EU Pet Passports no longer valid for UK residents

Sharon the Cat

Sharon the Cat

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I'm pretty sure I've seen a thread about this, which I dismissed as scare-mongering. Unfortunately I now have information from a trusted source, the rescue we adopted Sticky from. They regularly bring in dogs from Spain.

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That's messed up a lot of plans
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I'm wondering if our Resident French neighbours (who are from England) would 'adopt' our dog 🤔
 
There's a lot of debate online about whether point 4 is actually correct. The actual legislation covering the non-commercial movement of animals between EU member states and third countries (like the UK) seems to read that pet passports that are already held will continue to be valid.

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Jo001 said:
There's a lot of debate online about whether point 4 is actually correct. The actual legislation covering the non-commercial movement of animals between EU member states and third countries (like the UK) seems to read that pet passports that are already held will continue to be valid.

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You forgot to include a translation Jo
 
alcam said:
You forgot to include a translation Jo
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I don't want to say definitively - just that MY interpretation of the proper legal bit is that it SEEMS to say if you already have a pet passport, you can continue to use it.

And, as it happens, we just arrived at the tunnel. There was an APHA official at pet reception, so I asked him. He seems to think existing passports can continue to be used. I asked him to flag up what it says in Sharon's screenshot to someone who can clarify or better, get it amended.
 
Jo001 said:
I don't want to say definitively - just that MY interpretation of the proper legal bit is that it SEEMS to say if you already have a pet passport, you can continue to use it.

And, as it happens, we just arrived at the tunnel. There was an APHA official at pet reception, so I asked him. He seems to think existing passports can continue to be used. I asked him to flag up what it says in Sharon's screenshot to someone who can clarify or better, get it amended.
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Heres hoping
 
I emailed DEFRA about this a couple of days ago and here is their reply:

The European Commission have confirmed that if you are not a resident of an EU member state or Northern Ireland, your pet passport will not be valid for travel into the EU on or after the 22nd of April, even if it was issued before this date.

Owners resident in Great Britain will need an Animal Health Certificate for their dog, cat or ferret(s) if they’re travelling from Great Britain (England, Wales and Scotland) to an EU country.

Kind regards,

Amie Flanagan-Fenton.

Customer Contact Team - Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA)

Telephone: 03000 200 301 |

Address: Eden Bridge House, Lowther Street, Carlisle, CA3 8DX

Website: www.gov.uk/apha | Twitter: @APHAgovuk | Facebook: aphagov
 
I suppose as there is now 2 versions, mine and REC, someone needs to be the Guinea pig to see what works. I will again email LeShuttle as they told me a couple of weeks ago there would be no change. Maybe they were not ‘in the loop’ at that time.
 
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I'd like to see the legislation that has repealed Article 31 (the bit in the screenshot above that says that the document is compliant if it was issued before 22 April 2026).
 
https://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/travel/carry/pets-and-other-animals/index_en.htm states (inter alia):

"From 1 January 2021, EU pet passports issued to a pet owner resident in Great Britain are no longer valid for travel with pets from Great Britain to an EU country or Northern Ireland."

That appears not to be the experience to date, but may perhaps have been assumed to relate to EU pet passports issued in Great Britain to a pet owner resident in Great Britain.
 
TJBi said:
https://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/travel/carry/pets-and-other-animals/index_en.htm states (inter alia):

"From 1 January 2021, EU pet passports issued to a pet owner resident in Great Britain are no longer valid for travel with pets from Great Britain to an EU country or Northern Ireland."

That appears not to be the experience to date, but may perhaps have been assumed to relate to EU pet passports issued in Great Britain to a pet owner resident in Great Britain.
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I think that might be referring to the passports issued by vets here in GB, before we left the EU?
 
While I am waiting for a response to my question to Eurotunnel, I’ve had a chat with ChatGPT. His opinion (is he a him or a her? ;) ) without further in-depth investigation suggests that

EU passport if issued correctly and maintained correctly, as I’m sure yours are, will still be valid in France, Germany etc.etc. as before, and can be updated with worming and rabies vac by your friendly European veterinarian. It should also allow you to come home.

The issue is whether Eurotunnel (or your ferry company) will continue to accept your valid EU passport, or, will they be required to enforce APHA new ruling that an AHC must be valid in order to travel? It could be that Eurotunnel etc. won’t want to risk issues from higher up because they have accepted a valid EU passport.

Again, I’ll report back should I get any more info.
 
If you have an eu pet passport issued before April 2026 you can still use it until it's full.
Defra have it wrong
Jo001 has the correct info.
The UK who is behind with legislation won't have it done until 2027 if we are lucky.
Not sure what people with tourist visa's in the eu will do though as ahc only lasts 4 months
 
Drover said:
If you have an eu pet passport issued before April 2026 you can still use it until it's full.
Defra have it wrong
Jo001 has the correct info.
The UK who is behind with legislation won't have it done until 2027 if we are lucky.
Not sure what people with tourist visa's in the eu will do though as ahc only lasts 4 months
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I agree with you 100% - but if a jobsworth at your border control decides otherwise, how the heck can they be challenged before you lose your travel slot?
 
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