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BREXIT

Pet Passports: The post-Brexit travel rules for trips between France and the UK

Brexit has changed a lot of things for human travellers, but the four-legged ones are not immune, with changes to European Pet Passport access meaning a different process for many dogs, cats and ferrets travelling between France and the UK.

Published: 3 September 2021 11:13 CEST
Updated: 23 May 2022 10:45 CEST
Pet Passports: The post-Brexit travel rules for trips between France and the UK
The dog needs to get his papers in order before heading off on holiday. Photo: Ariana Drehsler/AFP

Since the end of the Brexit transition period, the UK is no longer part of the EU-created Pet Passport scheme.

READ ALSO Travel to France: What has changed since Brexit

Here’s what this means if you are travelling with a dog, cat or a ferret:

You live in France

If you live in France and your pet’s passport was issued by your vet in France, then nothing changes.

You can continue to use the French-issued passport on trips to the UK, and to countries within the EU.

If you live in France but are still using a UK-issued Pet Passport, you will need to get your French vet to issue you a new one. In order for this to be issued, your pet must be registered in the I-CAD national register (which is a legal requirement even if you don’t plan on travelling).

You live in the UK

However for people who live in the UK, there are big changes to travel.

The EU says: “From January 1st 2021, EU pet passports issued to a pet owner resident in Great Britain are no longer valid for travel with pets from Great Britain to an EU country or Northern Ireland.”

However the UK has been granted ‘listed’ status by the EU, which means things are not as complicated as they might have been.

Instead of a Pet Passport, dogs, cats and ferrets now need an Animal Health Certificate (AHC) – the big difference between this and the passport is that the AHC is only valid for one trip, so you will need a new certificate in advance of each trip to France.

Vets in the UK have been issuing AHCs since December 2020. To get one you need;

  • Proof of your pet’s microchipping history
  • Your pet’s vaccination record
  • A certificate for a rabies vaccination that was carried out at least 21 days before the date of travel

If the dog wants to travel onwards from France to Spain to watch a bullfight, his AHC will be valid for four months. Photo by Gabriel BOUYS / AFP

The certificate costs an average of £100, although different vets charge different amounts, and obviously if you are travelling with more than one animal you need a certificate for each one.

Once you have the certificate, it is valid for entry to the EU for just 10 days – so your appointment needs to be close to your date of travel. The certificate can only be used for one entry to the EU.

Once you are in France, the certificate is valid for onward travel to other countries within the EU for four months and for re-entry to the UK for four months. If you intend to stay longer than four months in France, you will need to get a new certificate in order to re-enter the UK.

The EU rules state that arrivals from a non-EU country should also have a written declaration that their pet’s relocation is for non-commercial reasons, although this can be in the form of a simple letter. 

Second-home owners

There had previously been some confusion about the situation for second-home owners as some French vets had been happy to issue certificates with only proof of an address in France (eg a utility bill).

However the French government has now clarified the rules on this, requiring that pets be registered within the French domestic registry in order to get an EU Pet Passport.

This can only be done if the pet is staying in France for more than three months. The three months must be consecutive, not over the course of a year.

UK pets’ owners will normally require a visa if they want to stay in France for more than three months at a time (unless they have dual nationality with an EU country) – find full details on the rules for people HERE.

Member comments

  1. Regarding the new AHC for pets. This can get very expensive if you go across regularly, with a couple of dogs (which we do). It is possible/feasible/legal to get a French Pet Passport and use that for travelling back and forth instead of getting an AHC every time??

    1. Hi
      If you have a French address permanent or second home, should not be a problem. We’re resident and our vet here was happy to provide a French pet passport. I know of people with second homes here who have done the same. A lot cheaper €15 than an AHC.
      We’ve been back to the UK with the French pet passport without any problems.

      1. Hi, does the French pet passport work ok alongside the UK one…? Our collie is already chipped in UK…will this affect her ability to be ‘dual passport holder’? Thanks.

        1. Hi, for our first trip back to the UK, I Took both passports having asked our vet to put the worming details in both as a precaution. At Eurotunnel I just showed the French passport, no problem and they didn’t even read the chip. I asked them to confirm that nothing had to be done in the UK before returning to France eg worming which they did.
          Coming back from UK, again no problem with the French passport.
          Hope this helps.

  2. Yes, all dogs in France are supposed to be chipped but ours has a UK chip which wasn’t a problem. The vet copied all the details from our UK passport to the new French one including the chip number.

