Red Tape Travel

Flying a dog from Great Britain to the European Union

EU: The EU member states, for pets moving in from another member state or from outside the EU. Northern Ireland follows the same rules on its own page. Northern Ireland follows the EU pet travel scheme. See Great Britain to Northern Ireland.

Last verified 49 primary sources

Conditional: yes, with 3 hard deadlines

A dog can enter the European Union (The EU member states, for pets moving in from another member state or from outside the EU) from Great Britain without quarantine when every condition is met. It must fly as the airline allows, with the owner or an authorised person. It needs a rabies vaccination at least 21 days before departure and 7 more steps, 2 of them hard deadlines (see the planner). If a condition is missed: A pet that fails the checks may be returned, quarantined until it complies, or, if neither is possible, put down. The owner pays for these measures.

Cabin
Airline decidesEU rules do not say whether a pet flies in the cabin, in the hold or as cargo; the airline's rules decide. The pet travels with its owner, or with a person the owner has authorised.
Quarantine
Noneno quarantine for a pet that meets the rules
Rabies titer
Not requiredListed third country (Annex II)
Lead time
23 days

Your deadlines, counted back from arrival

3 of these steps are hard deadlines. Changing the date re-dates the plan in your browser; it fetches nothing.

Lead time: 23 days

  1. By 107 days before arrival

    Birth

    No later than

    The pet is at least 12 weeks old when it receives its primary rabies vaccination. Timing: at least 12 weeks before the rabies vaccination.

    Fails if: Done less than 12 weeks before the rabies vaccination.

  2. By 23 days before arrival

    Microchip

    No later than

    The pet is identified by a microchip before, or on the same day as, its rabies vaccination. A clearly readable tattoo applied before 3 July 2011 also counts. Timing: on or before the rabies vaccination.

    Fails if: The chip does not meet the EU standard and the owner cannot provide a reader for it.

  3. By 23 days before arrival

    Rabies vaccinationHard deadline

    No later than

    The pet has completed its primary course of rabies vaccination at least 21 days before it travels, or has had a booster while its previous vaccination was still valid. Timing: at least 21 days before departure.

    Fails if: Done less than 21 days before departure.

    Note: For Ireland, the wait after the primary vaccination follows the vaccine's datasheet. It is at least 21 days, and 30 days if the datasheet says immunity starts only on day 30.

  4. By 1 day before arrival

    Health certificate issued or endorsedHard deadline

    Between and

    The pet travels on the EU animal health certificate, issued or endorsed no more than 10 days before the checks at the point of entry. Timing: within 10 days before arrival.

    Fails if: Done more than 10 days before arrival.

    An official vet in Great Britain issues an animal health certificate (AHC). The pet enters the EU within 10 days, day 1 being the issue date. Timing: within 10 days before arrival.

    Fails if: A resident of England, Scotland or Wales travels on a pet passport instead, even one issued in the EU.

  5. By 1 day before arrival

    Tapeworm treatmentHard deadline

    Between and

    A dog entering Finland, Ireland or Malta from outside the EU is treated for tapeworm by a vet no more than 120 and no less than 24 hours before entry, and the vet records it on the animal health certificate. Timing: between 24 and 120 hours before arrival.

    Fails if: Done less than 24 or more than 120 hours before arrival.

    Note: For Ireland, the tapeworm product must contain praziquantel. EU law also allows other substances proven to work as well.

  6. Arrival

    Arrive on

This plan assumes one air journey, with every step done before you leave. It assumes you leave the day before arrival or on arrival day. Where a rule counts hours, it assumes you land at 12:00 local time. Times are local to the European Union (Europe/Brussels).

Which airlines carry dogs on this route

Fees are per animal, one direction, as published on .
AirlineCabinHoldManifest cargoFee fromSnub-nosed
British AirwaysAssistance dogs onlyNoYesQuoted on requestCase by case
  • British Airways: IAG Cargo asks for live animals to be checked in 4 hours before departure, subject to the station; some stations set their own cut-off.
  • British Airways: IAG Cargo takes no dangerous dogs at Heathrow or Gatwick, and restricts some snub-nosed (brachycephalic) breeds there.
  • British Airways: British Airways cargo at Birmingham (BHX) moves by truck only, with no live animals, and IAG Cargo's Inverness (INV) station takes no live animals.
  • British Airways: IAG Cargo's Glasgow (GLA) and Edinburgh (EDI) pages limit the hours and weekdays for live animals, and each page gives conflicting hours. Confirm with the station.
  • British Airways: IAG Cargo lists live animals as embargoed at Munich (MUC), Stuttgart (STR), Nuremberg (NUE), Berlin (BER), Hamburg (HAM) and Dusseldorf (DUS). The Berlin, Hamburg and Dusseldorf pages still show live-animal times, so treat them as embargoed until the station confirms otherwise.
  • British Airways: IAG Cargo's Stockholm (ARN) and Helsinki (HEL) stations say no live animals. Helsinki's own table says only "no live animals at the weekend", so confirm with the station.
  • British Airways: IAG Cargo's Copenhagen (CPH) station takes live animals as exports only, so a pet cannot fly in to Copenhagen on it.
  • British Airways: At Gran Canaria (LPA), Seville (SVQ) and Tenerife South (TFS), IAG Cargo carries live animals on Iberia flights only, not on British Airways. Valencia (VLC) takes live animals as imports on British Airways flights only.
  • British Airways: No live animals may land at Dublin (DUB) on Saturday or Sunday, and IAG Cargo's Cork (ORK) station takes no live animals.
  • British Airways: Pick the pet up straight away at Paris Orly (ORY) and Amsterdam (AMS); Paris Charles de Gaulle (CDG) has no live-animal storage.
  • British Airways: Flights between London and Larnaca run a reduced schedule.
  • British Airways: British Airways' Conditions of Carriage still allow checked baggage; its current pet pages say cargo, which is what we show.

3 changes in 12 months

  • The limit of five pets now counts per private vehicle

    Was
    Up to five pets per person.
    Now
    Up to five pets per private vehicle; five for people on foot, as before.

    Source: GOV.UK (Defra and APHA) · found at our first read

  • New animal health certificate model from 22 April 2026

    Was
    Pets from a listed country entered on the certificate model in Annex IV to Regulation 577/2013.
    Now
    They enter on the model in Annex III to Implementing Regulation 2026/705.

    Source: Official Journal of the European Union (Publications Office CELLAR; EUR-Lex ELI http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg_impl/2026/705/oj) · found at our first read

  • A new EU animal health certificate template, with the old one allowed until 30 September 2026

    Was
    Official vets in Great Britain issued the old animal health certificate template.
    Now
    A new template applies; the old one may be issued up to and including 30 September 2026.

    Source: GOV.UK (APHA) · found at our first read

Where every rule above came from

Rules change without notice. Confirm each item against the linked official page before you book: we re-check weekly and date every check, but the official page is the authority.

See everything that applies in European Union, or what changed across the site.