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Flying a cat from Northern Ireland to the European Union

Last verified Sources checked 15 primary sourcesSite-wide weekly check overdue: due

Scope and research limits

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.

This guide covers the journey and pathways stated here. Residence, travel history and connections may change which requirements apply. Confirm these before using the countdown.

Conditional: yes, with 1 hard deadline

A cat must fly as the airline allows, with the owner or an authorised person, to enter the European Union from Northern Ireland.

Plan your deadlinesCheck airlines

To meet the entry rules

  • a microchip on or before the rabies vaccination
  • a primary rabies vaccination given at 12 weeks old or older, at least 21 days before departure
  • an EU pet passport from a vet in Northern Ireland

If a requirement 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.

Full answer

A cat must fly as the airline allows, with the owner or an authorised person, to enter the European Union from Northern Ireland. Without quarantine, it needs a microchip on or before the rabies vaccination; a primary rabies vaccination given at 12 weeks old or older, at least 21 days before departure; and an EU pet passport from a vet in Northern Ireland. If any is missed: A pet that fails the checks may be returned, quarantined until it complies, or, if neither is possible, put down. Last verified 24 September 2026.

Rules allow in 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 requiredAnother EU country, or Northern Ireland
Lead time
23 days

Your deadlines, counted back from arrival

1 of these steps is a hard deadline. Each step says how long before arrival it falls. Pick an arrival date and your browser works out the calendar dates; it fetches nothing.

Lead time: 23 days

Pick an arrival date to see the calendar date of each step.

  1. No later than 107 days before arrival

    Birth

    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.

    Official source · European Commission (DG SANTE)Official source · EU Publications Office (EUR-Lex consolidated text via CELLAR; 'documentation tool', no legal effect)

  2. No later than 23 days before arrival

    Microchip

    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.

    Official source · EU Publications Office (EUR-Lex consolidated text via CELLAR; 'documentation tool', no legal effect)Official source · Official Journal of the European Union (Publications Office CELLAR; EUR-Lex ELI http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg_del/2026/131/oj)Official source · Official Journal of the European Union (Publications Office CELLAR; EUR-Lex ELI http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg_impl/2026/705/oj)

  3. No later than 23 days before arrival

    Rabies vaccinationHard deadline

    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.

    For this plan: The regulation does not say how the 21 days are counted. We plan 22 days, so the wait is met under either count.

    Fails if: Done less than 21 days before departure.

    Official source · EU Publications Office (EUR-Lex consolidated text via CELLAR; 'documentation tool', no legal effect)Official source · Official Journal of the European Union (Publications Office CELLAR; EUR-Lex ELI http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg_del/2026/131/oj)Official source · European Union (Your Europe portal, European Commission)

  4. Arrival

    Arrival day

Requirements without a countdown

These conditions still apply. Choosing an arrival date does not check them.

This plan assumes one air journey, with every step done before you leave. Unless you give a departure date, it assumes you leave the day before arrival or on arrival day. Times are local to the European Union (Europe/Brussels).

Which airlines carry cats on this route

No airline in our sources carries this route yet.

1 change recorded since

  • 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

Where every rule above came from

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

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