Based on official sources
Information on this page is sourced from GOV.UK and APHA guidance. Last updated: May 2026. Always confirm current requirements with an Official Veterinarian before travel.
You've got a trip to Europe on the cards. Maybe it's booked. Maybe it's still a dream. Either way, before you've looked at routes or accommodation, the first question — the only question that really matters — is: "Can we bring them?"
Not should we. Can we. Because the idea of a week in kennels or a cattery — the guilt alone would ruin the trip. Your dog. Your cat. They sleep on the bed, follow you from room to room, sit on your lap the moment you open a laptop. They're family. Of course they're coming.
Then you find out what Brexit did to pet travel.
For a while, it wasn’t that bad. EU pet passports still worked. One document, valid for life, and your animals could cross the channel whenever you liked.
Then the rules changed. Then they changed again. And in April 2026, the last door closed: EU-issued pet passports no longer work for GB residents at all.
Now, every single trip — every holiday, long weekend, visit to family in France — requires an Animal Health Certificate (AHC). One that:
- Can only be issued by a specially qualified Official Veterinarian (OV) — not your regular vet
- Costs £100 to £300 every single trip
- Is valid for just 10 days from the date of issue
- Covers only one entry into the EU — new one needed every time
- Requires the rabies vaccine at least 21 days before travel
- Requires the microchip to be implanted before the rabies jab, not after
£400–£800 in paperwork — every single time.
Before you’ve spent a penny on accommodation, food, or fuel.
And one small mistake turns it into a nightmare.
A single transposed digit on the microchip number. A rabies vaccination recorded the day before the chip was implanted. An AHC issued 11 days before travel instead of 10.
Any one of those — and your pet is refused entry at the border. Not delayed. Not held for a quick check. Refused. You either turn the car around and go home, or your dog or cat goes into quarantine at your cost while you work out what happens next.
This isn’t a worst-case scenario. It happens. Regularly. To people who genuinely thought they’d done everything right.
That’s why we built the UK to Europe Pet Travel Checklist 2026. It won’t make the AHC cheaper or fix the politics. But it will make sure you arrive at the Eurotunnel — or ferry terminal, or airport — with everything right. Every document. Every date. Every number.
