Changes to pet travel to the EU

If you are travelling from Great Britain (England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland) with your dog to an EU country you will require an animal health certificate (AHC).

Your pet will need a new AHC for each new trip to an EU country from GB. The health certificate must be obtained from a qualified OV (official veterinarian) within 10 days of the date you wish to travel. You can have a maximum of 5 pets per certificate.

The OV can only issue an AHC if your dog is microchipped and has an up-to-date rabies vaccination. Puppies can be vaccinated from 12 weeks old, but they cannot be given another vaccine on the same day as the rabies vaccine. They must also have the microchip in place prior to receiving the rabies vaccine. You will not be able to travel until at least 21 days after the vaccine has been given depending on the type of vaccine received (some have a 30 day wait) . To maintain vaccination status rabies booster vaccinations must be given before a stipulated date, if they are as little as 1 day late this constitutes a break in vaccine cover and the 21–30-day delay comes into force. You do not need to wait to travel after a booster vaccine (usually every 3 years) if there has been no break in vaccine cover.

From 22nd April this year (2026) you can no longer use a pet passport issued from an EU country to travel from GB to the EU if you are a UK resident. Previously to avoid having to get an AHC every time they travelled many UK residents with a second home in an EU country obtained an EU passport from their EU vets. This meant all rabies vaccines had to be given in the EU but allowed easy travel between GB and the EU. However this practice was stopped suddenly, with UK vets being informed of the change on 17/04/2026 (so a measly 5 days to notify their clients!). This means that all UK residents (regardless of whether they have an EU residence) now have to travel on an AHC each time they wish to travel. This is a frustrating change for both clients and UK vets, but it is beyond our control.