We wanted to bring you up date with some changes to regulations for pets travelling from the UK to EU countries.
These came into effect on 22nd April 2026 and mainly affect UK residents who have been using EU pet passports to travel with their pets.
These EU pet passports will now only be issued animals belonging to people with their main home in an EU country and not to those of UK residents with holiday homes or who travel seasonally.
Any existing EU passports issued to pets of UK residents before April 2026 will no longer be valid for travel to EU countries but can still be used to return home to the UK.
All pets of UK residents must now visit an Official Vet to be issued with an Animal Health Certificate within 10 days of each trip to the EU. Peter Harlow and Phil Owen are able to issue these certificates and we usually designate a 45minute appointment to complete them.
The majority of pets that have been travelling abroad will already have been using the Animal Health Certificate system. There have been a few minor changes to this system with the most notable being an extension to their duration. Animal Health Certificates are now valid for 6 months of onward travel, rather than 4 months as was the case previously.
Please feel free to contact our team with any questions.
