Larkmead Vets, several members of our veterinary team hold Official Veterinarian (OV) status, which is a requirement for issuing Animal Health Certificates (AHC) and other documentation required for pet travel around the world.

Contact us well in advance of your travel dates – we can then arrange a vet consultation for the necessary health checks, vaccination(s), and blood tests to be carried out and appropriate documentation signed off in time for your pet to travel.  It is your responsibility to ensure you have met the requirements for travel to your point of entry, onward travel, final destination and return to GB (if applicable).

Contact us about pet travel

Pet travel requirements

For dogs, cats, and ferrets:

Travelling to Northern Ireland

There are currently no routine physical or documentary checks required for pets travelling between GB and Northern Ireland until further notice. We do strongly recommend however that you use comprehensive flea, tick and worm control (including tapeworm) for all travel to and from GB.

Travelling to an EU country

Your pet must be microchipped and vaccinated against rabies at least 21 days (day 1 is the day AFTER vaccination) before an Animal Health Certificate (AHC) can be completed for travel to Europe. Once complete the AHC is valid for 10 days for entry into the EU and 4 months for onward travel within the EU or return to GB.

Pet passports issued in Great Britain (England, Wales & Scotland) are NO LONGER VALID for travel to an EU country or Northern Ireland. You can, however, still use a pet passport issued in an EU country or Northern Ireland.

Your pet will need:

• to be microchipped
• to have a valid rabies vaccination (your pet must be at least 12 weeks old)
• an Animal Health Certificate (or a pet passport issued in an EU country or Northern Ireland)
• tapeworm treatment for dogs if you’re travelling directly to Finland, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Norway or Malta.

These requirements also apply to assistance dogs. You may need to produce your pet’s documents on arrival.

You can find up to date travel advice, plus rules for repeat trips and travelling with more than five pets on the Government’s travel advice site: www.gov.uk/taking-your-pet-abroad

Before Returning to Great Britain

Before returning to Great Britain your dog must be treated for TAPEWORM – The treatment must be given between 1 and 5 days (24-120 hours) before returning. For short trips this can be done by a vet before you go – you must wait for 24 hours before returning to the UK and return withing 120 hours otherwise another treatment will be needed.

The treatment must:

• Be approved for use in the country in which it is being given
• Contain praziquantel or an equivalent proven to be effective against the Echinococcus multilocularis tapeworm
• Be administered by a vet, the certificate stamped and signed and have details recorded of the name and manufacturer of the product and date and time of treatment

NB. You do not need to treat your dog for tapeworm if it is coming directly to Great Britain from Finland, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Malta or Norway.

Travelling to a non-EU country / Rest of the World

We recommend that you research the requirements for exporting your pet to a destination outside of the EU well in advance of your travel dates. There are many reputable pet travel companies available now who can give you up to date information on your destination countries’ requirements. They will also draw up a timeline of vet visits and provide the essential documentation required for your trip. For some countries with strict requirements, you may need to start preparing for your pet’s trip eight months in advance.

If you decide not to use a pet travel service you will need to get an export health certificate (EHC) and complete an export application form (EXA) if you are in England, Scotland or Wales. The export health certificate checks that your pet meets the health requirements of the country you are travelling to – you must nominate an officially recognised Vet who will be sent the EHC to complete during the required health check. The EHC and EXA forms for each country and pet will tell you how to apply.

We are able to carry out all required tests for international travel plus complete the documentation.

You can find up to date travel advice, plus rules for repeat trips and travelling with more than five pets on the Government’s travel advice site: www.gov.uk/taking-your-pet-abroad

Contact us about pet travel