- Great Britain has replaced EU pet passports with Animal Health Certificates for travel to the European Union.
- Owners must obtain a new certificate within 10 days of every trip from a licensed veterinarian.
- Costs for the new documentation start at £100 per journey for dogs, cats, and ferrets.
(GREAT BRITAIN) — Great Britain changed its rules for pet travel to the European Union on April 22, 2026, ending the use of EU pet passports for pets leaving England, Scotland or Wales and requiring owners to carry an Animal Health Certificate instead.
The change affects dogs, cats and ferrets, including assistance animals. Pets travelling from Great Britain to the EU now need an Animal Health Certificate, commonly known as an AHC, rather than an EU-issued passport.
Owners must ask a vet to issue the certificate within 10 days before travel. A new AHC is required for each trip to the EU, adding a fresh document check every time a pet crosses from Great Britain into an EU country.
The cost starts at £100 per journey. That fee applies before any separate travel or veterinary costs that may arise from preparing a pet for departure.
Old documents no longer provide a fallback. EU pet passports, including those issued in the EU, can no longer be used for entry to EU countries from Great Britain.
That leaves little room for error at ports and airports. A pet presented with an old passport may be refused entry.
The new certificate does not expire as soon as the first border crossing ends. An AHC can be used for up to six months for onward travel within the EU and for re-entering Britain, as long as the pet’s rabies vaccinations remain valid.
That makes the document narrower than the old passport for departure from Great Britain, but still usable for movement inside the bloc after the initial trip. Rabies coverage remains central to that continued validity.
Northern Ireland sits outside the change. Residents there can continue using EU pet passports under the same rules as before.
Access to new EU pet passports has also narrowed. EU pet passports are now issued only to people whose main residence is in the EU, not to holiday home owners or seasonal visitors.
The rule change creates a clean divide across the United Kingdom’s pet travel arrangements. England, Scotland and Wales now operate under the AHC system for EU travel, while Northern Ireland keeps the previous passport route.
Ownership rules also matter at the border. If someone other than the owner travels with the pet, written permission from the owner is required.
Private travel is capped as well. Travellers may take a maximum of five pets in a private vehicle.
The Animal and Plant Health Agency recommends checking GOV.UK guidance and confirming entry requirements with the destination country before departure. Individual EU member states may apply additional pet travel requirements beyond the shared documentation rule.
That advice carries added weight because the paperwork now turns on timing. A vet must issue the certificate within the 10-day window before travel, which means owners cannot rely on an older document prepared well in advance of a trip.
Each new journey from Great Britain to the EU starts the process again. Even if a pet travelled recently, a fresh AHC is still required for the next departure.
The position is different once the animal has entered the EU. The same certificate can support onward travel within the bloc for up to six months, and it can also be used for the return to Britain, provided the rabies vaccination has not expired.
That sequence changes how many owners will plan short breaks and repeat crossings. Under the new system, the document is trip-specific for entry from Great Britain but reusable for later movement during that period.
Assistance animals do not fall outside the change. They are included alongside dogs, cats and ferrets in the new AHC requirement for travel from England, Scotland and Wales to the EU.
The loss of passport validity also closes off use of documents that some owners may still hold from earlier EU travel. Even an EU-issued passport no longer works for entry from Great Britain, and attempting to use one risks refusal at the border.
For people living in the EU, the passport system remains available through residence-based issuance. Main residence now determines who can receive a new EU pet passport, excluding people who own holiday homes or spend part of the year in the bloc without living there as their primary home.
The practical result is a more document-heavy route for pet owners in Great Britain. Each EU-bound trip now begins with a veterinary appointment, a certificate issued inside a fixed deadline, and a cost that starts from £100.
Anyone sending a pet with another traveller must add written permission from the owner to that preparation. Anyone travelling privately with several animals must stay within the five-pet limit.
The new rules do not replace country-specific checks. APHA advises travellers to review official guidance and confirm the requirements of the destination country, because an AHC alone may not satisfy every local rule an EU member state applies.
Across Great Britain, the change takes one familiar document out of circulation and replaces it with a timed certificate tied to each trip. From April 22, 2026, pet owners heading to Europe must travel with an Animal Health Certificate, not one of the EU pet passports that once covered the route.
