Travelling To France With Your Dog

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Published: Jan 26, 2023, 11:34am

Kevin Pratt
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Family holidays aren’t complete unless the family pet goes too. With France easily accessible by train, plane and ferry, more and more people are taking their four-legged friend across the channel.

The rules about taking your dog to France have changed since Brexit in 2016, but it’s still really easy to do. Here’s what you need to know.

Is my dog insured to travel abroad?

When it comes to insurance for taking your dog to France, you need to look at your pet insurance policy, rather than your travel insurance policy.

Some pet insurance policies include overseas cover as standard, but with others it’s an optional extra – so check your policy.

You’ll also need to check what your insurance actually covers while you’re abroad. Ideally it will cover vets’ fees, advertising and reward if your dog goes missing, and holiday cancellation cover if you need to cancel your trip because your dog dies or is ill.

Do I need a pet passport?

Up until 1 January 2021, Brits could use a UK-issued EU pet passport to take their dog on holiday to France or any other EU country.

The EU pet passport scheme allows dogs (and cats and ferrets) to travel between EU countries without the need for quarantine. 

But since Brexit, UK-issued pet passports are no longer valid, even if they are still in date. The rules changed a year after the UK left the EU. 

To take your dog to France, you now need either:

  • A pet passport issued by an EU country
  • An Animal Health Certificate (AHC).

What is an Animal Health Certificate?

You need an AHC for your dog if you’re travelling from Great Britain (England, Wales and Scotland) to an EU country or Northern Ireland. An AHC demonstrates that your pet is fit and healthy to travel. 

You can add up to five pets to an AHC and you can use them for cats and ferrets as well as dogs.

You can only get an AHC from a vet. The vet will need to be an official veterinarian (OV) and be authorised by the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) to issue an AHC. Not all vets have this authority.

The AHC must be obtained 10 days or less before your travel date and you must take your dog to the vet to get it. To be eligible for an AHC, your dog must be microchipped and all its vaccinations must be up-to-date. 

You will also need evidence that your dog has had a rabies vaccine within the past three years. If your dog needs a rabies vaccination, you must wait 21 days after the vaccination date before you get an AHC. 

If you have a puppy, he or she won’t be able to have a rabies vaccination until they are at least 12-weeks-old, and then a further three weeks need to pass before the vet can issue the AHC.

To go to France, you will need to make sure that your AHC is issued in both English and French.

How much does an AHC cost and how long is it valid for?

An AHC will normally cost between £100 and £150, depending on the vet. You’ll need to pay this each time you go to the EU with your dog – so it can work out expensive for regular travellers.

If you need to microchip your dog (which you should have done already as it’s a legal requirement) or get vaccinations done in order to meet AHC requirements, this will cost extra. 

Your AHC will be valid for entering the EU for 10 days from the date it is issued. It will then last four months (or until your dog’s rabies vaccination expires) for any onward travel to other EU countries and for your return home.

How can I get an EU-issued pet passport?

If you regularly take your dog to France – because you have a holiday home there, for example – getting an EU pet passport will work out cheaper than an AHC as it costs about £60 and lasts for three years.

First, you’ll need to get an AHC for your dog’s first trip to France. Once there you can take your dog to a local vet and arrange for an EU pet passport to be issued. You can then use this to take your pooch to France for future trips.

The best way to travel to France with your dog

Once you have all the necessary paperwork in place, you need to decide the best way to travel to France with your dog.

Taking your car is the easiest option. If you drive to France, you can either take your car on a cross-channel ferry or on a Eurotunnel Le Shuttle train.

There is usually an extra fee to take your dog on a ferry – so check with the ferry company. P&O Ferries charges £15 per pet each way on the Dover to Calais route. You can either keep your dog in your car for the crossing or pay a £12 upgrade fee to go to the Pet Lounge.

With DFDS it costs €18 per dog and you’ll need to leave your dog in your car for the duration of the crossing – but you can arrange a time to visit them.

Taking your dog on the Eurotunnel Le Shuttle costs £22. You’ll need to check-in your pet at the ‘pet reception’ in Folkestone (and Calais on the way back) and show your dog’s AHC or EU pet passport. Your dog will stay in your vehicle with you during the 35-minute train journey.

You can’t take your dog on a Eurostar train, unless it’s a guide or assistance dog.

Flying to France with your dog is much more complicated – not all airlines allow dogs and those that do all have different rules. 

Most airlines will require your dog to travel in a crate in the cargo area of the plane, with the cost depending on the airline and the size and weight of your pet

You might be able to take a small dog in the cabin in a carrier that fits under the seat in front of you.

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