Passport + paperasse, is it true?

[Teamedup]

I've been to the vets today and our dog has had her jabs redone and we got her passport at long last. However, the vet told me that I would still need the other two 'old' forms when travelling in spite of having a section(s) in the passport for all this sort of thing.

Is this true.

[Robbie34]

If you have the new Pet's Passport then you do not need any other paperwork for entry to any other EU country.  The European wide passport was designed to simplify the movement of pets around the EU.

[Teamedup]

Robbie 34 have you crossed with just the passport from France to the UK.

My vet was adamant that he would need to give me all the other papers next time I travel as well as him filling the passport in. He said that the passport worked everywhere else in europe apart from the UK and Ireland.

[steve@sarah]

Our dogs got their new passports last autumn and have been to and fro 3 times, with only the new passport. The first time I did take the old forms"just in case" but did not need them. Since then we have just used the new passports. The vet in Chateaumeillant filled in the details of the tick @ flea treatment, and the check in staff at Caen scanned the dogs and checked paperwork with out a second glance. Obviously you have to make sure all the paper work is filled in correctly and that you allow enough time for the tick treatment, but all I can say is we have not had any trouble.

Sarah

[Teamedup]

Thanks for that.

 

How did you manage to get you passports  last autumn. I had been ringing the vets since September and they only got them a few weeks ago.

[Robbie34]

The new Pets' Passports were available from September last year. 

I haven't used Charley's passport yet, but I shall be doing so on Tuesday, when I shall be leaving for France.  If you look at your dog's passport you will see the pages where the vet signifies that the tick and flea treatment has been carried out.  This obviates the need for a separate form, as all of the information will be contained in the passport.

Was it an English vet who told you that you needed another document?  If so, it is quite worrying, as all vets who issue Pets' Passports are required to attend a DEFRA course before they can be classed as Local Veterinary Inspectors and issue passports.

[steve@sarah]

I have just checked the date in the passports, they were issued at the end of August by our Vet in the UK. I asked her to replace the old ones as I had heard they were being changed and did not want to have the wrong sort! I used them for the first time at the begining of September 

Sarah.

[Teamedup]

As I said my french vet has only recently got the passports. He tried to get them earlier, but they were not available. The pages are all there for the jabs etc when we are going to travel.

I don't know when we will be travelling next, but if anything we will have the usual paperasse plus a passport, so will have too much with us. I 've seen people at the ports with too little and that is very difficult to sort out and sometimes impossible.

[Robbie34]

When you travel to the UK make sure the French vet completes the sections on the pages for tick treatment and fox tapeworm treatment.  He must sign and date with the correct time, and put his surgery rubber stamp in the appropriate place.  For tick treatment he must use Frontline.  All the above must be done between twenty-four and forty-eight hours before travel.

That is all you need.  No other papers necessary.

[I1]

When I returned to the UK for Christmas I had managed to find some passports at a vet about 30 miles from where I live. My own vet then decided that he would also issue the “old” paperwork (just in case) – and a good job too. The passports were both rejected due to errors in them being filled out by the issuing vet. (What would have happened had I not had the “old” and acceptable paperwork it that Brittany Ferries would have contacted DEFRA who would have rejected them. I asked and apparently they are having quite a few errors in the new Passports. The most common problems are:

Failure to put a “valid to date” for the rabies vaccination

Errors in completing the blood test section

Failure to enter the product name for worming and tick treatments

They have experienced other errors as well, but these are the errors they said the had most often (at Christmas). I was fortunate as the “old” French paperwork had been completed (by my own vet) without problems so they just used that but had I not had that I would have been searching for a vet local to the ferry port at great speed !!

If you can get both old and new paperwork for your 1st trip it would give you additional security.

[YCCMB]

Ever since we got the new passports (and they were available in UK long before France got supplies) my French vet has been telling us that the authorities in France are advising vets to continue to issue both old and new documentation, largely because it did, as Teamedup says, take ages longer for the passports to be available in France. As recently as last Friday, my vet both filled in the passport and gave me one of the "old" forms before returning to the UK.

Latest problem I've encountered is with Eurotunnel. My dog's passport states only that his microchip was inserted "before 26/5/03" because neither my UK vet nor I know when he had it put in. Now Eurotunnel are telling me that the detail on his passport must be mre specific, as (according to them...) the UK have turned people back if there isn't clear information to substantiate that the microchip was inserted before the "prise de sang". I pointed out that I would be prepared to take the risk that I could explain myself equally well in Ebglish at the other end and I didn't anticipate any trouble, but that didn't appear to satisfy the lady in the Eurotunnel pets centre, who went on to suggest that I amended the date of insertion of the microchip myself!! Imagine if It had been a human passport and the person at passport control suggested the same thing!

Anyone else had similar headaches?

Jane

[Chesnelay]

As we are taking our two dogs out to France in June for the first time and are slightly nervous about this whole passport thing - can someone please give me the French product for the wormer our dogs are supposed to have prior to entering the UK.  I have gathered that Frontline is acceptable for the flea treatment.

