Passport for dog to enter France.

[Megan le Fey]

Sorry guys, I am sure this question has been raised already but our furniture movers have just brought our date forward 2 weeks and suddenly we only have 14 days instead of almost a month - no time for doing searches, I am completely panicked.  We decided to bring our foster dog with us to France, poor old soul is almost 8 and will never get rehomed so he will be safe with us.  Unfortunately, he had never had a rabies jab and I only got it done for him 25th March.  Under the new(ish) European scheme they require "21 days from the date of the vaccination" before he may enter France  and there have been 2 replies from DEFRA to the question of whether the day of the vaccination and the day of arrival in France are or are not included in the 21.  My vet was told that 25 March(the day of the vaccination) counted as day zero, I was told that the 25th would be included in the 21 days and therefore be day one.  The other question was, did the day of travel/arrival count towards the 21 days or not.  There, they were uncertain.  As we really need to arrive on the 15th April we would be OK so long as either the 25th March or the 15th April counted to the 21 days but it would be just my luck if neither did.  Oh for the days when you just stuck them in the car and only worried about getting them back into UK.

If anyone can give me the answer, I would really appreciate it,  especially of course, if it is the answer I want to hear.[:P]

[mint]

Megan, I wish for all your sakes that I could be more positive.  But our experience is this:  it's not just the jab, there is the blood test and we were warned that the level has to be ridiculously high for the French authorities.  Therefore, after her first jab, our dog had to have another because the level of antibodies in her blood was just not high enough.  We had to wait for her to have a second jab and a second blood test.

I am sure Christine Animal or someone who really knows will be along soon to give you the low-down.  I keep my fingers crossed for you.  Good Luck.

[Megan le Fey]

Sweet 17, thanks for your reply.  As far as I (and our vet here in Scotland) knows, the blood test is not neccessary to bring an animal into France, only to take it from France to the UK.  I hope we're right as we are now committed to a 3 year lease on a house to rent near Chateauroux and  must very soon vacate the holiday cottage we have been staying in in Scotland for the last 6 months.  Consequently, we don't have the option of waiting for blood tests and then 6 months etc. When I spoke to DEFRA they didn't mention a blood test to go to France so I don't think (fingers crossed) that that will be a problem.  I think perhaps you needed to get the blood test right because you intended to take your dog back into UK at some point.  We certainly will not want to take Ollie back to UK within the next 10 - 12 months, giving plenty of time to get all the other stuff done in France.  However,  on the 21 days since the Rabies jab thing,  that is a real pain in the neck.  Our furniture will be arriving some time on the 17th April and if we cannot arrive in Calais until the 16th we are going to be hard pressed to get to Chateauroux and get everything sorted before the movers turn up.  Undoubtedly it can be done but not comfortably and I do have the feeling that the interpretation of the 21 day rule may be left up to the person  who checks the passport.  It certainly seemed a bit ambiguous as it was read out to me.

[Anna]

Hi Megan

It's a few years now since we brought our pets (then 3 dogs and 1 cat) from Scotland (and I remember well being really worried about it all), via Portsmouth on the ferry to St Malo, to the Dordogne and nobody so much as glimpsed at our paperwork then. We only had export licenses for all but 1 dog, which was my Mum's guide dog. We had no intention of taking any of our pets back to the UK so only bothered to obtain export licenses for them. Our 19 yr old Scottish cat enjoys her life here in France and is really still well in life!

However, I can tell you that my Mum has since gone back and forth numerous times to Scotland with her guide dog, who has a Pet Passport, always by air, and never, ever, has anyone on the French side ever looked at the dog's paperwork.

If I were you, I wouldn't worry about it.....but then that's easily said, I know.

Come on you folk on this Forum, has anyone any experience of having your pet's paperwork (Pet Passport or otherwise) looked at when entering France?

 

[WJT]

We travel very frequently back and forth from the UK to France with our dog. Not once have the French authorities ever stopped us or asked us anything regarding our dog. It is always entering the UK that we show the paperwork and scan for his microchip. I would assume it is like this with all carriers but we always travel by Eurotunnel or Speedferries.

I hope you get others to confirm our experience if you aren't using the two carriers above to ease your mind because I don't think you have anything to worry about. [:)] Best of luck with your move.

[clarey c]

We bought our two dogs and one cat from UK to France about 2 years ago.  No one even asked about our pet passports (although we had them ready).  We went under the Tunnel and it was obvious that we had pets in the car with us.

The information about blood tests is correct as far as I know.  Our animals are not expected to go back to UK and we were told by our vet in UK that we didn't, therefore, need blood tests (a saving of £95 per dog)  I know that wasn't the original question but at least this may help to aleviate a few fears.

One other piece of advice though is that in the pet passport the UK vet said that the rabes injection was valid for two years.  Here in France the rabies injection has to be renewed every year  - just something to be aware of.

