As of 1 January 2021, UK public health authorities will be enforcing sanitary and phytosanitary import controls for animals and animal products and plants and plant products.
In October 2020, British authorities indicated in their guide to how the border with the European Union will work that there would be no immediate change in 2021 to the EU Pet Travel Scheme allowing the non-commercial movement of pets from the EU to the UK.
Any changes to the UK’s requirements for travelling with pets will be published online here: www.gov.uk/bring-pet-to-uk.
As it currently stands, the following conditions must be met to travel with a pet dog, cat or ferret (for non-commercial purposes):
1. Your pet must be microchipped.
2. Your must have a pet passport or third-country official veterinary certificate.
3. Your pet must have a valid rabies vaccination (your pet must be at least 12 weeks old before receiving their first rabies vaccine and you must wait 21 days after vaccination for it to be valid).
Note: A blood sample (testing for rabies antibody level) will also be required if your pet is travelling from a country that the UK has deemed “unlisted”.
Important: Pets could be put into quarantine for up to 4 months, at the owner’s expense, if the above requirements are not met.
You cannot bring more than 5 pets into the UK, unless you will be participating in a competition, show or sporting event. In that case, the owner (or authorised representative) will need to submit written evidence that the pet is registered for the event. Pets must be over 6 months old.
Other details:
Dogs travelling to Ireland and the UK must:
- be at least 3 months old;
- have been treated for tapeworm (Echinococcus multilocularis) no less than 24 hours and no more than 120 hours before arrival (and this treatment must be recorded in the pet passport by the administering vet).
You cannot bring a dog into the UK on a private boat.
Any changes to the UK’s requirements will be published here: www.gov.uk/bring-pet-to-uk.