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Flying a dog from Northern Ireland to Great Britain

Last verified Sources checked 10 primary sourcesSite-wide weekly check overdue: due

Scope and research limits

UK — Great Britain: England, Scotland and Wales. Guide and assistance dogs follow the same rules.

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.

Yes

A dog must fly as cargo to enter Great Britain from Northern Ireland.

Plan your deadlinesCheck airlines

To meet the entry rules

  • no pet passport or health certificate
  • a microchip before leaving Northern Ireland (if you live in Northern Ireland)

If a requirement is missed: Quarantine for up to 4 months, or refused entry if the pet came by sea. The owner pays any fees or charges.

Full answer

A dog must fly as cargo to enter Great Britain from Northern Ireland. Without quarantine, it needs no pet passport or health certificate and a microchip before leaving Northern Ireland (if you live in Northern Ireland). If any is missed: Quarantine for up to 4 months, or refused entry if the pet came by sea. Last verified 24 September 2026.

Rules allow in cabin
Assistance dogs onlyBy plane, pets travel as cargo. Only a guide or assistance dog, or a pet on a chartered private plane, may travel otherwise.
Quarantine
Noneno quarantine when every rule is met
Rabies titer
Not requiredNorthern Ireland, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man
Lead time
0 days

Your deadlines, counted back from arrival

None 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: 0 days

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

  1. Arrival

    Arrival day

    Note: A service dog arriving at or transiting Heathrow needs HARC's pre-approval letter. HARC asks for the Stage 1 email at least seven days before the scheduled departure. Without the letter the dog could be quarantined or re-exported at the owner's cost.

    Official source · City of London Corporation (Heathrow Animal Reception Centre)

Requirements without a countdown

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

  • A recognised assistance dog is trained to help its owner with a disability or health condition; a dog that only gives emotional support usually does not count. It meets the same rules as other dogs but may fly in the cabin. Tell the airline at least 48 hours before you travel.

    Official source · GOV.UK (Defra/APHA)

  • If you live in Northern Ireland, you need no health preparations or documents to travel to Great Britain, but the pet must be microchipped before it leaves. Applies if you live in Northern Ireland.

    Fails if: The pet is not microchipped when it leaves Northern Ireland.

    Official source · DAERA (Northern Ireland)

  • There are no checks on pets travelling from Northern Ireland to Great Britain, and no export health certificate is needed.

    Official source · DAERA (Northern Ireland)Official source · GOV.UK (Defra/APHA)

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 Great Britain (Europe/London).

Which airlines carry dogs on this route

No airline in our sources carries this route yet.

No rule changes recorded since

We have recorded no change to the rules on this page since , when our log began. See every recorded change.

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 Great Britain, or what changed across the site.