IMPORTANT UPDATE – The new Animal Health Certificate
Since the advent of Brexit, the old Pet Passport Scheme, which was designed for travelling with your pets to Europe, from the Channel Islands and the UK, no longer exists.
The Animal Health Certificate is now required if you wish to travel with your pet in Europe. The only exemption to this is if you already have a European pet passport* (please see below for details).
If you do not already have a European pet passport, if Isabelle Vets has vaccinated your pet against Rabies, or you have documentation to attest to this, then Isabelle Vets can issue an Animal Health Certificate when you wish to travel in Europe.
Please be aware that whilst your Pet Passport document, issued under the Pet Passport Scheme, is void, it is still extremely useful for confirmation of vaccination and identity, so please do not throw it away.
If you are unsure of what you need to do, contact us for guidance, at least ten days in advance of your journey.
Unless your pet has a European pet passport, you will need an Animal Health Certificate issued within ten days of departure from Guernsey. We would recommend making an appointment seven days before travel, in case your travel plans are disrupted.
Requirements
Before the issuing of an Animal Health Certificate, your pet will need to have had the following:
- A microchip
- A Rabies vaccine, which must be up to date with a booster or a vaccination given at least 22 days beforehand.
- You will need to bring all vaccination paperwork with you to the appointment and ideally your Pet Passport if you have one.
Important Note:
- The person travelling with the pet will need to attend the appointment.
- We will need to know where your point of entry into Europe will be. You must enter via a Traveller Point of Entry (TPE). A list of these can be accessed at https://ec.europa.eu/food/animals/pet-movement/eu-legislation/non-commercial-non-eu/tpe_en
- An Animal Health Certificate can only be issued for private travel, not commercial.
- A maximum of five pets can travel on one certificate.
Making an appointment
The Animal Health Certificate is an extensive piece of paperwork that requires the person travelling with the pet is required to sign, and requires a 45-minute appointment. Please contact our Reception team to book an appointment for your pet and also let them know how many pets you wish to organise an Animal Health Certificate for, as we will need to schedule an appropriate amount of time to complete the process.
The document must be certified by an Official Veterinarian who has undertaken additional qualifications, which most of our vets are qualified to do. On completion, the final document must be photocopied, and copies forwarded to the States of Guernsey Vet, and the original certificate must accompany your pet on its journey.
Your final paperwork can be collected the day after your appointment, allowing us time to complete the entire process.
The Animal Health Certificate allows four months of onward travel through Europe, and a new certificate is required each time you leave Guernsey.
Returning to the Bailiwick
When you return to Guernsey, you are required to treat your pet for tapeworm, which must be administered and documented more than 24 hours before, and less than 5 days before return. This is required either for European Passports and for holders of the Animal Health Certificate.
Further information
*If your pet already has a European passport, this allows freedom to travel to Europe as long as you have a European address in the passport. The vaccination must also be valid at the time of travel. Vaccinations can only be administered in Europe if you have a European passport.
In future, to avoid the cost and time in the issuing of an Animal Health Certificate, you can also obtain a European passport whilst in Europe, for which you will need a European address. Again, the vaccination for Rabies must be administered in Europe and the documentation completed by the administering vet. The interval between booster vaccinations against Rabies in Europe varies between countries, but the minimum is a year and therefore you need to ensure a time between visits of less than a year in order to keep the passport updated. British Official Veterinarians cannot enter rabies vaccinations or any other detail into a European passport.
We hope this information outlines what is needed for travel to Europe. Should you require any further information, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Isabelle Vets
June 2021