Animal Health Certificates and Pet Travel
If you are thinking about taking your pet on holiday or emigrating with them overseas, you will need to start organising your pet’s trip well in advance of your departure date. For travel to an EU country or Northern Ireland we recommend contacting us one month before, and outside of the EU will require a longer lead time. Keep reading for more advice.
Contact us to book a travel consultation
Pet travel requirements
The Hampshire Vet can provide the necessary health checks, blood tests, Animal Health Certificates, and any other documentation your pet requires to travel overseas.
Members of our veterinary team hold Official Veterinarian (OV) status, which is a requirement for Vets issuing Animal Health Certificates and other documentation for pet travel.
Travelling to an EU country or Northern Ireland
Pet passports issued in Great Britain became invalid for travel to a European country or Northern Ireland in January 2021. Instead, you must use an Animal Health Certificate. If you have a passport issued by a European country or Northern Ireland, this is still valid for travel to and from the EU.
Animal Health Certificates are:
- Valid for a period of 10 days from the date of issue
- Valid for a single trip into the EU
- Valid for travel into further EU countries for a further 4 months
- Valid for re-entry into the UK for 4 months after the date of issue provided that the rabies vaccination is still in date
- Allowed up to 5 animals on one certificate
To travel to an EU country your pet must have a:
- Rabies vaccine at least 21 days prior to travel
- Functioning microchip
- Designated Travellers Point of Entry into the EU
- Valid Animal Health Certificate that has been written in the language of the country that the animal is entering in the EU, or a valid EU issued passport
These requirements also apply to assistance dogs. You may need to produce your pet’s documents on arrival.
Please ensure you contact us at least one month before travel to ensure your animal’s vaccination status is up to date and that we have the availability to issue the appropriate certificate for your destination.
Travel to a non-EU country
To travel to a non-EU country, you will need to have an Export Health Certificate (EHC).
For some countries with strict requirements, you may need to start preparing for your pet’s trip eight months in advance.
You can find out more about pet travel requirements including 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 to book a travel consultation
