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:
What you need to know about United Kingdom pet travel
Transporting pets to the United Kingdom is tricky, but not impossible. Below, youll find our guidelines and advice for sending pets to and from the U.K.
Pet regulations by country
You’ve probably noticed by now that pet relocation is pretty difficult to generalise about. Apart from the EU, no two countries have the same set of regulations, so we thought it would be helpful to be a bit more specific. We’ve focused on some of our most popular expat destinations and listed the key requirements for your pet.
You can expect to pay anywhere from to per pet.
Click on the links to find out more about the pet relocation regulations in the following countries:
01 | Australia 02 | Canada 03 | France 04 | Germany 05 | New Zealand 06 | UK 07 | USA
Aussie regulations are strict, to say the least. For a country that has been badly damaged by many invasive species from Europe and Asia, it’s no surprise they’re so careful today.
Our key bit of advice when it comes to moving your pet to Australia is to give yourself time – a lot of it. Dogs and cats are currently the only species of animal allowed into Australia.
It’s the rabies vaccine that really takes time. Dogs and cats must have a rabies vaccine at least seven months before they move to Australia, and they also need a Rabies Neutralising Antibody Titre Test (RNATT) to check that it’s worked. But here’s the big one: your dog or cat will not be allowed to enter Australia until 180 days after the RNATT. So you’re looking at over one year of preparation before your pet can actually enter Australia.
Your pet also needs micro-chipping (before the rabies vaccine) and checking for ticks. The list gets even longer if you want to bring your dog; they need treating against Brucellosis, Leishmaniosis, Ehrlicia canis, Leptospirosis, nematodes and cestodes. Don’t worry, you don’t have to pronounce them – just treat your dog against them. Weve heard that moving to Australia often causes dog owners to decide they want a cat instead.
A disease-free animal still needs permission to enter the country. This is where the Australian import permit comes in. Get everything correct and the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service (AQIS) should approve your request and issue your pet with a permit. This costs per animal.
Finally, your pet needs to get through quarantine. The minimum legal stay is 10 days, but you can normally expect it to last at least 30 days. Australia’s only quarantine service is in Mickleham, Melbourne so you must fly your pet into Melbourne Airport. There’s a long list of different fees for the quarantine:
The typical 30 days in Australian quarantine for one animal will probably cost you at least . Add this to the permit costs and you’re looking at around , overall.
Canadians are more than happy to let domestic animals into their country. Just make sure you prepare your pet so it can meet the requirements at the border.
Like the USA, Canada has its own list of countries it considers to be rabies free, and the same rules apply regarding rabies vaccinations (see above). The UK, Australia and most of Europe are considered rabies free by Canada. Microchips are not required but they are recommended.
Canada doesn’t like to keep pets from their owners, so quarantine isn’t really a thing here. However, if your pet is showing obvious signs of illness or disease then it will be quarantined.
If you want to bring your chien, chat or any other animal to France then the regulations are pretty easy to follow. They’re also extremely similar to the rules in Germany, as both countries are in the EU. If you’re coming from any other EU member state then you can use a pet passport, but if not then you’ll need a standard animal health certificate.
It doesn’t matter what species of animal you’re bringing; it must be at least 12 weeks old before it can travel. All animals need a rabies vaccination and it has to be applied at least 21 days before the travel date. If your pet is coming from a country with a high incidence of rabies than you’ll need to plan things a bit more in advance, as it will need a Blood Titer Test one month after being vaccinated and then have to wait a further three months before it can fly. Once again, all pets need microchipping before the rabies vaccination takes place. Treating your animal against things like ticks, tapeworms and heartworm are recommended but not compulsory.
Just like in Germany, your pet will avoid quarantine if it meets all the requirements. Any signs of serious disease, though, and the animal will be whisked away until they’ve sorted it out (at your expense).
Germany, the land of the hundesteuer! This means ‘dog tax’, and you’ve got to pay it if you own a dog in Deutschland. You can avoid the tax if you have an assistance dog, a rescue dog (you are exempt for one year) or by simply owning a cat.
Your pet needs a rabies vaccination to come to Germany. It must take place no less than 30 days (and no more than one year) before the travel date. A microchip is also mandatory and this has to happen before your pet gets vaccinated. There is a handful of diseases that all EU countries suggest you should vaccinate your dog or cat against, but you can do what you want with these suggestions. We think it’s pretty wise to follow them and your pet will probably agree. As with the UK, the five-day and five-pet rules also apply (see above).
The Germans are very reasonable over there; your pet does not need to be quarantined if it meets all the requirements and shows no signs of disease.
The Cost of Owning a Dog in the UK 2020
Your pet(s) will need to comply with The Pet Travel Scheme (PETS) to enter the UK without serving statutory quarantine. Please see our Pet Travel Scheme page or visit the UK GOV for guidance.
We recommend you employ an IPATA approved pet transport agent who will be responsible for organising every aspect of your pets travel including booking their flight, and clearing them through customs upon arrival at Heathrow.
Pets entering the UK must be booked as manifest cargo in the hold of the plane. You can view a list of approved airlines.
Please ensure you get a pet information sheet from your pet transporter agent. We request you complete one for each of your pets and attach the completed copies to their travel containers. We request that you secure two portions of your pet’s usual food to the outside of their container, and also secure a collar and lead to the outside of your dogs container.
Your nominated pet transport agent or airline should be able to give you an estimate of the cost. The total cost of transporting your pet depends on many variables such as the length of the journey, the weight of your pet(s) and the size of the container(s). In most circumstances HARC fees are taken by your pet transport agent, otherwise our fees will be taken by your airlines cargo handling shed when you collect your pets release note.