Check if you need to follow extra rules
You must follow extra rules (known as Balai rules) if either:
Check if the company you’re travelling with:
If you’re bringing animals into Northern Ireland
There are different rules if you’re:
You can bring your dog, cat or ferret into Great Britain as long as they meet the right health and documentation requirements.
If you do not follow these rules, your pet may be put into quarantine for up to 4 months, or refused entry if you travelled by sea.
You must follow extra rules if the animals will be sold or rehomed in Great Britain – read the guidance in the ‘Goods Subject to Sanitary and Phytosanitary Controls’ sections.
The rules for bringing other animals into Great Britain depend on whether you’re bringing them from an EU country or from outside the EU.
Can my puppy get a UK Pet Passport (GB)?
As of 2021, Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales) no longer issues official Pet Passports. Prior to Brexit, you were able to obtain an EU Pet Passport which would allow you to travel within the EU with ease. Nowadays, ‘GB Pet Passport’ is just a term used to describe the documents that are required to travel to GB with a pet. Customs officials will need to see these documents in order to clear your puppy. Essentially, a pet passport demonstrates that your puppy is fit and healthy to travel. With a Pet Passport for GB, your puppy will not have to face a lengthly quarantine period, as long as you have followed all regulations and your puppy is healthy.
The documents required to import a puppy to GB depend on whether you are traveling from a Part 1 listed country, Part 2 listed country, or an unlisted country. You can check which category your country is in below, here.
To export pets from GB, you may require additional vaccinations and documents, as each country has different import requirements.
Taking a dog to France/ Europe after BREXIT- essential things you need to know.
We really want to bring her but dont want her to travel as cargo which she would have to do if coming direct to the UK.
If she flies to France she doesnt have to so i hoped we could do this then go to the UK.
Ferry foot passengers are not allowed to take pets and ditto with Eurostar passengers, so what next?
However she is staying with a friend until October when we will return to China for a wedding and to bring her back with us. We couldnt this time as there is a period of waiting after she gets her bloods done.
My question really relates to whether the tests and shots we had done are valid in France as well as the UK.
Think you should ask that on the France Forum, where hopefully some-one can point you in the right direction for finding out the official requirements to import a Dog from China….
However, even if you come through France, I think you will need to ensure your pet meets all the requirements for the UK for lets from unlisted countries….
Hello, If you have a pet passport and you have had the valid injections then you need to do the following:
You need to go to a vet and have them administer a tapeworm tablet to your dog. You then can enter the uk after a 24 hr period has passed, or no longer than 5 days later. The vet has to sign the pet passport booklet. When you arrive by car you follow the paws sign and someone will check the dog is chipped, will check the passport that the injections are valid. You then transprot your dog in your car onto the train.
If you are unsure if the injections are valid then maybe you should ask a vet or look on the uk govt site for information on injections required https://www.gov.uk/take-pet-abroad Edited: 8 years ago
hey, Im doing the exact same thing next week, and I was wondering if you managed to bring your dog over, and if so what problems did you face when reaching France and England, if any? thanks
thought I would write about my experience bringing my dog from Beijing, China to Paris, France (via plane) then to the UK (via ferry).
So I managed to get my dog Tonto to UK with just a little hitch along the way (I will explain below), there was no 28 day waiting period for anything and I managed to bring him over to the UK the day I flew over to France.
So instead of the 20000RMB quote I got from a Cargo company straight from Beijing to UK, I decided that a 400RMB dog ticket on a plane to Paris would be better for me. Once I got to Paris, I collected my luggage and waited for him in the same room but by the overweight baggage elevator where someone brought him up. I then took him to customs. At customs they looked at the rabies vaccination certificate (from my vet), his red vaccination book (from my vet) and health certificate (from the quarantine bureau), they then checked the microchip to see if it matched and everything went smoothly and everything was done in 5 minute; they were really friendly with my dog as well.
After a little stop in Paris for Tonto to stretch his legs, we (including my family who picked me up in the car) made our way to Calais towards the ferry port. Once we got to the ferry port they would not accept Tonto’s health certificate (which I thought was a third country health certificate but I guess not), however they did tell me to go to a nearest vet to get my documents changed into a European pet passport. This cost approx. 400RMB and took 15 minutes to make. Once this was made there were no problems getting Tonto into England. The ferry also only cost around 400RMB for 4 passengers and a dog. If you have any queries to ask me please reply to me whether its about getting your pet out of china or once you are out of China. Edited: 7 years ago
NEVER, EVER take your pet as a foot passenger on the DFDS Seaways Ferry between Dieppe and Newhaven. They need to shut down this service. It is inhumaine. They have one cat kennel, and one dog kennel, sandwiched between massive transport trucks on a lower deck of the ferry. It is extremely noisy, and extremely cold (it was January). I was assured several times on the phone and when I arrived that I could visit my cat throughout the trip, but once on board it was another story. The long version is below, but all in all this was a really scary, traumatizing trip for my cat. Dont take your pet on this ferry! There is no way that plane cargo, with pressurized air and trained staff could be worse than this. Flying with a cat in cargo is not ideal, but the ferry is awful!
