Travel and Pets

While the government is still rightly concerned about the spread of rabies, it has signed up the UK to the system of a 'pet passport'. This allows cats and dogs to travel freely through most of the EEC and Switzerland. But, the key to the system is preparation. You need to make sure you set the ball rolling at least 7 or 8 months before you intend to return home from abroad with your cat or dog.

The process starts with a visit to the vet to have an identification chip inserted in your cat or dog. Don't worry, this is painless and ensures that your pet can simply be matched to their passport. Your pet then needs to be vaccinated against rabies. Then, a month later, a blood sample is sent away for analysis. As long as your pet is confirmed as 'healthy', your vet will sign your pet's papers (its passport). Your pet is then free to travel throughout most of the EEC (and Switzerland) - but you will not be able to return to the UK until 6 months after the passport has been signed - so make sure you plan ahead.

Your cat or dog will then need to have a booster vaccination every two years - without this the pet passport becomes invalid. As long as your pet has the booster vaccinations, the passport remains immediately valid without the need for another 6 month probationary period.

If you are travelling with your pet in the Mediterranean region, it is always a good idea to ask your vet if there any other illnesses that you should be aware of, and indeed get your pet vaccinated against. You can also contact a local vet on your arrival abroad to make doubly sure that your pet remains well protected against all illnesses. This is important because UK cats and dogs can be susceptible to potentially fatal diseases that only occur in the warmer climate of the Southern European areas. Some of these diseases are spread by sand flies, or more commonly ticks. Make sure you check your pet's coat while you are away and remove any ticks that you find immediately.

Pet insurance is especially important when you are travelling abroad with your pet and many UK pet insurers now include treatment abroad as well as other travel related cover such as quarantine insurance and pet travel insurance. Many pet insurers, such as Tesco pet insurance, will provide cover for your pet while you're abroad. Asda pet insurance also provides free travel insurance. Check out our full range of pet insurance providers as many pet insurance providers now provide travel insurance for pets as an additional extra that can be added to the policy.


Pet Health Insurance aims to give you as much information as possible about pet insurance and why you should have it for your pet. We have gathered together links to many of the top online pet insurers but we do not provide or endorse any particular product or make recommendations in any way. Please ensure that the pet insurance product that you purchase from any online provider meets your needs and that the provider is correctly regulated by the Financial Services Authority (FSA).