The whole process for getting your animal passport is, from my experience, quite lengthy. My overall advise before starting with your vet, is shop around for the complete price, I was caught unawares as bill after bill came in, after I thought I'd paid for the whole course.

On first enquiring about what was involved I found out that you have to have the Rabies injection, followed by a blood test to ensure that the injection has taken, then you are given your pet passport. This is an over simplification! Let me list the costs that I came across; these prices are from my Vet based in the South-East of England and will not necessarily been the same prices as your local vet may quote.

Injection x 2....£64.62

Blood Test .....£42.30

Lab Handling ..£50.52

Passport issue .£29.38

Micro Chip .....£22.00

I was advised to have two injections before having the blood test. The reasoning behind this is to ensure a positive blood test, it has been known that one injection sometimes does not give enough protection. Should the blood test fail to show enough antibodies, you will need to have the second injection and then incur the costs of a second set of blood tests and lab handling. The cost I was blind sided by was the Passport issue fee, this was to cover the cost of the passport and the veterinarian nurse's time to complete and stamp the same.

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The 6 month Rule

Please remember this very important section of the legislation. Should you take your pet out of the county you are not allowed back in until 6 months after the passport was issued. You need to plan early, we started with the first injection late in February and picked up the passports in late April, our holiday is not until December.

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When I first went to my vet and asked for information, I was told the passport has to be renewed every year. This was misinformation. The vets, who do not have enough time to read all the legislation, are confused. The rule is, you need to renew you passport every 2 years, or as suggested by the manufacture of the vaccine. However there is a different law in France and some other European counties. If you are a resident of France you have to renew the passport every year. You are deemed to be a resident of France if you remain in the country for more than 3 months, within a 12 month period. If you have a property in France and/or take several month long breaks to France, within in a 12 month period, you will need to have your passport updated yearly.

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When you receive your passport, check the expiry date, it will be shown clearly with the practice stamp next to it. You have to have your booster injections before this date. If you exceed the date you will have to go through the complete process again from scratch!!!

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Before you travel some transporters will need you to get a certificate from your vet to verify that your pet is fit for travel. Possibly as much as £50. We did not find this necessary for the Tunnel to France.

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24/48 hours before arriving at the customs desk at your port of departure you need to have a certificate to verify that your pet has had the recommended injections/tablets as suggested by DEFRA to ensure your pet does not have ticks or worms. You must have the recommended injections with the suggested vaccine, if the incorrect vaccine is used it will not be valid. I have not given the name of the injections here, since they may change, my advise is check with DEFRA before traveling. The time of the injection is also imperative for customs to establish when 24 hours is up. Make sure this box on the passport is completed by the vet.

I used the net to find a list of Vets in the town close to where we stay. DEFRA also list useful translations for the services you will require from the foreign vet.

The price for these injections will vary again, depending on where you are visiting. Be aware that if you need to see a foreign vet on a Saturday/Sunday you may need to book this appointment at the beginning of your holiday and the price will soar if the practice is usually closed on the weekend. In our experience vets in France normally stay open till 7pm.

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I have not actually met anybody who has had this unfortunate situation, so I can only relate the advise given by DEFRA. Be aware that microchips can migrate, so it is worth having another method of identifying your pet. We have had DNA tests done. Friends have had blood tests. Which one you choose is your personal preference. This other method of identifying your pet should ensure that your family member is not in quarantine for the required 6 months.

From my understanding of the DEFRA web site, if your pet is refused entry, you can make arrangements to import your pet to the UK under the guidelines for animals without a passport. However it is your responsibility to arrange quarantine facilities and transport to same (this has to be done by a licensed practitioner). As you can imagine this is a time consuming complex job especially when a foreign language is involved. I looked on the net to find a kennels close to home, so should this unfortunate circumstance occur my animals are close enough to visit regularly. This is worth doing well in advance, this way you can check the facilities and reassure yourself that your pet will be comfortable. This is not something you will be able to do once stuck in a port of entry. Possible have the name of a second establishment in case your first choice has no vacancies.

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As mentioned above, I have not given exact information here about the current legislation for Pet Travel. My reasons being that the laws may change and I do not wish to give incorrect information. My advise is to read the DEFRA Pet Travel Scheme pages to ensure you get the latest information.

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