I just moved from Canada to the UK with my cat. I did not want to fly him as manifest cargo because of the conditions and cost (close to $1500 in addition to my flight). In researching alternatives, I found that I could fly into Paris, take a rideshare to Dieppe, and then the DFDS Ferry from Dieppe to Newhaven (the only one that allows foot passengers with a pet).
I stayed with my cat at the Egg Hotel Dieppe overnight, and took a taxi to the ferry at 4am (20euro). When I checked in and went through customs, everyone from the ferry staff was nice, reassuring me over and over again I would be able to visit my cat on the ferry (as they had assured me when I booked, and also the night before when I called again to make sure). I carried my cat, Shae, onto this enormous ferry. When I saw where I had to leave him, I couldnt believe it. They had one metal cat kennel, and one dog kennel (no dog fortunately), tucked against the wall surrounded my massive transport trucks, with engines running, beeping, all sorts of crazy noise. I kept him inside his carrier, in the kennel, and covered it to keep it dark. They said I had to go upstairs to the main deck, but that I could come back anytime, just to ask at reception for a crew member to take me. So I went upstairs.
Very nice ferry. Got a coffee and apple, and tried to relax. I was not relaxed at all, so I snuck back down to see him! I sat with him for about 30 minutes before I got caught, and he seemed pretty calm, so that reassured me. I was forced back upstairs (very nicely), but assured again that I could come back. So I went and ate a real breakfast, held my breath for an hour, and then went to reception to ask to visit my cat. Oh my, this woman was horrible. I greeted her and asked very politely to visit my cat, and she just said “Non”. I tried to clarify, and she said no, it is never possible to visit animals during the winter months, because waters can become rough (they werent at the moment). She kept underlining a passage in a brochure that said visiting pets is at the discretion of the crew, and I said I understand, but several crew members already said yes many times. She kept saying, “No, I wont allow it”. I explained he had no water, and it was cold down there, but no sensitivity at all. I asked to speak to someone else, and she called someone, and in one breath, told them everything she told me, without letting them speak, and hung up. Then I got more upset, and said I actually wanted to ask the question to someone else. She called a number, let it ring once, and hung up, said he wasnt in his office.
I walked away (which I should have done sooner), and found another crew member. She found someone to take me down and see my cat. He was much kinder. I was only able to see Shae for 2 minutes, in his cage, while the guy waited. Shae was meowing a lot, but ok. When we left, the crew member said I could go visit again in 2 hours, just to meet him at the reception. I told him about the woman at reception, and he said not to worry, she had left. So I held my breath again and went to reception 2 hours later. New man at reception, equally horrid! The crew member who had helped me came back, but the reception guy yelled at him, and told me I had to go sit down for the rest of the ride. Argh!!!!
So I sat down. The water started to get pretty rough, and we seemed to be moving very slowly. Then, another crew member, who I met when I boarded, came and got me, and motioned for me to follow him. He snuck me downstairs to stay with my cat, and even brought me a hot tea, cause it was freezing on this lower deck. The ship was jostling around a lot, and the guy told me one of the propulsors had broken, so we would be at least 30 minutes late. I sat with Shae in his cage on my lap, and he was pretty agitated, meowing and scratching. He calmed down a bit after a while. About 30 minutes later, the crew member came back and said it was going to be a much longer delay, so he was going to bring us upstairs. We passed reception, and the guy yelled at him, and he basically told the guy at the desk to shove it! We found a quit corner to sit. Two hours later we arrived in Newhaven (2 hours late!), having missed our train. Crappy, but we got there.
*All of the communication described above was in French, and Im not sure what I would have done if I didnt speak French. For English speaking only travellers, I think this could have been worse.
I moved my cats from UK to Ireland, four hours on the ferry, but in our own car, they were fine, it was me who was worried sick.
Frankly I am disgusted that the person in post #7 got a pet-passport in France in 15 min however many RMB (whatever they are) they paid. It takes ages to get one sorted out properly in th UK and I am seriously worried that things were not done properly on that occasion…..
I am also shocked to read post #8. Thise animal accommodations on board sound grim indeed. BUT you clearly did find very nice staff on board who went out of their way to help you, despite the other jobsworths, so IMO it was not really all quite as desperate as you have implied.
