GENERAL INFORMATION
Thank you for visiting our travel pages. You can find everything we know about travelling to the EU or North America or the Rest of the World in those individual pages or in the frequently asked questions in each section.
Please read the information thoroughly before completing the appropriate questionnaire. We need all of this information before we can apply for and complete pet travel health certificates on your behalf. If we don’t have the information that governments require we can’t complete the procedure for you.
All countries require a veterinarian to examine all dogs and cat (and ferrets) before they visit and certify that their rabies inoculations are up to date. Some countries also require proof that rabies vaccination has produced protecting antibodies. Some countries require other blood tests for certain infectious diseases or treatment for external and internal parasites before travel.
Virtually all airlines and transport companies ask you for proof that your dog or cat is “Fit to Travel”.
Stephen, Jo and Bruce are all Official Veterinarians or “OVs”. OVs act on behalf of the government’s Animal & Plant Health Agency (APHA), and may legally sign and stamp health declaration documents demanded by other countries for visiting pets. We also health-check pets and certify them as “FIT TO TRAVEL”.
We are not travel agents or pet travel brokers. Each country has its own import requirements for dogs and cats and these regularly change. Airlines, ferries, train companies and other carriers also have their own rules and regulations and these too often change. We are here to help complete your companion’s travel plans but, as your companion’s owner, you are who is legally responsible to contact the country you are travelling to, find out what that country’s import requirements are, then tell us what we can do for you.
If you are an existing client, please complete the appropriate questionnaire for travel to the EU, North America or the Rest of the World. Remember to use the surname we have in our records so that we can add details you may not know such as rabies vaccine batch number etc.
If you are NOT an existing client but would like us to arrange your pet’s travel requirements, please register your pet first. We will get back to you to coordinate how we can help you.
TRAVEL TO THE EU AND ITS ASSOCIATED ‘LISTED’ COUNTRIES
Your companion needs an Animal Health Certificate (AHC) that conforms to EU regulations. Although the regulations are bureaucratic and time consuming, the requirements are simple. Your companion must be microchipped then vaccinated against rabies. The rabies inoculation must be valid for your both your outbound and return trips.
The AHC must be issued within 10 days of your pet’s outbound journey and is valid for four months for your return to the UK. It can only be used once. A new AHC is required for each subsequent visit to the EU or associated ‘listed’ country. To apply for an AHC for your companion(s) please click here. The fee for an AHC is £238.00. This covers reviewing the documentation, seeking further clarification, applying for the AHC, completing it and your pet’s visit to us, for its microchip and health check. There is a sliding fee depending on how soon your travel is.
BE ACCURATE WITH THE DATE
Remember to use the international day-month-year format, not the American month-day-year. When you complete the application form you’ll see a DD-MM-YY prompt. Please use it. If for example you write 07-10-24 when you mean the 10th of July (10-07-24) you’re AHC will be invalid for July travel.
The standard fee of £238 is for all applications received 10 or more days before travel. There is an urgency surcharge of 10 percent each day up to a 100 percent surcharge for an AHC completed the day before travel.
TRAVEL TO THE UNITED STATES, CANADA AND MEXICO
Travel from the UK to North America is relatively simple. Your companion must be healthy, microchipped and vaccinated against rabies with a vaccine that is still valid. Your airline will require a “Fit to Fly” certificate. Please apply at least 10 days before travel.
The fee for an official rabies vaccination certificate and fit to fly certificate to the United States is £116 . This includes the visit for the microchip and health check. To apply for an official rabies vaccination certificate click here and fit to fly to the US please click here.
If we did not vaccinate your pet against rabies we need information directly from your vet about the vaccine manufacturer, batch number and expiry date, date of vaccination and duration of immunity.
For applications less than 10 days before travel there is an urgency surcharge of 10 percent each day up to a 100 percent surcharge for documents completed the day before travel.
The UK’s Animal & Plant Health Agency (APHA) recommends that pets travelling to Canada or Mexico also have an Export Health Certificate (EHC). We can assist with the completion of these documents. To apply for an EHC please click here. The fee for an EHC for Canada or Mexico is £350.00. This covers reviewing the documentation, seeking further clarification, applying for the EHC, completing it and your pet’s visit to us for its microchip and health check. For applications less than 10 days before travel there is an urgency surcharge of 10 percent each day up to a 100 percent surcharge for documents completed the day before travel.
BE ACCURATE WITH YOUR TRAVEL DATE
Remember to use the international day-month-year format, not the American month-day-year. When you complete the application form you’ll see a DD-MM-YY prompt. Please use it. If for example you write 07-10-24 when you mean the 10th of July (10-07-24) you’re EHC will be invalid for July travel.
TRAVEL TO THE REST OF THE WORLD
Animal import regulations vary enormously from country to country and are always changing. For example some countries require blood samples for possible infectious diseases. Others require two rabies inoculations or veterinary home visits or restrict entry to guard dogs only. For more information please click here.
Please apply at least 10 days before travel. The fee for an EHC for all other countries is a minimum of £350.00. This covers reviewing the documentation, seeking further clarification, applying for the EHC and completing it, and your pet’s visit to us, microchip and health check. For applications less than 10 days before travel there is an urgency surcharge of 10 percent each day up to a 100 percent surcharge for documents completed the day before travel.
BE ACCURATE WITH YOUR TRAVEL DATE
Remember to use the international day-month-year format, not the American month-day-year. When you complete the application form you’ll see a DD-MM-YY prompt. Please use it. If for example you write 07-10-24 when you mean the 10th of July (10-07-24) you’re EHC will be invalid for July travel.
