Bringing your dog or cat from Spain to the UK

You can enter or return to the UK with your pet cat or dog if it:

• has been microchipped
• has a pet passport or health certificate
• has been vaccinated against rabies
• Has had tapeworm treatment (*dog)

You need to fill in a declaration if you are not going to sell or transfer the ownership of your pet.

You must use an approved route– You can only use carriers and routes approved by the Animal and Plant Health Agency to bring your pet to England or Scotland. There are no approved routes to Wales.

Microchip #

Microchipping for pet travel can only be done by:

• a vet
• a vet nurse, student vet or student vet nurse (directed by a vet)
• someone trained in microchipping before 29 December 2014, and with practical experience
• someone who has been assessed on an approved training course

Make sure your vet puts the microchip number in your pet passport or health certificate. The date must be before your pet’s vaccinations.

Pet Passport #

Please see our article about Pet Passports

Rabies Vaccination #

You must get your dog or cat vaccinated against rabies before it can travel. Your vet needs proof that your pet’s at least 12 weeks old before vaccinating them.

You must get your pet microchipped before, or at the same time as, their rabies vaccination. If you do not, they’ll need to be vaccinated again.

The vaccine must be an inactivated vaccine or recombinant vaccine that’s approved in the country of use.

You must wait 21 days after the primary vaccination (or the last of the primary course of vaccinations) before bringing your pet to Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales). The primary vaccination is the first vaccination after you get your pet microchipped.

Tapeworm Treatment #

A vet must treat your dog for tapeworm and record it in the pet passport or health certificate every time you want to bring it to Great Britain (England, Wales and Scotland).

The treatment must have been given no less than 24 hours and no more than 120 heures (5 days) before you enter Great Britain. Your dog can be refused entry or put into quarantine if you do not follow this rule.

The treatment must:

• be approved for use in the country it’s being given in
• contain praziquantel or an equivalent proven to be effective against the Echinococcus multilocularis tapeworm

Your pet may be put into quarantine for up to 4 months if you do not follow these rules – or refused entry if you travelled by sea. You’re responsible for any fees or charges.