Travelling to the EU from the UK with a dog
Holiday time!
Are you thinking about taking your dog with you to the EU from the UK? Are you already getting stressed about all the things you have to arrange beforehand? No worries, I got you! I took my miniature dachshund Pippin to the EU from the UK and back in June of this year (2023) and the journey was very smooth. In this blog post, I discuss my learnings and everything I did to make this happen.
I put hours of research into this blog post and have collated everything in a simple Travel Checklist which is available in my Etsy shop. It is completely up to you if you would like to support our blog by purchasing the Travel Checklist. This blogpost also contains all the info you need, although you might enjoy having a printable checklist for added ease! And even better, especially for readers of my blog, you can get 50% off the checklist by using the discount code “BLOG50” at checkout!
The Guidelines
The guidelines in this blog post are correct as of August 2023, however government rules could always change, so before you travel you should make sure you read the government guidelines in the UK and in the EU countries you are going to! I will put some important links down below. I highly recommend you read these too.
Firstly, I recommend you start planning your travels with your dog at least 3 months before your intended travel date, so you give yourself and your vet enough time to make sure your dog has the right vaccinations & papers!
The guidelines in this blogpost were written AFTER Brexit. A lot changed after Brexit so hopefully this will help you! Most of us in the UK now no longer have a valid European dog passport and therefore if you do not have one, you need an Animal Health Certificate (AHC).
PLEASE NOTE: The UK is now categorised as a Part 2 listed third country under the EU Pet Travel Scheme. This means if your dog(s) have an EU Pet Passport, issued in Great Britain, this will no longer be valid for travel to the EU and you will be required to obtain an Animal Health Certificate (AHC).
Important Facts To Know
Dogs younger than 15 weeks old CANNOT travel into the EU.
This is because your dog needs to receive a rabies vaccine AFTER 12 weeks of age and you need to wait 21 days AFTER receiving the vaccine before you can travel. 12 weeks + 21 days = 15 weeks of age.
You MUST have an Animal Health Certificate to travel into the EU, unless you have an EU dog passport that was NOT issued in the UK.
Your dog MUST be microchipped.
Your dog MUST have an up-to-date rabies vaccination record. The first rabies vaccine has to be given AFTER microchipping and AFTER 12 weeks of age.
You MUST have your dog treated for tapeworm 24 - 120 hours (i.e. 1 - 5 days) BEFORE you return to the UK by a Veterinary Surgeon and they need to SIGN THIS OFF on your AHC.
Method Of Travel
The first question you have is probably: how should I travel?
Car + EuroShuttle
I would recommend taking the car if you want to travel to the EU with your dog and using the EuroShuttle to cross from Folkestone to Calais. This is what I did in June. The crossing only takes 35 minutes and you never even have to get out of your car. This method of travel is very low-stress and low-impact for your dog, provided they are car trained!
The EuroShuttle is also very well prepared for dogs crossing the border. There is a special “Pet Check-In” desk where they will check your dog’s microchip and papers. It only took 5 minutes each way for us and they ask you to scan the microchip yourself. My dog didn’t even notice.
Below is a video of Pippin in the car whilst we are driving onto the EuroShuttle, so you get an idea of what it looks like. It does feel a bit weird when you drive the car onto the train, but the crossing was so quick and comfortable in your own car. We had no problems at all and Pippin slept most of the way.
We paid £282 pounds for a return crossing booking 2 months in advance. This price included a 2x supplement of £22 for the dog (£44 total). Not a bad price seeing as you take your own car and therefore you save so much money on car rentals! I think if you book further in advance, you could probably get a better price too.
Pippin in the car driving onto the EuroShuttle in the UK!
Car + Ferry
If you prefer to take the ferry instead of the EuroShuttle, this is also possible. You would need to check with your ferry company if they allow dogs and what the rules are once on board. Most overnight ferries I found did not allow you to take your dog into the cabin with you and said dogs need to stay in the car. I did not like that at all so I would not take an overnight ferry. However, I did see someone on Facebook post they took their dog on a day ferry for a 1.5 hour trip and they could pay a small amount extra to have access to the “dog lounge”. They had a very comfortable trip. So you can definitely look into this option!
Flying
We do not recommend flying with your dog as this is very difficult in the UK. We would only recommend this if you are getting a one-way ticket, as you can fly OUT of the UK, but you can not fly INTO the UK, or if money is no object and you can fly private.
The UK does NOT allow dogs to fly in the cabin with you on INBOUND flights (unless private flight).
The UK does allow you to fly OUTBOUND with your dog in the cabin, subject to rules.
Dogs have to weigh less than 8 KG (unless private flight).
There are only a few commercial airlines that allow dogs in the cabin, the main ones being KLM, Lufthansa, and TUI. You should research for your chosen airline what their processes are.
