The UK is aiming to rejoin the EU’s pet passport scheme as part of a broader Brexit reset currently under negotiation, according to The Telegraph. Before leaving the EU’s pet travel system in January 2021, around 250,000 British pet owners took their cats and dogs abroad each year with minimal bureaucracy. However, since the end of the Brexit transition period, travelling with pets to the EU and Northern Ireland has become significantly more complicated, time-consuming, and costly—rules which also apply to assistance animals.
Government sources indicate that British negotiators have made regaining freedom of movement for cats, dogs, and ferrets a priority in talks surrounding a new veterinary agreement. The potential Swiss-style sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) deal would see the UK align more closely with EU animal and plant health regulations, a move designed to reduce trade friction and simplify cross-border pet travel. As part of the expected compromise, UK officials are prepared to accept a long-term fisheries agreement to secure broader SPS cooperation, which could pave the way for the pet passport scheme’s reinstatement.
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The EU pet passport is a permanent document that simplifies travel for vaccinated animals, provided their rabies jabs remain current. Under current arrangements, UK pet owners must obtain a new animal health certificate from a vet within ten days of each trip to the EU or Northern Ireland. This process includes mandatory rabies vaccinations, a 21-day waiting period after the first jab, and tapeworm treatment for dogs within a specific timeframe. The same stringent rules currently apply to travel into Northern Ireland under the region’s post-Brexit regulatory alignment with the EU.
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These burdensome requirements are set to ease on 4 June as part of the Windsor Framework, which introduces lighter-touch measures. However, should an agreement on the pet passport scheme be reached, it would effectively replace those changes—allowing seamless onward travel into the Republic of Ireland and the broader EU. While Labour has expressed openness to youth mobility deals, the current negotiations prioritise practical alignment to improve everyday issues faced by Britons, including pet travel, post-Brexit.
