08/12/2022 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 08/12/2022 09:47
What you must do to bring your pet to the UK from Ukraine if you are seeking refuge.
If you are from Ukraine and are seeking refuge in the UK, you can bring your pet dog, cat or ferret without it going into quarantine or isolation if it has:
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.
You will need a licence to bring your pet to the UK if your pet:
You can get a single licence covering up to 5 of your own pets that are travelling with you.
You cannot bring more than 5 pets with you to England, Scotland and Wales. This would be classed as a commercial import which is currently banned for pets from Ukraine, Poland, Belarus and Romania.
You cannot get a licence to import pets commercially, including rescue animals, or to bring pets to the UK using a third party or courier.
Do not travel to the UK with your pet before you have a licence and you have arranged with the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) when to travel.
Your pet may have to quarantine or isolate for up to 4 months. You will not have to pay to quarantine or isolate your pet in kennels.
Your pet may be able to isolate at home on arrival in England and Scotland if it has been:
Find an approved laboratory inside the EU, outside the EU or an APHA laboratory in the UK.
APHA will tell you if your pet may be able to isolate at home or if it needs to go into quarantine for up to 4 months.
Your pet cannot isolate at home if you are travelling to Wales. Your pet must isolate in an authorised quarantine facility. Read the pet travel rules for Wales.
There are different rules for pet birds, rodents, rabbits and other small mammals.
You must have a visa to enter the UK.
Follow these steps to get a licence to bring your pet with you to the UK from Ukraine.
Before you travel to the UK, call the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) on +44 3000 200 301 (option 2) or email [email protected]
APHA will email you a form for a licence for up to 5 pets. Fill in the form and email it back to APHA. You can ask for a Ukrainian version of the form.
APHA will review your licence application form and the vaccines and healthcare your pet has had.
If you are travelling to England or Scotland, APHA may send you a form to ask you about the home where you will be staying. This is to find out if your pet could isolate at home. This will depend on the vaccines and healthcare your pet has had. You and your host in the UK must fill this in and send it back to APHA.
APHA will email you to tell you if your pet needs to go into quarantine or home isolation when it arrives in the UK.
APHA will email you a licence.
Agree a date, time and entry point into the UK with APHA. You must book your travel to arrive on the date and time agreed with APHA.
If APHA has given you a licence for your pet to isolate at home and you are travelling to Dover or on Eurotunnel, you must book an appointment at the Pet Vet Check Centre for when you arrive in the UK. To book, email [email protected]. They will respond within 24 hours and send you the date, time and directions for your appointment. If you're travelling by another route, agree with APHA how you will travel to the home where you will be staying.
You must arrive at an approved port or airport and follow your carrier's rules for travelling with pets. Your pet must travel with you.
If possible, you should arrive at one of the UK's main entry points for animals:
You can also arrive at one of these other approved entry points.
These are the approved ports:
These are the approved airports:
If your pet is going into quarantine, APHA will collect your pet. If you travel by:
If APHA has given you a licence for your pet to isolate at home and you arrive:
If your pet goes into quarantine on arrival in the UK, a vet will assess your pet and give it appropriate healthcare.
You will not have to pay for any essential healthcare that your pet needs while in quarantine.
Your pet will be:
If your pet has not had a rabies vaccination, or does not have enough immunity, the vet will vaccinate your pet and keep it under observation in an authorised quarantine facility.
After 30 days your pet will have another blood test to check if the vaccine has worked.
Your pet will then move to isolation.
If the blood test shows that your pet has enough rabies immunity, APHA will arrange for your pet to go into isolation.
APHA will tell you where your pet will need to go for isolation and how long your pet will need to be in isolation. This may be for up to 3 months.
Your pet may isolate:
If APHA has given you a licence for your pet to isolate at home in England or Scotland, take your pet to the Pet Vet Check Centre for its appointment.
At the appointment, the vet will give your pet:
If the vet has any concerns, your pet may not be allowed to isolate at home. The vet will take your pet to a quarantine facility for more checks and assessments. This is to prevent diseases spreading in the UK.
You will take your pet to the home where you will be staying to isolate.
You can not travel on public transport. APHA will give you a licence so you can take your pet home in your vehicle.
APHA will assign a vet to your pet while it is isolating at home in England or Scotland. If your pet is unwell you should contact this vet. You will not have to pay for any essential healthcare for your pet while it is isolating.
You must follow the home isolation conditions until the end of the isolation period.
You must tell APHA immediately if you move, or intend to move, to another location during the isolation period.
You need a licence from APHA to bring your pet bird, rodent, rabbit or other small mammal to the UK from Ukraine.
To get a licence, you should contact APHA for a form before you travel to the UK.
Animal and Plant Health Agency
Telephone: +44 3000 200 301 (option 2)
Email: [email protected]
When you have a licence you can travel to the UK with your pet. For 30 days after your pet arrives in the UK it must:
If your pet is unwell during its first 30 days in the UK, do not take it to a vet. You must call APHA, they will tell you what to do.
Animal and Plant Health Agency
Telephone: +44 3000 200 301
Added more information about pets isolating at home and what happens before, during and after Pet Vet Check Centre appointments.
Added Ukrainian and Russian translations.
Removed out-of-date Russian and Ukrainian translations.
Restructured to make the process clearer.
Clarified that licences are for pets, not commercial imports.
Added Russian translation.
Added Ukrainian translation.
First published.