It recently came to my attention that there are companies that allow you to book a private flight where you and other dog owners pay a premium price for a flight and you can take your dogs on board - even bigger dogs! I found one on Instagram called K9 Jets: @k9jets_ which flies from London to LA, New Jersey, Paris, Lisbon and Dubai. There are plenty of other private jet companies that host other destinations as well. Of course, this option is VERY expensive and prices at K9 Jets start from around $9000, see here. If money is no object then this is a great option for long distance flights, especially if your dog is over the weight limit for normal flights and you do not want them to go in cargo.
Train
You might wonder if it is possible to take the EuroStar train. This is NOT possible. The EuroStar does NOT allow dogs on board, except for registered service dogs. The EuroStar at the time of writing also does NOT allow emotional support dogs. I have had email discussions with EuroStar about this and they have said there are no plans to change their dog policies in the near future.
Travel Timeline
Microchip your dog ASAP - in some cases the breeder already does this.
Make sure your dog is fully vaccinated in the UK, your dog should have their 2 rounds of jabs as a puppy - in some cases the breeder already does this as well. Some breeders only administer the first round of vaccinations and then you have to take them for their second round.
Stay on top of your dog’s fleaing and worming treatments. Some countries in the EU have different tics, worms, etc. which could compromise your dog’s health. You should administer fleaing treatment every month and worming treatment every three months. Ask your vet for more information. You should research for your destination country what the risks for your dog’s health are.
When your dog is 12 weeks or older, get your dog vaccinated against rabies by a Veterinary Surgeon. Tell your vet you need the rabies vaccination so you can travel to the EU. I also recommend you vaccinate your dog against kennel cough - this is not obligatory, but it’s good to do.
Wait 21 days for the rabies vaccine to become valid. For example, if you vaccinate your dog on 1st of April, the rabies vaccine becomes valid on the 22nd of April.
Book an appointment at your vet to get an Animal Health Certificate made. The appointment has to be WITHIN 10 days before you enter the EU. For example, if you will enter the EU on the 10th of May, you need to get your AHC made somewhere between the 1st and 10th of May.
If you are travelling to any of the following countries: Finland, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Malta or Norway, you will need to administer a tapeworm treatment at the vet’s in the 1 - 5 days before you travel. Read more about it here.
Animal Health Certificate
The AHC replaces the EU Pet Passport in the post-Brexit era. The AHC has to be made by an ‘Official Veterinarian’ (OV). Not all vets are OVs and therefore you need to check with your vet that they have an OV or access to an OV to create the AHC.
The AHC will be valid after the date of issue for:
10 days for entry into the EU or Northern Ireland;
4 months for onward travel within the EU;
4 months for re-entry to Great Britain;
one trip between the EU and UK only. You need a new AHC every time you want to enter the EU.
I had my AHC made at Goddard Vet Group, Brixton Branch, in London. I paid £244 for this. The appointment took 45 minutes as the creation of the 10+ page document takes quite a lot of time and the OV double checks everything. Obviously this cost a lot of money and there might be vets (especially outside London) who offer this service cheaper.
Once you have your AHC, you have 10 days to cross the border to the EU. Have fun!
Return Journey
Now that you have managed to get to Europe, how do you get back to the UK? You can use the same AHC provided you return within 4 months of the date your AHC was issued. If you stay in Europe for more than 4 months, you should be able to return to the UK using a pet passport issued in Great Britain before 1 January 2021 according to this gov.uk website. You could also try to convince a vet in Europe to make you a new European dog passport for your dog. They do not usually do this, as they only provide these passports for residents of the EU, but if you have an address in the EU perhaps you could try with a local vet.
Given that most of you will not be going for more than 4 months, I will assume you will simply return using the same AHC just like I did.
There is one thing you need to do in Europe so you can come back to the UK. You need to get your dog treated for tapeworm. You can read about the requirement for the tapeworm treatment on the gov.uk website here. In short:
A veterinarian needs to administer the tapeworm treatment 1 - 5 days before you cross back over to the UK.
They need to record the following details in the ‘Echinococcus treatment’ section of your dog’s pet passport or health certificate:
the name and manufacturer of the product;
the date and time they treated your dog;
their stamp and signature.
Please note, if you travel directly from Finland, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Malta or Norway, you do not need to administer the tapeworm treatment before you return, because you already administered the tapeworm treatment before you entered those countries!
Closing Remarks
Have a great holiday!
I hope this blog post helps you in getting you & your dog ready for travel to the EU. If you have any questions, I am happy to help. Send me a DM on Instagram @pipandcolondon or send us an email info@pipandcolondon.com
You might find it helpful to download the travel checklist in our Etsy shop. You can get 50% off the checklist by using the discount code “BLOG50” at checkout! Thanks for supporting our blog and happy holidays!
