🇬🇧Taking a dog or cat to United Kingdom: entry rules and flights
✓ Rules checked: September 15, 2026Official sources only
Preparing from scratch takes 3 weeks to 4 months, depending on where you fly from.
United Kingdom sets its own requirements for bringing in dogs and cats. From any departure country your pet needs microchip and rabies vaccination. What is needed on top — parasite treatment, rabies antibody titre test, veterinary health certificate, import declaration and pet passport — depends on the country you fly from. The rules are the same for dogs and cats.
The titre test sets the pace: blood is drawn no earlier than 30 days after the vaccination, and entry is allowed no earlier than 90 days after the draw. There is no quarantine if the rule's conditions are met — otherwise the pet is held. Pets may not enter through just any airport: there are 6 designated points. Order matters more than the list: the microchip goes in before the rabies vaccination, or the vaccination does not count. 70 carriers in our directory fly direct to United Kingdom, and their pet conditions differ.
Check your own route
Free, no signup: timings, documents and airlines for your pet
🐕 🐈 Same rules for dogs and cats
Airlines with direct flights
70 airlines in our directory fly direct to and from United Kingdom. Their conditions differ — the cabin weight limit, whether they carry pets in the hold, the fee and breed restrictions — so it is worth choosing the carrier before buying the ticket.
no snub-nosed breeds in the hold · no snub-nosed breeds in the cabin
✓ up to 8 kg
✓ up to 50 kg
55 EUR
per flight
from 5 cities in 3 countries
Showing the 10 carriers serving the most cities out of 70 with direct flights. Schedules: AeroDataBox, AirLabs, Travelpayouts; pet conditions come from our airline directory.
Restrictions
The limits people find out about last: how many animals one person may bring, the minimum age and which breeds are turned away at the border.
QuarantineYes, if the conditions are not met+
What the quarantine depends on:
failure to follow microchip/rabies/tapeworm rules
failure to use approved route
Banned breeds6 breeds+
American Pit Bull Terrier
Pit Bull Terrier
Tosa Inu
Dogo Argentino
Fila Brasileiro
American Bully XL
The Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 bans 5 types: Pit Bull Terrier, Japanese Tosa, Dogo Argentino, Fila Brasileiro and XL Bully (XL Bully ban from 1 Feb 2024 in England/Wales, 31 Jul 2024 in Scotland, 2025 in Northern Ireland). Importing new dogs of these types is impossible — Certificate of Exemption applications are closed (only via court order).
Pets per personNot stated
Minimum ageno limit; vaccination from 12 weeks
Points of entry6 airports+
EDI
GLA
LGW
LHR
MAN
NCL
Check your route is approved for pet travel. You do not need to use an approved route if you’re travelling within the UK or from Ireland.
What you need to enter United Kingdom
The full list of documents and procedures for entering United Kingdom. Every item carries its official source and last-checked date, and is marked as always required or required only from some departure countries.
Identification
Microchipalways+
Microchip your pet. They must be microchipped before they get their rabies vaccination.
«Microchip your pet. They must be microchipped before they get their rabies vaccination.»
Vaccinate your pet against rabies. How long you must wait before travelling to Great Britain depends on the type of rabies vaccine used. This will be at least 21 full days after the first vaccination (or the last of the first course of vacc
«Vaccinate your pet against rabies. How long you must wait before travelling to Great Britain depends on the type of rabies vaccine used. This will be at least 21 full days after the first vaccination (or the last of the first course of vaccinations).»
Not required from every departure country — checking your own route gives the exact answer.
DOGS only (cats exempt): tapeworm (Echinococcus) treatment by a vet no less than 24 hours and no more than 5 days (120 h) before arrival in Great Britain, recorded in the document.
«Your dog must be treated no less than 24 hours before (and no more than 5 days before) you arrive in Great Britain.»
Not required from every departure country — checking your own route gives the exact answer.
The country of departure is not on the gov.uk lists, so a rabies antibody test is required: blood taken at least 30 days after the vaccination, result of at least 0.5 IU/ml, and 3 months must pass from the sampling date to entry.
«Your pet only needs a rabies blood test if you’re travelling from a country that is: not part of the EU, not listed. … Your pet must have a blood sample taken at least 30 days after the rabies vaccination. … You must wait 3 months from the date the blood sample was taken before you travel.»
Not required from every departure country — checking your own route gives the exact answer.
From an EU country a pet passport, an AHC issued in Great Britain in the last 6 months, or a Great Britain pet health certificate will do.
«If you’re travelling from an EU country your pet must have one of the following documents: a pet passport issued in an EU country or certain other countries; an animal health certificate (AHC) issued in Great Britain in the last 6 months; a Great Britain pet health certificate.»
Not required from every departure country — checking your own route gives the exact answer.
A pet passport is accepted INSTEAD of the veterinary certificate. This cancels no procedure: the microchip, the rabies vaccination and — where required — the antibody titre remain mandatory. The passport merely attests that they were done, and takes the place of the document otherwise issued for the trip. That is exactly why it is more convenient: a certificate lasts days, a passport lasts years, and it shows the vaccination never lapsed.
«Get a pet travel document from your vet. The type of document you need will depend on the country you’re travelling from.»
The order matters more than the list: a step done too early has to be repeated. The intervals come from the same rule fields the engine uses for the earliest departure date.
Microchip
before the rabies vaccination
Rabies vaccination
pet at least 12 weeks oldvalid after 21 days
Rabies antibody titre testdepends on origin
no earlier than 30 days after the vaccinationentry 90 days after the blood draw
Parasite treatmentdepends on origin
Veterinary health certificatedepends on origin
no earlier than 10 days before entry
Pet passportdepends on origin
Import declarationdepends on origin
Steps marked “depends on origin” are not needed by everyone — see the table above or check your own route.
Compared by departure country
Lapaport's engine on six examples, counted from zero: a dog of no particular breed with nothing done yet — no microchip, no vaccination, no tests — starting preparation today. Columns marked “always” are required from anywhere.
If the microchip and vaccination are already done, the wait is shorter: the clock runs from the vaccination date, not from today. Breed, weight and connections change the answer too — check your own route with the form above.
Arrival airports
Pets may not enter through just any airport. Below: where direct flights go and whether animals are accepted.
On the list of entry points6
MANManchester, Greater ManchesterLHRLondonLGWLondonEDIEdinburghNCLNewcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and WearGLAGlasgow
Not on the list of entry points6
STNLondon, EssexBHXBirmingham, West MidlandsBRSBristolLTNLuton, LutonEMANottingham, LeicestershireLPLLiverpool
FAQ
What documents do I need to enter United Kingdom?+
From any country: microchip, rabies vaccination. Depends on the departure country: parasite treatment, rabies antibody titre test, veterinary health certificate, import declaration, pet passport.
Is a rabies titre test required for United Kingdom?+
It depends on the departure country. From Turkey, for example, it is required; from France it is not. The form above gives the exact answer for your route.
Which breeds are banned from entry?+
American Pit Bull Terrier, Pit Bull Terrier, Tosa Inu, Dogo Argentino, Fila Brasileiro, American Bully XL.
Which airlines take pets in the cabin?+
For example: Norwegian, United Airlines, Iberia, Enter Air Sp. z o.o., Air Canada, SAS Scandinavian Airlines. The full list with conditions is in the table above.
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