Thanks

[Bernice]

[quote]As we are taking our two dogs out to France in June for the first time and are slightly nervous about this whole passport thing - can someone please give me the French product for the wormer our dogs ...[/quote]

The product for worming is Drontal or Droncit (usually available by injection or by tablet) and for ticks Frontline (spray or spot-on)  My vet always gives me the choice.  They must be administered by a vet not less than 24 and not more than 48 hours before the scheduled time of departure from France.  The vet has to enter the products and the date and time of the treatment on the appropriate pages of the passport and sign the passport and stamp it with their stamp. It's worthwhile checking these details before you leave the vet, just in case, especially date and time!

Bernice

[YCCMB]

Just to add to Bernice's reply, the worming product is far more expensive as a vaccination than as a tablet. According to my French vet, the UK authorities (seems it's always their fault) have until recently been reluctant to accept the tablet as being effective, but now they are OK with it, and it has the added benefit that, whilst the vaccine doesn't cover for the most common type of worms (it treats most, but not all worms) the tablet does. I hasten to add that I have no veterinary knowledge, but this is what I was told by the vet.

Jane

[Bernice]

[quote]Just to add to Bernice's reply, the worming product is far more expensive as a vaccination than as a tablet. According to my French vet, the UK authorities (seems it's always their fault ) have until ...[/quote]

In fact at the vets that we go to in Brittany (Chateaulin) the injection is a little cheaper than the tablet. As you say the tablet covers a wider spectrum of the worms. The tablet has been acceptable by DEFRA (formerly MAFF) since the beginning of the scheme as both contain the necessary chemical (praziquantel ). We started travelling with our dog as soon as the PETS scheme started.  She's quite happy to swallow the tablets (2 in her case, it goes by weight) - the vet always follows the dose with a biscuit so she's quite keen! 

We've travelled in various parts of France and have found that the costs vary a lot from vet to vet.

Bernice

[naps]

There seem to be alot of requirements above the rabies jab here, I've read of blood tests, worming, tic & flea treatment.  Could anyone tell me if this is a requirement to enter France, or a requirement for returning to the UK?

We're moving to France with our dog - she's chipped, we have her passport and she has an up-to-date rabies vaccination, but nothing more other than the usual annual vaccinations - kennel cough, etc.  From what I've seen of the French requirements - this is enough.

 

[I1]

[quote]There seem to be alot of requirements above the rabies jab here, I've read of blood tests, worming, tic & flea treatment. Could anyone tell me if this is a requirement to enter France, or a requi...[/quote]

I believe you are correct (though double check with vet or DEFRA if you have any uncertainties). My understanding/experience is that re-entry to the UK is far stricter then entry into France. Re-entry to the UK requires a blood test (then 6 months after the sample of the successful test was taken) and tick and tapeworm treatment (with certifications in your passport by the treating vet, etc.) between 24 and 48 hours of check-in for return trip to UK. Once done, the blood test lasts for ever provided you keep up the rabies vaccinations (according to the “valid from/valid to” dates in the Pet Passport). Miss a vaccination date and new blood test and new 6 month wait (for entry to UK)

In France its just an annual vaccination (incl. rabies) – unsure if this is the law or just what everybody does. Also, in practice (again don’t know if it’s the law or not) rabies vaccinations are annual and you get a certificate (make sure they also enter the vaccination date (and valid to date) in your Pet Passport).

This is comment on your situation and not on the general rules (see DEFRA web site). There are special rules for French dogs who are tattooed and then get micro-chipped, etc.

One other comment – whatever you plans it is quite possible for plans to change (circumstances beyond your control). I have seen several posts on various French forums from people who made a “one way move” and are now having to re-home their pet because they did not do the full “blood test, 6 months, etc.”) and have to return and cannot wait the 6 months. The additional blood test (for re-entry to UK) is not expensive and I would suggest it might be worth considering

[steve@sarah]

The blood test is done one month after the first rabies jab to make sure there are enough anti bodies in the blood. If there are, the passport is issued. If you have a pet passport then this has been done and wont have to be repeated unless you dont get the rabies booster jab done by the due date.

The tick and flea treatment [this has always been Frontline and Drontil when our dogs have been to the vets] have to be done between24 and 48 hours before RETURNING to the UK .You dont need them to get into France.

The timing is VITAL miss that 24 hour window and you have to get another treatment and wait. Also make absolutely sure, before you leave the vets, that the details of the tick@ flea treatment are correctly filled in- date, time and product used.

Hope this is helpful, Sarah  

[I1]

[quote]The blood test is done one month after the first rabies jab to make sure there are enough anti bodies in the blood. If there are, the passport is issued. If you have a pet passport then this has been ...[/quote]

I believe (though others may know) that a blood test is not a requirement for a Pet Passport. The blood test is only required for entry to UK (and a couple of other countries. Thus, a Pet Passport issued in France might not require a blood test (and you could visit Spain, Belgium, etc.) as there is no requirement for a blood test to enter these countries.

In practice, it may be that the UK vets always think only on DEFRA "entry INTO UK" regulations and thus do the blood test - no experience of that side.

(If I am wrong on this, do let me know and I will edit this post to avoid inaccurate information floating around for others to read).

[naps]

I'm with you that a blood test is not required to get a passport unless you're in the UK.  We're not actually in the UK but the Netherlands, and the rabies jab and passport were issued on the same day.

Thanks for the tip about getting the blood test done in France in case we end up back in the UK, chances are that we won't move to the Uk after France, but it's better to be safe than sorry.