Moving Abroad with a Pet: How Pet Transport Works

Many owners take the pet themselves. By car that means a ferry or the tunnel, and each operator has its own rules on whether the pet stays in the vehicle, whether it must be booked and what it costs, so ask when you book your own crossing. By air, a small dog or cat may be allowed in the cabin. IATA (opens in a new window), the airlines’ trade body, says only small dogs and cats can go in the cabin and that some airlines don’t take pets there at all. Anything larger travels as special baggage in a heated and ventilated hold, in IATA’s words, or as air cargo.

A pet can also go ahead of you or after you. The EU’s rules for private pet travel allow another person to travel with it, a friend or relative for example, if you give written permission and your own trip falls within five days of the pet’s. Further apart than that, or if the pet is being sold or rehomed, the movement counts as commercial and different paperwork applies. Tell the provider early if the two trips might drift apart.

A pet transport provider, sometimes called a pet shipper or pet courier, plans the pet’s trip as a whole. That usually means choosing the route and the airline, supplying or checking a crate that meets airline standards, collecting the pet and delivering it at the far end, and telling you which vet steps come when. For pets arriving at Heathrow as air cargo, the City of London’s animal reception centre (opens in a new window) says airlines and their handlers won’t let a private importer clear the pet through customs, so a nominated UK agent does it, and it advises using a shipper that belongs to IPATA.

What stays with you is the vet side: booking the appointments in the right order, keeping the original papers safe, and getting the pet used to its crate. A provider can tell you what is needed. The vet signs, and the destination decides.

The microchip goes in before the rabies vaccination or at the same time, and a vaccination given before the chip has to be repeated. GOV.UK (opens in a new window) says the vet needs proof the animal is at least 12 weeks old before vaccinating, and that after a first vaccination you wait at least 21 full days before travelling. A booster given before the cover lapses doesn’t start the wait again.

Every trip from Great Britain to the EU needs a new animal health certificate (opens in a new window), signed by an official vet. It is valid for entry into the EU for 10 days from the day it is issued, then for up to 6 months for onward travel within the EU and for coming back to Great Britain, as long as the rabies vaccination stays in date. These are the EU rules that GOV.UK announced on 21 April 2026 (opens in a new window) for travel from 22 April 2026, so advice written before then may no longer apply. Take proof of the microchip date and the vaccination history to the appointment, and bear in mind that up to five pets can share one certificate.

A pet passport won’t stand in for it. If you live in England, Scotland or Wales, GOV.UK says you can’t use a pet passport to enter the EU, even one issued in the EU, and the pet may be refused entry. Residents of Northern Ireland can use an EU pet passport.

The EU’s guidance for travellers (opens in a new window) says pets generally have to enter through a designated travellers’ point of entry, where the papers are checked, and that an animal failing the checks can be returned to the country it came from or placed in quarantine and, as a last resort, euthanised. Up to five pets can travel together on a private trip, unless you are going to a competition, show or sporting event with proof of registration.

Dogs are the other thing to check. A few countries want a tapeworm treatment (opens in a new window) from a vet no less than 24 hours and no more than 120 hours before arrival. GOV.UK names Finland, Ireland, Malta, Norway and Northern Ireland. Ask the vet whether your destination is one of them, because it changes the last-minute appointment.

Going from Great Britain to Northern Ireland works differently. DAERA (opens in a new window) says that from 4 June 2025 residents of Great Britain need a free Northern Ireland pet travel document and residents of Northern Ireland do not. GOV.UK says (opens in a new window) the document lasts as long as you own the pet, and that with it the pet needs a microchip but no rabies vaccination or tapeworm treatment. If the pet flies, DAERA must be told at least 10 working days beforehand, and by ferry you scan the microchip yourself at the port with the scanner provided. If you are going on to Ireland or another EU country, you also need an animal health certificate.

Outside the EU and Northern Ireland, each country sets its own rules. For a non-EU country (opens in a new window), GOV.UK says you need an export health certificate, you must name an official vet to be sent it, and in England, Scotland and Wales you also complete an export application form. It adds that you should check the destination’s own extra requirements. Some countries add steps the EU doesn’t, such as a rabies blood test. The country’s own agriculture or veterinary authority, or its embassy, is the place to confirm what applies, and your vet and provider can then work out the order.

Britain has its own entry rules for a return. GOV.UK’s guide to bringing a pet to Great Britain (opens in a new window) asks for an approved route, a microchip before the rabies vaccination, the same 21 full days’ wait, and a travel document whose type depends on the country the pet is coming from. A dog needs tapeworm treatment no less than 24 hours and no more than 5 days before arrival, except when it is coming back from Finland, Ireland, Malta, Northern Ireland or Norway, which GOV.UK’s tapeworm page says need no return treatment. A pet that doesn’t meet the rules may be quarantined for up to four months, and a banned breed can come in only with a Certificate of Exemption.

Short-nosed breeds, such as the boxers, pugs, bulldogs and Pekinese that IATA names, and flat-faced cats, find it harder to keep cool and breathe in a hold. IATA’s guidance says snub-nosed breeds need a container 10% larger than other dogs and cats of their size, and that flying them in the hot season is not recommended. Airlines also set their own conditions, so what one will carry can differ from IATA’s guidance. Ask the provider which airline has accepted your pet’s breed and crate.

So tell the provider the breed, any cross, and whether the face is short or flat at the first conversation, and ask how crosses are treated. IPATA also lists shippers certified under its programme for short-nosed breeds, which is worth asking about.

Some countries bar certain dog breeds and crosses, and Great Britain does too. Those rules belong to each country, so check them before you book anything. Our guide to pet transport to Germany shows what one country’s version looks like, with its breed ban, dog tax and entry checks.

The steps above cover dogs, cats and ferrets. Rabbits, birds, reptiles and other animals follow different national rules, and some providers don’t carry them. If yours is one of these, say so in your first message and expect a longer conversation.

GOV.UK says a business that moves live animals as part of a commercial service needs a UK transporter authorisation (opens in a new window), and it lists pet couriers and taxis among them. The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) (opens in a new window) issues it for journeys over 65 km, as Type 1 for up to 8 hours and Type 2 for longer. An authorised transporter must carry a copy and show it on request, so ask to see one. If a firm arranges the flights but others handle the road legs, ask who does each leg and whether that business holds an authorisation.

IPATA (opens in a new window), the International Pet and Animal Transportation Association, is a trade body with a searchable list of member shippers. Membership isn’t required by law or by IPATA itself. Its criteria (opens in a new window) ask members to meet their home country’s licensing, business and insurance requirements, and to follow IATA standards and its code of ethics. It is a useful signal and not a guarantee. IPATA does not ship animals, and it says it is neither liable nor responsible for the performance or accuracy of information supplied by its members.

If a firm says it is a member and isn’t on the online list, IPATA says the only way to confirm is to ask IPATA directly. IPATA also says no pet shipping company has “ipata” in its name, so be wary of any firm that does.

IPATA’s scam page (opens in a new window), written mainly for people buying pets online, describes pressure to pay extra after you have committed, for a special crate or shipping insurance for example, and fake airline or shipping websites. It also warns against paying through money-transfer services such as Western Union or MoneyGram, because there is then no way to get the money back. Our guide to spotting a rogue mover covers deposits, contracts and payment in more general terms.