Frequently Asked Questions

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An Animal Health Certificate is a legal document issued by an Official Veterinarian (OV) which is required for pets to travel from the UK to the EU and replaces the old pet passport system for travel. The species covered by this are dogs, cats and ferrets. This is valid for entry into the EU and onward travel including return to the UK within 4 months. For other species of pet, or countries outside the EU, other documentation may be required.

Firstly, you will need to ensure your pet is microchipped and has an up to date rabies vaccination which must be given at least 21 days before providing the AHC for initial vaccines. Please ask your regular vet to administer the vaccine and they must record that the microchip was scanned before giving the vaccine in the clinical notes and a note of the microchip number. This is very important to allow the AHC to be completed. Depending on where you are travelling, tapeworm treatment may also be required. Contact us to fill out a short booking form which will allow us to complete the AHC which we will then deliver to your home or in a convenient location.

For tapeworm free countries which are Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland, Malta, Finland and Sweden, tapeworm treatment is required 24-120 hours BEFORE arrival in the destination country. This can be prescribed by your own vet and given at your appointment when we provide your AHC. For other EU countries, no treatment is required before travel but a tapeworm treatment must be given 24-120 hours before return to the UK. This can be given by an EU vet and the relevant part of the AHC must be completed by them.

No, we only provide the AHC so this must be given by your regular vet. It is very important that they scan your pets microchip before giving the rabies vaccine and record this is the clinical notes - this is vital to allow AHC completion. You will then need to contact your vet to get them to email your pets clinical history to info@furryfriendstravel.co.uk. Please note that certain other vaccinations are not licensed to be given alongside the rabies vaccine so please check this with your vet.

We are based in Scotland and cover Glasgow and the surrounding areas. Please see map for covered areas under our 'prices' section . If you are slightly outside the zones, please feel free to contact us as we may still be able to organise a visit.

For travel to the EU your pet must have the initial rabies vaccine at least 21 days before issuing the AHC. We recommend you do it at least 1 month or more before.

The AHC is valid for entry into the EU for up to 10 days after issue which means your appointment to provide the AHC must be within 10 days of your planned arrival into the EU.

The AHC is valid for up to 4 months for onward travel within the EU and returning to the UK or until your pet rabies vaccine expires if this is before the 4 months. It is valid for one single trip to the EU only.

The AHC is valid for 4 months for travel within the EU and return to the UK. Dogs require a tapeworm treatment 24-120 hours before returning to the UK which will need to be administered by a vet in the EU. The exception to this is when travelling to tapeworm free countries which are Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland, Norway, Malta or Finland. For these countries your pet will require the tapeworm treatment 24-120 hours BEFORE travel.

For travel outside the EU different documentation may be required such as an Export Health Certificate (EHC) or Fit To Fly Certificate. Each importing country has different requirements determined by their own authorities. We recommend you research the requirements then contact us to find out if we can help with any documentation required.