Pets must be at least 15 weeks old with a valid rabies vaccination. Pets vaccinated with certain vaccine brands (e.g. Canvac R or Canvac DHPPiL + R) may need to be older — 17 or 21 weeks respectively — due to different dosing protocols. Pregnant dogs and cats can be imported up to the last 10% of their pregnancy. Pets from high-risk rabies countries need significantly more time due to the additional titer test and waiting period.

An ISO 11784/11785-compliant microchip is required, implanted before the rabies vaccination. A legible tattoo from before July 3, 2011 is accepted instead, provided the pet was vaccinated after tattooing and the dates are recorded in the pet’s documents. If the microchip can’t be read, a new one must be implanted and the pet re-vaccinated (and re-tested, if from an unlisted country).

Given after 12 weeks of age, with a 21-day wait before travel for pets from listed countries. There can be no break between rabies vaccinations — a missed booster means the vaccine must be re-administered, and the blood test repeated if coming from an unlisted, non-EU country.

Required only if the pet is travelling from a country the UK classifies as unlisted (high-risk). The blood sample must be taken at an approved laboratory at least 30 days after vaccination, with a result of at least 0.5 IU/ml, and the pet must wait 3 calendar months from the sample date before entering Great Britain. This wait doesn’t apply if the pet is returning on a passport where the test was already completed before its earlier departure. The test remains valid as long as rabies vaccination stays current.

Required for dogs arriving from any country except Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, Finland, Malta, or Norway. Must be given by a vet between 24 and 120 hours before arrival, using a product containing praziquantel (or an equivalent effective against Echinococcus multilocularis), and recorded with the product name, manufacturer, and treatment date and time.

Accepted documents include: an EU Pet Passport issued in Great Britain before January 1, 2021; an EU Pet Passport issued in the EU or Northern Ireland; a pet passport from another Part 1 listed country; a GB pet health certificate; or an Animal Health Certificate (AHC) issued in Great Britain for an EU round trip, valid up to 4 months. Supporting documents must include the rabies certificate, blood test results if applicable, and proof the owner travelled within 5 days of the pet.

Pets can only fly into the UK as manifest cargo — not as checked baggage or in-cabin. Pets travelling on a commercial health certificate must arrive at an approved Border Control Post: Edinburgh, Gatwick, Glasgow, or Heathrow.

A customs broker is required for clearance of all pets arriving as manifest cargo. A destination agent is also required.

It is illegal to own a Pit Bull Terrier, Japanese Tosa, Dogo Argentino, or Fila Brasileiro in the UK. The XL Bully is also banned in England and Wales (Scotland has its own rules) — keeping one without a Certificate of Exemption is a criminal offence, and applications for new exemptions have closed; they can now only be granted by court order.

F1 hybrid cats or dogs cannot enter Great Britain under the standard pet travel rules and must follow separate Balai Directive requirements. Hybrids up to F4 generation may also need CITES or Dangerous Wild Animals Act documentation.