Pet Passport Scheme ends for UK

ValDa replied on 13/12/2020 19:36

Posted on 13/12/2020 19:36

PET TRAVEL UPDATE

We have been informed by the government, last night, that the UK will have ‘Part 2’ listed status for pets traveling to the EU after 01/01/2021.


What this means is that all existing UK Pet Passports (see the attached photo) will no longer be valid for travel from 01/01/2021. We hope this message will be read by anyone holding such a passport, but please forward this information on to anyone you know who has such a document so they can be prepared.


From 2300 GMT on 31/12/20 any pet traveling to the EU from the UK will need to be issued with an ‘Animal Health Certificate’ (AHC) by your vet.


The vital things to know about the AHC is that they are ONLY valid for:
• 10 days after the date of issue for entry into the EU – i.e. they cannot be issued to you more than 10 days before you travel
• A single trip for entry to the EU – they cannot be reused
• Onward travel within the EU for 4 months after the date of issue
• Re-entry to GB for 4 months after the date of issue.


Unfortunately, veterinary surgeons are not permitted to issue any AHCs until after 22/12/2020.
These AHC are issued as bilingual documents; you will only be able to enter the EU if you hold the correct document for the country you first arrive in. Thus pet owners cannot change their country entry point into the EU once the AHC is completed, otherwise a new AHC would need to be issued.


In addition, as these are large, 10 page, documents that will require a considerable time to complete, and can only be filled by certified veterinary surgeons, it is likely all veterinary practices will be very limited in the number that can be completed prior to 01/01/2021.


This means there may be delays in the issuing of such documents by veterinary practices, and we thank our clients in advance for their patience with this process at this extremely challenging time.


Finally, it should be noted that animals younger than 12 weeks of age are no longer permitted to be exported, and that travel is not permitted until 21 days after Rabies vaccination.

replied on 14/12/2020 08:40

Posted on 14/12/2020 08:40

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replied on 14/12/2020 08:57

Posted on 14/12/2020 08:57

Will we also have to start the rabies treatment from scratch as well? I thought we only had to do that if we became an ‘unlisted’ country, and the GOV.UK website doesn’t appear to answer that question. 
Val, please could you direct us to the source of your information?
many thanks. 

Rufs replied on 14/12/2020 09:15

Posted on 14/12/2020 08:57 by

Will we also have to start the rabies treatment from scratch as well? I thought we only had to do that if we became an ‘unlisted’ country, and the GOV.UK website doesn’t appear to answer that question. 
Val, please could you direct us to the source of your information?
many thanks. 

Posted on 14/12/2020 09:15

Ron, it is my understanding that we will become an "unlisted" country. We jumped thru the hoops of the rabies vaccination in 2019 when it looked like we would leave with no deal etc, jumping thru these hoops took nearly 4 months to complete, and things could be worse this time around.

Whilst we are in the EU UK labs are classified as EU labs and that is where the blood samples from your pouch have to go to test for rabies antibodies, when we did this it took approx 10 days to return the results, BUT, once we leave the EU will UK labs still be able to carry out these tests or will they have to be shipped across the channel ???more delays ???.

Once you have jumped thru these hoops you can keep your pouch valid by having a booster jab every 2 years.

If you are planning on taking pouch abroad next year i would talk to your vet now, to avoid any misunderstanding or delay , good luck.

our pouch failed the test first time round, i.e. insufficient antibodies so had to have second injection, but you have to wait i think 30 days from having injection to taking blood , and even if you pass the test i think you have to wait 30 days before you can travel, but check with your vet things could have changed....dont want to be a prophet of doom, but it is possible your pouch will never have sufficient antibodies so will never be able to travel whilst we remain an "unlisted" country undecided

replied on 14/12/2020 11:14

Posted on 14/12/2020 11:14

Rufs, Val’s post says that we will have ‘Part 2 listed status’ rather than Part 1 listed or Unlisted and If we become Unlisted, then you are correct. My question refers to the status in Val’s post. I can’t see anything about this on the government website, although there is plenty of info about Unlisted status. 
I’ve found some info about Part 2 on a vet’s website which says that the current documents will still be valid but we would  still need the paperwork that Val mentions. 

brue replied on 14/12/2020 11:31

Posted on 14/12/2020 11:31

Here's the actual Gov.uk statement with the caveat that it will be updated if anything changes.

Pet travel to Europe from 1 Jan 20121 gov.uk >LINK<

Geejay replied on 14/12/2020 12:40

Posted on 14/12/2020 12:40

I think Govt ministers are dropping hints that we will be Part 2 Listed rather than unlisted.  If that's the case then the Titre rabies antibodies test will not be needed.  The AHC will of course be required.

Like Rufs we went for the titre test last year to cover all bases.  Fortunately she passed.  Hopefully, it won't be required in future.

The Gov UK website will no doubt be updated when the UK status is confirmed.

We won't be going abroad until we get the vaccination (not for rabieslaughing) and travel is "permitted", ie the FO doesn't advise against.

A further thought.  We normally sail BF to Spain, however if the ferry is cancelled due to bad weather there may be a problem with the 10-day AHC window (we will already have used 2-3 days of that travelling down to Portsmouth).  If you need to travel to the country for which the AHC has the language translation, then you couldn't divert via France, if I read this correctly.  We may decide to sail to France instead of Spain to avoid this potential problem.

Rufs replied on 14/12/2020 12:49

Posted on 14/12/2020 11:31 by brue

Here's the actual Gov.uk statement with the caveat that it will be updated if anything changes.

Pet travel to Europe from 1 Jan 20121 gov.uk >LINK<

Posted on 14/12/2020 12:49

Yes.....and the below paragraph for me would be the most relevant

"To make sure your pet is able to travel from Great Britain to the EU from 1 January 2021, you should contact your vet at least 4 months before travelling to get the latest advice"

and that is what i have been posting, have to say "been there got the tee shirt "

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