Travelling with your pet
& Animal Health Certificates

Booking an Export Appointment

We ask that you give us as much notice as possible to organise an export consult for you, as Animal Health Certificates (AHC) are complex documents which require a lot of time to process, and can only be completed by those of our vets who have Official Veterinarian Status.  Due to the amount of time allocated, we ask for a 50% non-refundable deposit at the time of booking.  The number of travel appointments we can offer may be limited in busy periods, as we prioritise appointments for pets with health concerns.  For this reason, we are only able to offer export appointments to registered clients and pets.

The cost of an AHC is £290, with a £90 additional charge for every additional animal.

We will email you a questionnaire to complete before your appointment to ensure we have the correct information.  This must be filled out and returned at least 48 hours before your export appointment, and will help us ensure the AHC is as accurate as possible.

E.U. Travel – Pet Travel Requirements

If you are planning on travelling abroad to the E.U. with your pet, please see the following requirements (taken from the D.E.F.R.A. website):

1.  Dogs and cats must be microchipped.
2. Dogs and cats must be vaccinated against rabies. (Please note: all pets must be at least 12 weeks old before they can be vaccinated.)  Rabies booster vaccinations must be given within a three year period to remain valid. 
3. Clients must wait at least 21 days after the primary rabies vaccination, before travel. We advise not booking any travel tickets before contacting us to confirm timings, as we are unable to complete any export documentation before day 21 post-vaccination, and require 1-2 working days to process the application.
4. Clients must arrange to visit us to obtain an Animal Health Certificate for their pet, no more than 10 days before travel to the E.U. An AHC can only be issued in the following conditions:
• The pet(s) is/are one of the following: dog, cat or ferret.
• You are transporting 5 or fewer pets.
• The owner or ‘natural person’ (excluding a pet travel company) with written authorisation from the owner, is travelling within 5 days of the pet(s).
• The pets are not being transported for commercial purposes.
5. If you’re travelling to Finland, Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland, Norway or Malta, your pet will require a tapeworm treatment – not more than 120 hours, and not less than 24 hours before time of entry. This will need to be certified on the Animal Health Certificate by one of our Official Veterinarians (OV). As such, we recommend this is given at the same time as the AHC appointment, to avoid additional consultation charges.

A separate Animal Health Certificate must be issued for EACH journey to the E.U.

The AHC will be valid for:

• • 10 days after the date of issue for entry into the E.U. or N.I.
  • Onward travel within the E.U. or N.I. for 4 months after the date of issue.
  • Re-entry to G.B. for 4 months after the date of issue.

More information can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/pet-travel-to-europe-from-1-january-2021 or you can email the pet travel helpline at [email protected] or call 0370 241 1710.

Travelling with your Pet to a Non-E.U. Country

If your pet is travelling to or via a non-E.U. country, then requirements for entry will vary e.g.  additional documentation or blood samples may be required.  See: Taking your pet dog, cat or ferret abroad: Overview – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) for government guidelines on which countries this is applicable to.

Cost of exports to non-E.U. countries will depend on the export requirements of that country.  Please contact us for an estimate.  In cases where extensive export certification is required, we advise the use of specialist pet travel companies to help with the process.