Taking your Pet to France

Pet passport

This small booklet, fashioned on our own passport, documents important information about your pet, such as their name, their owner’s name, their picture, microchip information, vaccinations and medical procedures. Only dogs, cats and ferrets are eligible for a pet passport.

If you are taking a dog to France from the UK and have a pet passport issued in England, Wales or Scotland, your pet passport is no longer valid for travel in France post-Brexit. Instead, you’ll need to book an appointment with your vet for an animal health certificate. An official veterinarian must issue this document and it is important to note that it can’t be dated more than 10 days before your intended travel date. The vet will ask for proof of date for your animal’s microchipping, as well as their vaccination history, so be sure to have that information to hand.

For travellers from the USA who are taking pets to France, the animal health certificate must be issued by an accredited USDA veterinarian and endorsed by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS). In Canada, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency’s (CFIA) Animal Health Office provides the required endorsement. From both countries, once the certificate has been endorsed, you have 10 days to enter France.

Requirements — vaccinations, treatments, quarantine

Any pet — defined as a ferret, dog or cat — traveling to France is required to be microchipped and this procedure needs to be done before their rabies vaccination. The microchip is also required to meet ISO standards so that it can be read by airlines, train companies and ferry operators. If it doesn't, you’ll have to organise to carry your own microchip reader. If your pet was tattooed with an identification number before July 3rd 2011 inclusive, this is an acceptable substitute for the microchip.

Dogs, cats and ferrets must also have a valid rabies vaccination in order to be allowed entry into France. If this is your animal's first rabies vaccination, they’ll have to be at least 12 weeks old and you’ll need to allow 21 days before they can travel. It is essential that the following information is correctly recorded in either your pet passport or animal health certificate:

• Your pet’s date of birth
• The microchip number
• Date your animal was chipped and where it was placed
• Vaccination manufacturer, product name and batch number
• Vaccination date and validity
• Vets signature and contact information.

Keep in mind the dates your animal is due for their rabies booster shots and ensure these are also up to date before you plan to travel, another one of the requirements for taking dogs to France.

Guide dogs and other assistance dogs are subject to the same conditions.

The good news is that, if all the requirements are met, there is no obligation for your pet to quarantine on arrival in France.

For other pets, such as rodents, rabbits, birds, reptiles and amphibians, French guidelines state that it is recommended to have a veterinarian certificate that attests to their good health.

As a side note, if you are taking your dog to France from the UK you will need to treat them for tapeworm before returning to the UK. The UK.gov website has the latest advice.

Travel

Away from the paperwork, how to make travelling to France with your pet as comfortable as possible is an important question, starting with the mode of travel. If you are driving, chances are your pet is already familiar with your car and, perhaps, long journeys in it. When you’re packing your suitcases, throwing in their favourite items such as a bed or blanket (or a comfortable crate if you are taking your cat to France) could make all the difference in terms of experience for everyone. If you are driving across the channel from the UK via the Eurotunnel, there is a 24-hour pet check-in at Folkestone as well as clearly marked pet exercise areas at the terminal.

If you chose to cross the channel by ferry, it’s definitely worth asking if any pet-friendly cabins are available, which allow you to bring your dog on board with you. Otherwise, since pets are not allowed in public areas of the vessel, they’ll have to remain in your car for the crossing, unless you book on a ferry with a kennel. With this option, only available for dogs, you can visit at any point during the journey — but you’ll also be expected to supply bedding, water, food and toys. Spaces are limited so it is best to ask about available options for animals during the booking process. At the same time, we’d recommend checking the company’s policy about muzzles. Many ferry operators require that dogs are muzzled outside of the vehicle.

For information on air travel to France with a pet, contact the airline you are flying with for the latest information. At the time of writing, dogs or cats under 8kg (17lb) (carrier included) could travel in the cabin with Air France, the national airline. Between 8kg and 75kg (165lb), the animal will be transported in the hold.

For official information on entrance requirements into the country, see the France immigration office.

Summary

To recap: to take a dog to France, as well as a cat or ferret, you will need to present a pet passport (EU) or animal health certificate (non-EU), as well as a microchip and valid rabies vaccination status in order to gain entry to the country. Traveling with pets to France definitely requires a bit of effort, especially if you are coming from outside the EU, but the forward planning pays off when you have your four-legged friends by your side during your French adventures.