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World Walkies
The white cliffs at Dover seen from the sea, with Dover Castle on the hill above the seafront

From the UK

Taking your dog abroad from the UK

Photo: Ken Eckert, CC BY-SA 4.0

A pet passport issued in England, Scotland or Wales no longer gets a dog into the EU, and since 22 April 2026 GB residents can't use an EU-issued pet passport either. Instead, each trip needs a new animal health certificate (AHC) from an official vet, issued no more than 10 days before you arrive in the EU, on top of a microchip and a rabies vaccination given at least 21 days earlier. Coming home, a vet must give and record a tapeworm treatment 24 to 120 hours before you reach Great Britain, unless you are returning from Ireland, Northern Ireland, Finland, Malta or Norway.

Dogs on the way

  • A grey miniature schnauzer with a red collar lying on the floor beside an old brown suitcase
  • The P&O ferry Spirit of France leaving Dover Harbour for Calais on a calm evening
  • A papillon on a green lead sitting on a wooden bench on a station platform
  • A black and white spaniel sitting on the shingle at St Margaret's Bay, with the white cliffs of Dover behind
  • A big white dog lying in the sun on a doorstep beside pots of flowers in the French village of Éloise
  • The DFDS ferry Dunkerque Seaways turning in Dover Harbour beside the berths
  • A white terrier looking out of a carriage window on the Welsh Highland Railway, with Caernarfon - Beddgelert - Aberglaslyn on the carriage board

Photos: Xanthomelanoussprog, CC BY-SA 3.0; Roger Davies, CC BY-SA 2.0; Peter Trimming, CC BY-SA 2.0; TedQuackenbush, CC BY-SA 3.0; Guilhem Vellut from Annecy, France, CC BY 2.0; pam fray, CC BY-SA 2.0; mattbuck, CC BY-SA 3.0; Brookie, CC BY-SA 3.0.