As the summer season approaches, people are starting to think about travel. Whether you’re flying for a city break in Berlin, visiting a second home in Italy, or planning a caravan tour of France, summer is a great time to explore the delights of our continental neighbours.
But if you’re planning to take your pets, it’s important to know that pet travel rules have recently changed.
After Brexit, EU pet passports (which allowed free movement of pets across borders) were no longer able to be issued in the UK. Instead, families travelling with pets had to get an Animal Health Certificate (AHC) which has to be issued within 10 days of travel and is single-use. To get around the extensive paperwork (and associated cost), those with second homes realised they could still get an EU pet passport issued to their EU residence, so that instead of being a UK pet visiting the EU, they were an EU pet visiting the UK.
As of last week, this has now changed. EU pet passports may only now be issued to those whose main residence is in the EU. So, if your pet’s passport is for their holiday home, it’s probably no longer valid – unless you too are officially resident in that country.
Instead, everyone will need to have an AHC. As mentioned above, these must be issued by an official veterinarian and used within 10 days of being issued. They are also single-use – you’ll need a new one for every trip. The good news is that they’ve extended the validity for onward travel – you now have six months to explore the wonderful EU. But, once you’re home, you’ll need a new AHC, which means another visit to the vet, more expense, and more paperwork for your hard-working vets.
The other changes don’t affect many people – only five pets per private vehicle (rather than five pets per person – with exceptions for training and competitions) and if the pets aren’t travelling with the owner, additional paperwork is needed. As before, the owner must travel within five days of the pet’s travel.
So, sorry to be the bearer of bad news.
Essentially, the EU has closed a loophole they never intended to happen – some people were even travelling to Northern Ireland to have a pet passport issued – but the slow-moving wheels have finally turned, and it’s back to the restrictions the Brexiteers voted for. If you’re frustrated by the changes, feel free to blame those who voted for Brexit, but don’t blame your local vets, who hate AHCs as much as you do. They’re complicated documents that are constantly changing and difficult to get right. Yes, they seem expensive compared to a multi-use passport, but they’re more complex than a passport and the fee barely covers the significant time they take. If only we could charge for the grey hairs they cause – every OV issuing these certificates has had sleepless nights worrying about them.
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