  3. Hi, interesting reading. We have a second home in Fouqueure and tried to get a French passport for our dog in September when we were here last at our local/regular vet in Mansle but were refused – said they’d had their knuckles rapped for issuing them to Brits who were non-resident (friends of ours, also second home owners had got one there in August). Keen to get one as we’re struggling to get the AHC with so few vets trained to issue and are paying £190 each time. Does anyone know of any vets issuing the French Passport for UK dogs in and around the Charente (happy to travel further afield)? Thanks for any advice in advance, Marcella

  4. OK now I am confused– Is there a difference between a French pet passport and an eu passport. My French vet issued me an EU passport.

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EES PASSPORT CHECKS

EES border checks could undergo ‘soft launch’, UK says as app concerns mount

The UK government is preparing for a "soft launch" of the new EU border system – the Entry/Exit (EES) system - in October but authorities are still waiting for European Commission to confirm the start date, amid concerns over the delay of a new app.

Published: 4 May 2024 09:30 CEST
EES border checks could undergo 'soft launch', UK says as app concerns mount

The UK government is preparing for a soft launch of the new EU border system – the entry/exit (EES) system – on the assumption that it will go live on October 6th, ministers told a hearing at the House of Commons European scrutiny committee this week.

But the European Commission is expected to confirm the exact launch date of the new biometric checks for non-EU travellers entering the Schengen area at some point this summer, they added.

“We are very much working on a basis whereby this policy will go live on the 6th of October. It is important that we plan for that eventuality. We are expecting to hear definitively from the European Union that ‘go live’ arrangement in the summer,” Tom Pursglove, UK Minister for Legal Migration and the Border told the committee.

The parliamentary committee is conducting an inquiry on the disruptions the system will cause in the UK.

Pursglove also said that “precautionary measures” have been agreed by the EU, that will be put in place in certain circumstances after the start of EES, for example if delays at the borders exceeded a certain length of time.

Guy Opperman, Under-Secretary of State at the Department for Transport, said that in practice this meant a “soft launch” of EES for 6 months before “a full go live”. During that soft launch EU member states and the UK could deploy flexibility measures should problems occur.

“The likelihood is, after multiple delays, that the 6th of October will proceed” and the implementation looks “very different” compared to previous scenarios considering the flexibility allowed in the first 6 months, he argued.

No details were given on what these “flexible” measures would involve however. 

READ ALSO: Your questions answered about Europe’s EES passport checks

He conceded that “a lot of work” still needs to be done but the UK “should be as ready as everybody” and “better be at front of the queue”.

App not ready

During the meeting, it also emerged that a much-anticipated app that would allow remote pre-registration of non-EU citizens subject to the checks will not be available for testing until August “at best”, prompting concerns about the EES launch date.

“You don’t need to be a sceptic about future projects to think that the provision of the app in August for going live in October is optimistic,” Opperman said.

Ministers confirmed that the app will not be ready in time for October and the committee previously stated it might be delayed until summer 2025.

The app will facilitate pre-registration, but photo and fingerprints will still have to be taken at the border in front of a guard, the committee heard.

READ ALSO: How do the EU’s new EES passport checks affect the 90-day rule?

Several MPs asked whether the entry into operation of the EES should be delayed again if technology is not ready. But Under-Secretary Opperman said the app “is not going to be a panacea to fix all problems”.

The main aim of EES is to increase security and to ensure that non-EU nationals visiting the Schengen area for a short-term do not stay more than 90 days in any 180-day period.

The entry into operation of the system has already been delayed several times and there have been calls from certain travel companies and national authorities to delay it again.

Under the new scheme, non-EU/EFTA travellers who do not need a visa will have to register their biometric data (finger prints and facial images) in a database that will also record each time they enter and exit the Schengen area.

Instead of having passports manually stamped, travellers will have to scan them at self-service kiosks before crossing the border. However, fingerprints and a photo will have to be registered in front of a guard at the first crossing and there are concerns the extra time needed will generate long queues, especially in Dover, Folkestone and St. Pancras station in London, where there are juxtaposed French and UK border checks.

Progress in preparations

Minister Pursglove also updated MPs on ongoing preparations. He said some testing of the system will take place within days, 5 kiosks have been installed at St. Pancras station and are available for testing. “You are beginning to see the physical infrastructure appear,” he said.

Kiosks and extra lanes are also being created at the port Dover and it was agreed with the EU passengers travelling by coach will be checked away from the Eastern dock, where controls usually take place, allowing to gain space. The vehicles will then sealed and drive on the ferries.

MPs also discussed the infrastructure cost linked to the introduction of the EES. Opperman said all EU countries will have to make “huge investments” in their ports. In the UK, he argued, this will help “address problems that have existed for some time”. Because of this “massive investment”, in a few years time “Dover will be totally transformed,” he said.

This article is published in cooperation with Europe Street News.

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