Hope all goes well for you, I know how stressfull the whole move can be.

[Anna]

There you go then. Just as I thought, nothing to worry about on entering France...just going back to the UK. Also, yes, that's correct about renewing the rabies jab annually here in France. Mother's guide dog has her's done annually and our French vet sends out the reminder.

Good luck with your move. Whereabouts in the Dordogne are you moving to? Always short on Scots around us....plenty of English though!

[Jacqui Too]

Can I first ask how are you getting to France? Ferry or Tunnel?

We have always traveled our dogs from Southampton or Poole to Caen or St Malo and we have always had to show our passports and have the dogs scanned before we get on the ferries, when we have returned (to England) they have always checked the vets report also, but never when we land in France or England, So I would assume that you will be checked and feel lucky if your not.

Anna, how about any Welsh?

[Anna]

Hi Jackie

No, don't know of any Welsh at all round our way...or Irish for that matter....mostly English and some Dutch!

Sorry, not quite clear (probably just my poor comprehension!) on what you mean in your posting. Did you mean that your pet's documents were checked going into France as well as returning to the UK?

[Jacqui Too]

Anna

We live in UK and take the dogs to France several times a year, always by the routes I have already mentioned, at the UK side and before we get on the ferry the dogs are scanned and we have the passports checked, on landing in France we just drive straight through, coming home on the French side the dogs are scanned passports checked and the vet report within the passport is checked, on landing in UK we just drive straight through again.

We don't know any English in our part of Dordogne 10 k north - east Perigueux YET [:-))], (we have only had our house 1 year) and our hamlet is all french, but I am hoping to meet someone from the forum next month when we are over. Where are you?

Edit: Sorry the last bit sounds as if I was wanting to meet you! I meant I have already arranged to meet someone else.

[Anna]

Hi Jackie

Oh, that's food for thought then if you have checks done on the UK side, before crossing over to France. I'm still not convinced though that the Pet Passport is required for travel to France. If it's not, then a pet could always obtain a passport here in France, if it is necessary for the pet to return to the UK, which would allow time for the rabies jab to be done and the passport processed.

We're situated to the north west of Perigueux.Slightly north west of Riberac (which is probably the English capital of the Dordogne!), close to the border of the Charente. You're lucky that your hamlet is all French as there are quite a lot of hamlets in this area which are all British!

No, not at all, I didn't assume that you were going to meet me......that's ok though, I won't take it that you don't want to meet me (or perhaps you don't?) ha ha!!

[Jacqui Too]

Here this has been discussed before : http://www.completefrance.com/cs/forums/775884/ShowPost.aspx  Demios knows  what he is talking about with pet passports

This was copied from the defra site http://www.defra.gov.uk/animalh/quarantine/factsheet/eufactsheet3_050907.pdf scroll down page to find:

(b) Taking your pet from the UK into other EU countries

To travel from the UK to another EU country, a pet must be microchipped (although some countries accept a tattoo), vaccinated against rabies (although Sweden does not require this when a pet travels direct from the UK) and issued with an EU pet passport. Malta has additional entry requirements and to enter Sweden your pet must be treated for tapeworms with a product containing praziquantel no more than 10 days before entry. Please contact the authorities (e.g. the Embassy) of the country you wish to enter to check the

8

requirements. See also (d) below. For rules to re-enter the UK see parts 1, 2 and 3.

21 day wait

For EU countries where more stringent entry requirements do not apply, the EU has introduced a wait of 21 days from the date of the first rabies vaccination before a pet can enter those EU countries. However, if the vaccine manufacturer’s datasheet requires more than one vaccination to complete the primary vaccination protocol, the 21 day wait applies from the date of the final vaccination of that protocol. Your vet will advise you further.

Booster vaccinations are valid for entry from the date given provided they are given on time.

Residence

If your pet stays in another country it may become subject to that country’s rules on residence e.g. pets in France become resident after 3 months. You are advised to check with the authorities of the country what those rules are and what implications becoming resident will have for your pet. For example, some countries require resident pets to have an annual rabies vaccination.

[Megan le Fey]

Thanks very much everybody for your input.  I really appreciate it.  I

almost decided to risk it on the grounds that (if worst came to

absolute worst) I could always take Ollie on the next train back to UK

and then bring him through again on the 16th, definitely 21 days plus the

day of vaccination and the day of travel and absolutely safe even if

cutting it really fine for the moving men.  It was only after worrying

about it for a few days that I realised that I could not

take Ollie back into the UK once he had left because he does not yet

have a passport to return to UK after being in France - that is, blood

test plus 6 months, flea, tick and worming, the whole issue.  As far as

I know France does not have any kind of holding facility where we could

leave him for the last day and Deimos' posts on the link that they may

take him and euthanise him scared me to death. 

