Travelling with pets
If you are from Ukraine and are seeking refuge in the UK, you can follow rules to bring your pet dog, cat or ferret without it going into quarantine or isolation if it has:
- been microchipped. (Before they get their rabies vaccination.)
- been vaccinated against rabies and had a blood test 30 days later to confirm the vaccine worked, and waited 3 months after the blood test to travel to the UK
- a GB pet health certificate
- had tapeworm treatment (dogs only) between 24 hours (one day) and 120 hours (5 days) before travel
If your pet does not have a GB pet health certificate but does have an EU pet passport, call the Animal and Plant Health Agency on +44 3000 200 301 for advice.
If your pet does not meet these requirements or you do not have proof that it does, you must apply for a licence to bring your pet to the UK.
The Animal and Plant Health Agency is providing quick licence approvals and quarantine arrangements to avoid creating additional burdens or delays. The Government is also covering their vaccination, microchipping and quarantine costs, recognising that many individuals from Ukraine will not have been able to complete the full health preparations required for their pet on arrival.
Before arriving, the Animal and Plant Health Agency should be contacted. They will confirm their approval and will then organise any necessary stay in quarantine which is required to complete the rabies treatment process. The maximum stay in quarantine for a pet which has received no rabies treatment is four months. Pets will be considered case by case, and those which have already received some treatment would spend less time in quarantine.
Ukrainians should contact the Animal and Plant Health Agency at ukrainepettravel@apha.gov.uk or should call +44 3000 200 301 and select option 2.
Information on steps necessary before travelling to the UK, pets that can go into home isolation, where to arrive in the UK and other can be accessed here.
You cannot bring a banned breed of dog into Great Britain unless it already has a valid Certificate of Exemption.
The list of guidelines and references
- Guidance: Bringing your pet to the UK from Ukraine (last updated 30 March 2023)
- Bringing your pet dog, cat or ferret to Great Britain
- Emergency support put in place for people fleeing Ukraine and entering the UK with their pets