Will my plan work? - pet passport/rabies booster question

[Kaz5167]

My dog was originally from Romania and has a Romanian (EU) passport.

We have had her 3 years & the rabies vaccination has therefore lapsed.

My plan is as follows:

Get rabies here at local vets & then Animal health certificate, 21 days before travel.

Travel to France on AHC, taking, but not showing, pet passport.

Then in France or Belgium (will either be OK, not decided on destination yet? ) get a rabies booster & get that entered in the passport (it will only be a few weeks after the first, so booster not due, but read they used to give booster after 21 days to be safe on the rabies antibody test, so should be safe).

As it will be the first one in the passport for a while, it will look like a 'first vaccine ' and she in theory wouldn't be able to travel back to UK for 21 days...

However, she will actually have had one 3 weeks earlier (in UK) , and we'll have the animal health certificate to show that, so we just don't show the pet passport at all this trip.

3 weeks later however, the passport will be valid (and for a year after the vaccine), so the following year we can travel using the passport & look to get a booster added - which ideally will be a 3 year booster, meaning we have 3 years before we'd HAVE to go back.

The only issue I see, is if the EU passport is already invalid due to not keeping up the rabies boosters (which appears to be the case with uk issued EU passports), but hopefully that isn't the case... if it is, it will mean paying out for a new eu passport.

 

[clarkpeacock]

We have done exactly this over the last few days. Our dog has a Greek issued pet passport, but the last rabies vaccination ran out in December.

She had a new rabies vaccination a month ago which was entered on a separate medical history card followed by an AHC issued 8 days before we travelled on 22nd April. A total bill of £325 including her annual boosters!

Pet check in at Folkestone Tunnel was very straightforward and off we went to visit friends in Germany.

Friday 28th we visited a German vet who administered a Rabies booster (valid immediately as the UK jab was in date), updated the Greek passport and also did the worming ready for the return trip two days ago. Total cost €75

Used the passport to check in at Calais tunnel with no problem so all good for three years now

Hope that helps.

 

[Jo001]

it will only be a few weeks after the first, so booster not due, but read they used to give booster after 21 days to be safe on the rabies antibody test, so should be safe

Yes, almost that. The booster wasn't given as a matter of course, but could be given if the titre test showed that the antibodies weren't high enough.

And the vaccine is a dead vaccine so another one shouldn't cause any problems

and for a year after the vaccine

I think you should be able to get a three year vaccine in France or Belgium. It's in southern Spain, where the proximity to North Africa presents a higher risk, that they do the one year vaccination.

in France or Belgium (will either be OK, not decided on destination yet? )

I'm pretty sure, since you already have the passport, you won't have problems in France - it's only getting a new one that's an issue because the dog ”should” also be registered on the chip database, and that's what actually causes the stumbling block.

I think your plan sounds good.

 

[Kaz5167]

We have done exactly this over the last few days. Our dog has a Greek issued pet passport, but the last rabies vaccination ran out in December.

She had a new rabies vaccination a month ago which was entered on a separate medical history card followed by an AHC issued 8 days before we travelled on 22nd April. A total bill of £325 including her annual boosters!

Pet check in at Folkestone Tunnel was very straightforward and off we went to visit friends in Germany.

Friday 28th we visited a German vet who administered a Rabies booster (valid immediately as the UK jab was in date), updated the Greek passport and also did the worming ready for the return trip two days ago. Total cost €75

Used the passport to check in at Calais tunnel with no problem so all good for three years now

Hope that helps.

Thank you so much, so good to hear from someone who has done this.

I thought we'd have to go back within a year initially, so good to know we should be able to get a 3 year booster straight away, that's better than I expected.

 

[Kaz5167]

Yes, almost that. The booster wasn't given as a matter of course, but could be given if the titre test showed that the antibodies weren't high enough.

And the vaccine is a dead vaccine so another one shouldn't cause any problems

I think you should be able to get a three year vaccine in France or Belgium. It's in southern Spain, where the proximity to North Africa presents a higher risk, that they do the one year vaccination.

I'm pretty sure, since you already have the passport, you won't have problems in France - it's only getting a new one that's an issue because the dog ”should” also be registered on the chip database, and that's what actually causes the stumbling block.

I think your plan sounds good.

Thank you so much for this, really useful information & good to get clarification.

 

[clarkpeacock]

I'm pretty sure, since you already have the passport, you won't have problems in France - it's only getting a new one that's an issue because the dog ”should” also be registered on the chip database, and that's what actually causes the stumbling block.

I think your plan sounds good.

Agreed. As outlined in my post above, this is exactly what we have done over the past couple of weeks, getting an expired Greek passport renewed by a German vet.

You don't have to wait the 21 days to use it, as the rabies 'booster' is effective immediately due to the valid rabies jab given as part of the AHC process.

Proven in real life with an outgoing trip via Folkestone on the AHC on 23rd April and a return trip through Calais on Tuesday this week using the renewed passport

 

[rugbyken]

when my pup got her new portugese passport in march the vet authenticated/verified on to the passport the english administered rabies vaccine from 6 months previous that was detailed in the AHC, it is the fact that uk vets can’t enter details onto a european passport that is the problem

 

[trevskoda]

You do seem to be in a bad way.

