Travelling abroad with your Pet
We offer this service to provide our clients with an Animal Health Certificates for traveling abroad with their pets; for holidays or relocation. We do not offer this service for exporting puppies to other countries.
To help us complete your pet’s Animal Health Certificate, we need information from you about your pet(s) and the countries you are travelling through and to.
The cost of an Animal Health Certificate is £300 for up to 5 pets.
If a rabies vaccination is required, this is priced at £101 per pet and will be charged at your appointment.
Please complete the form below and we’ll contact you to make an appointment with one of our APHA approved Vets.
Please note: Payment for the Animal Health Certificate is due at the time of application. You will be required to make payment online during the completion of this form.
Frequently Asked Questions
Am I still able to take my pet abroad after Brexit?
You are still able to travel with your pet to Europe or outside the EU, but the requirements have changed and you will need to take a few steps to make it possible.
If you are travelling to the EU, your pet will need to be microchipped and have an up-to-date rabies vaccination (these were needed even prior to Brexit). We will then need to issue an Animal Health Certificate (AHC). The AHC will allow you to enter the EU within 10 days of the date it has been issued, and will allow you to travel within Europe for 4 months and come back to the UK, but it won’t allow you to travel back to Europe again, even if it is still within the 4 months time frame.
If you are travelling to a country outside the EU, requirements will vary depending on the country or countries you are crossing and your final destination. You will need to apply online on the APHA website to request an Export Health Certificate (EHC) that will be subsequently sent to us. Some countries require additional vaccinations or blood tests at very specific timings before travelling, so we do recommend that you plan a trip outside the EU with a few months notice.
You probably also want to consider the option to use a Pet courier service, that will provide all the instructions and the documents, and will make sure that your pets trip runs smoothly by providing the correct pet carrier, making sure they have all they need during their trip and will take care of border duties etc.
For further informations and relevant links please see gov.uk/taking-your-pet-abroad
Am I able to use my pet passport?
Pet passports issued in the UK are no longer valid and cannot be used to travel. We can still use them as proof of previous vaccinations and travel history, so please do not throw them away. Pet passports issued in the EU can still be used if they are up-to-date. Unfortunately vets in the UK no longer have the authority to complete or amend European Pet passports, so if, for example, the rabies vaccination needs a booster or there are specific blood tests or treatment required to enter the destination country, we will need to issue an AHC or an EHC, depending on circumstances.
Do I need an AHC if I am travelling to Northern Ireland?
Yes, you currently need an AHC to travel to Northern Ireland, even if it is part of the United Kingdom. The reason is that it would the be impossible to track the pets that are then travelling to the Republic of Ireland, hence entering the EU without border controls.
What if I need to travel with more than one pet?
Each AHC can be issued to include up to five animals, so this is the maximum number of pets you can travel with when going to Europe. Exceptions are made for litter of puppies travelling with their mother, and for dogs travelling to take part to events such as an expo. If you are travelling outside the EU, each one of your pets will require their own set of documents to travel with.
What if I need to travel with pets that are different from dogs, cats or ferrets?
If you need to travel with exotic pets or other animals please get in touch with the APHA helpline and they will be able to give you all the informations needed depending on the animal species and the country of destination.
The closest APHA office to us is in Perth which can be contacted by phone on 03000 600704 or by email to APHA.Scotland@apha.gov.uk.
A full list of contact details can be found by clicking here.