I guess that means

that we  travel across on the 16th  then drive like the devil  to try

to get to Chateauroux to complete the documentation, collect the keys

and get to the house before the movers get fed up waiting and leave

again.[8-)]  Yes, I know, nothing to all you steely ace super confident

types [:P] but I am a silly old biddy [8-|] driving a RHD car along

with a OH with dementia and two Great Danes on a route I don't

know.[:D]  Still, it is better than being bored,[6] don't you think so?

[Deimos]

I have no idea about whether treatment day and travel day

count in the 21 days.  In theory DEFRA

might help but they are really only concerned about entry into UK rather than

entry into France.  I have heard of one

or two people trying to get answers from the French authorities (on different

issues) and getting anywhere is “slow”. 

You might try the Agriculture Section of the British Embassy in

Paris.  Their phone number used to be

+33 (144) 51 32 56.  A section might be

a bit of a grand title as I suspect it is one or maybe two people who are not

always at their desk.  However, when I

have contacted them they have always been exceptionally helpful and they might

be more knowledgeable re: the entry to France regs (or be able to get a quicker

reply).

Whilst I tend to only use about 3 or 4 different routes, my

own dogs’ Pet Passports are checked more and more often now getting close to

every time.  However, I have never used

the tunnel so have no experience of procedures and practices there.

[quote

user="sweet 17"]

Megan, I wish for all your sakes that I could be more positive.  But

our experience is this:  it's not just the jab, there is the blood test

and we were warned that the level has to be ridiculously high for the French

authorities.

[/quote]

Blood tests are only required to re-enter UK (and a couple

of other countries).  Thus the French do

not worry about the antibody level other than the vets checking it conforms to

the UK requirements when they fill-in that bit in a Pet Passport.

Sorry I cannot be more help but do try the British Embassy

in Paris as they might be able to provide a way forward.

Ian

[WJT]

I don't know when these regulations to enter France came about but we travelled over on Speedferries the beginning of March with our dog. They didn't check his passport or anything at that time and in fact I had to make sure she knew we had him because they give you a special card to hang on your rear view mirror to show there is a pet aboard. This allows you to be one of the last on and first off. I didn't need to ask because she had known from the information on the ticket but she didn't ask for anything else and didn't even want or need to see him or the passport.

We have travelled over on Speedferries the last six times or so, so I am not sure if the procedure has changed recently on the train. As it happens, I will be travelling back to the UK on the train next week but I know that doesn't help much.[:$]

Perhaps someone will see this that has travelled over on the train very recently. Good luck.

[mint]

Made a trip back to the UK end Feb for 2 weeks, travelling sous manche both times.  On the French side, everything was thoroughly checked, passport, jabs, tick treatment in a building in an adjacent lot to the place where you park waiting for your train to be called.

Coming back, same thing on the UK side, all thoroughly checked.  In fact, both sides knew we had our dog as I did the booking on line and informed them about it.  When we checked in, we were told where to take our dog for her documents to be looked at.

Interestingly, we had to pay for her to be taken into the UK but, coming back, there was no amount added to our tickets.

[Megan le Fey]

Thank you very much Ian and everyone else for your help.  I 'phoned the British Embassy in Paris and

was advised that they were unable to be certain and she suggested that I

call the French Embassy in London and speak to their Agriculture

Section.  Unfortunately, the number I found was purely call centre with

no "real person" option so I went to the website where I found this

statement -  In case of a first vaccination against rabies, the vaccination is

considered as valid only after a delay of 21 days after the first jab.  The word delay

makes me think that we cannot really risk anything less than a full 21

days between the vaccination and the date of travel and so must travel

on 16th, not our preferred 15th. 

By the way,  I know the whole thing sounds  completely irresponsible

and unplanned but  it was a last minute decision to actually adopt

Ollie instead of  just  fostering him, otherwise he would have had to

go back to the kennels when we left.   Poor old dear is almost 8 which

is old for a Dane and he is unlikely to find a new home at that age and

we couldn't bear the idea of leaving him behind to go back into kennels.  He just revels

in his home comforts.[:D][:D]

Anna, we were in Dordogne until 6 months ago, near St.Aulaye which is not too far from Riberac.  This time we are off to Indre.  I must go right now and update my profile.

[JohnD]

Since 2002 we have taken our dog to france either via ferry or Eurotunnel, 3/4 times a year, and at no time has she been scanned at the uk checkin. A cursory glance at her papers/ passport thats all.Arriving in France no check.(of the dog)

Coming back,at the French checkin she has been scanned, and papers/ passport checked (very thoroughly) If all is not correct ie date/time of vaccination, you will not be allowed to board.

Prior to coming back double check at the vets that date/time are correct.

Regards

JOHND