 

[SimonM]

It’s high time that defra or whatever the clowns are called these days sorted out the pet passport situation as frequent travellers are getting charged far too much for regular AHC paperwork.

 

[Nabsim]

It’s high time that defra or whatever the clowns are called these days sorted out the pet passport situation as frequent travellers are getting charged far too much for regular AHC paperwork.

We could have kept it I believe but U.K. government refused

 

[alcam]

My dog was originally from Romania and has a Romanian (EU) passport.

We have had her 3 years & the rabies vaccination has therefore lapsed.

My plan is as follows:

Get rabies here at local vets & then Animal health certificate, 21 days before travel.

Travel to France on AHC, taking, but not showing, pet passport.

Then in France or Belgium (will either be OK, not decided on destination yet? ) get a rabies booster & get that entered in the passport (it will only be a few weeks after the first, so booster not due, but read they used to give booster after 21 days to be safe on the rabies antibody test, so should be safe).

As it will be the first one in the passport for a while, it will look like a 'first vaccine ' and she in theory wouldn't be able to travel back to UK for 21 days...

However, she will actually have had one 3 weeks earlier (in UK) , and we'll have the animal health certificate to show that, so we just don't show the pet passport at all this trip.

3 weeks later however, the passport will be valid (and for a year after the vaccine), so the following year we can travel using the passport & look to get a booster added - which ideally will be a 3 year booster, meaning we have 3 years before we'd HAVE to go back.

The only issue I see, is if the EU passport is already invalid due to not keeping up the rabies boosters (which appears to be the case with uk issued EU passports), but hopefully that isn't the case... if it is, it will mean paying out for a new eu passport.

Travelled last year using AHC . Got Spanish passport . Rabies 3 year jab .
Tried to use my new passport on return, wasn't accepted because jab was less than 21 days . Had to use AHC for return

 

[r4dent]

Am I understanding this thread correctly?

Are you discussing ways of circumventing the rules for rabies injections so you can move your dogs between UK and EU ?

Is that a good thing?

The thought of bending the rules to bring in a potentially rabid animal is scary.

 

[SimonM]

Am I understanding this thread correctly?

Are you discussing ways of circumventing the rules for rabies injections so you can move your dogs between UK and EU ?

Is that a good thing?

The thought of bending the rules to bring in a potentially rabid animal is scary.

I think you’re reading it slightly wrongly. This is a way to not have to get an expensive AHC every trip abroad. The pooch will still be protected.

 

[Jo001]

Are you discussing ways of circumventing the rules for rabies injections so you can move your dogs between UK and EU ?

Not at all. The dogs are still vaccinated, as they were before. The pet ”passport” is badly named, as it is only a record of rabies vaccinations and nothing to do with nationality or citizenship. Any dog, cat, etc can be issued with this document, proving rabies status, and be authorised to travel.

 

[Nabsim]

Can you not just go over to Ireland for a break and still get the eu pet passport in the South?

 

[Sharon the Cat]

Can you not just go over to Ireland for a break and still get the eu pet passport in the South?

I just posted on a FB group for AHCs asking about accidentally crossing into Eire (without an AHC) and getting a passport there. Someone had just done that very thing, no AHC but got all done South of the border OK. But I was also warned that some vets wish to see an AHC to prove that you not cheating.

 

[rugbyken]

to take my pup abroad the vet gave me a form to fill in mine & pups details i furnished the chip details provided by the breeder and took the pups vaccination booklet in , the vet wrote all this out on the AHC form and charged me £150 valid for 3 months ,in portugal the vet wrote all of this information onto a booklet re registered the chip to a new address charged me €30 for new passport valid for pups lifetime , so the brit vet filled in a piece of paper with information all of which i supplied & charged 5 x what the portugese vet did for less work

 

[Sharon the Cat]

to take my pup abroad the vet gave me a form to fill in mine & pups details i furnished the chip details provided by the breeder and took the pups vaccination booklet in , the vet wrote all this out on the AHC form and charged me £150 valid for 3 months ,in portugal the vet wrote all of this information onto a booklet re registered the chip to a new address charged me €30 for new passport valid for pups lifetime , so the brit vet filled in a piece of paper with information all of which i supplied & charged 5 x what the portugese vet did for less work

There is a lot more work to the British AHC form for whivch the vet has to pay for and take a course etc etc. This is why there are many online vets who specialise in it and start from £99 for the first pet on the AHC. It's not quite as simple as it first appears. Not all EU vets are as accommodating as yours was, well done.

 

[Drover]

There is a lot more work to the British AHC form for whivch the vet has to pay for and take a course etc etc. This is why there are many online vets who specialise in it and start from £99 for the first pet on the AHC. It's not quite as simple as it first appears. Not all EU vets are as accommodating as yours was, well done.

Nah, it's not a lot of work, I was present when ours got done a few years back. They stole around £140 from me for the privilege.
I agree with Ken.....rip off UK.
There are loads of eu vets who will issue a dog or cat a passport you just need to search for them.
We have a Spanish passport for our dog at around €34 with a 1 year rabies jab as it was done in la linea . Next 3 year vaccination was done in France by a vet who spoke 4 languages,

 

[diongr]

All three of mine done in Ireland. Number four on Monday. One had a expired Romanian passport, no problems at all. €130 for the three.