British holidaymakers to face fresh EU red tape chaos as Brussels wages war on pet owners

Peter Stevens
Wed, 22 Apr 2026 00:10:50 +0000

British holidaymakers heading to the EU are now set to face additional red tape when taking their pets abroad.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has warned pet owners they can no longer use pet passports unless they live in Europe full-time.

Britain is not part of the pet passport programme - but second home owners and regular visitors to the EU have long utilised a loophole to obtain pet passports from vets in Europe.

The passports serve as a single document for the animal's life and allow easy travel to and from Europe.

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Irish vets were able to grant the pet passport to British animals for €90 (£78).

Pets without a passport require a single-use animal health certificate (AHC), which can cost up to £350, including a microchip, a rabies vaccination and more.

But new rules coming into force today will crack down on pet passports, mandating they "should not be used by people who have holiday homes in the EU or visit seasonally".

Additional regulations now mean more paperwork is needed if a pet is travelling with a family member, and restricts the number of pets that can cross to five per vehicle, reduced from five per person.

A pet must travel within five days of their owner, and the person accompanying the animals must carry written permission from its owner.

The process for obtaining an AHC within the UK was described as challenging by Dr Elliott Simpson-Brown, a vet with the International Zoo Veterinary Group.

He told The Telegraph: "Where it goes wrong at all, those animals can be held up or even rejected at the border – the stakes are quite high."

The Government asked to rejoin the EU's pet passport scheme as part of Sir Keir Starmer's Brexit reset negotiations.

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Britain is expected to align with the EU's sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) rules after a meeting in July.

AHCs must be issued within 10 days of entry and are valid for six months of onward travel within the EU and re-entry to Great Britain.

The document is only granted to dogs if they are treated for tapeworm between one and five days before travel.

Dog, cats, and ferrets must be vaccinated for rabies and wait three weeks after their first jab before going abroad.

Defra has warned that pet passports issued prior to April 22 "may no longer be valid" for entry into the EU, but remain valid for British residents returning to the UK.

An estimated 250,000 UK pet owners took their pets on holiday to the EU each year before Britain left the pet passport programme.

Gwen Rees, the British Veterinary Association’s junior vice-president, said: "Post-Brexit pet travel requirements from Great Britain to the EU have required an AHC issued by a vet, but we’ve heard reports of some UK-resident owners travelling with pet passports issued in the EU.

"These new rules will close that loophole. The Government’s recent announcement of a new veterinary agreement with the EU could see some realignment on pet travel rules in the near future, which should make the process of taking pets abroad easier for everyone."

A spokesman for the Animal and Plant Health Agency said: "Anyone planning to travel should check guidance on Gov.uk, and the entry rules for their destination.

"To avoid delays and ensure a smooth journey, pet owners residing in Great Britain should get an AHC if they’re travelling from Great Britain to an EU country."