🚨 2026 EU PET PASSPORT RULE CHANGE - This is HUGE!

If you have one of these and one of these and you are resident in the UK, you need to watch this video. All the way back in 2016, an EU regulation was approved which did many things, but one of the things that it covered was the regulation of EU pet passports— who should be issued them, who is allowed to use them, and probably more importantly, who isn't. Now, like I said, that covered lots and lots of different aspects, and it was quite complicated, so the EU agreed that there would be a 10-year transition period before it all became legally binding, and that 10-year transition period ends this month, April 2026, and the use of EU pet passports has changed a lot. So as most of us with pets who travel into Europe now know, When the UK left the EU, our access into the EU Pet Passport Scheme ended, and that meant also that our UK-issued pet passports weren't allowed, and we had to go into something called the Animal Health Certificate Scheme, which is an absolute faff. Not only is it really expensive— every time you cross into Europe, it costs roughly around £90 or £100 for your dog to get the paperwork, but you also have to go and visit a vet within 10 days of crossing into the EU every single time. So even if you're crossing back several times in a few weeks, you still have to do it, and you have to pay over again, even though the Animal Health Certificate is actually valid for 4 months. It is a ridiculous scheme. So a lot of us, when we had the opportunity, when we travelled in Europe, took advantage of the ability to be able to get an EU pet passport. All of these were issued by proper vets in the EU. Mac's latest one was actually issued when we were up in Sweden. We were crossing into Norway, and to cross into Norway with a dog, you have to get a tapeworm issued. So we went into a vet with the animal health certificate, uh, to get the tapeworm done, and they have to sign the animal health certificate, and the vet in Sweden was like, Would you like an EU pet passport? Yes, yes I would. Please take my money. So I paid quite a lot of money, I think about £300 for an EU pet passport. He had to have a new rabies jab and obviously the tapeworm, and that is his legally binding paperwork, his document, which is still valid for at least another year, or it was until this new directive came into place. So the EU made it very, very clear in their directives and in the communications that they have sent out within the EU in the run-up to this change, very particularly emails to vets saying that they are not allowed to issue EU pet passports to anyone who is not resident inside the EU. This also includes vets in Ireland and Northern Ireland who have apparently been sent similar notifications that they are not allowed to issue these types of passports to people who are not resident inside their countries. Now I think most of us who travel with our pets accepted that it was a loophole, that the Pet Passport Scheme in the EU was never supposed to be utilized like those of us who live in the UK were using it, but given that we were paying EU vets and we were paying them proper money to get these documents and they were accepted going back and forth across the borders and have been for the last few years, I think a lot of us hoped that when this regulation became law, common sense would prevail and those of us who have still got these legally binding documents would be allowed to use them until they expired and just new ones would not be reissued. That is not the case. Now, this has been appallingly handled by the UK government and by DEFRA in particular. There has been a forum going on the Motorhome Fun forum site and in that particular thread about this topic that has been running since last year, since 2021, Saying that this is coming up, and lots of people have been emailing Defra asking for clarification. People have been emailing their MPs and getting pretty much all useless and unknowing replies. So people who are in our actual government and supposed to be making these laws didn't have a clue what was going on. And so with all of that unknown, those of us who travel with pets and who are traveling with pets quite soon didn't know whether or not we were able to be using our EU pet passports like we have done for years, or whether we'd have to apply for these expensive animal health certificates, or what the heck was going on. And because there was no communication— not just bad communication, like zilch, nothing has been put out about this— I think those of us who had the EU pet passports thought or hoped that common sense would prevail and we would continue to be allowed to use them until an agreement was reached, or some sort of communication was put out, and that there would be this sort of crossover period. No, that is not what has happened. So in the EU's eyes, the law's coming in on the 22nd of April, and in fairness to them, that has been the case for the past 10 years. The problem has come because nobody has told us, including the UK government and DEFRA, nobody has told those of us in the UK what the situation is going to be until the 17th of April, literally 5 days before the new rules come in. A post or announcement was made by the UK— let me just read this one— the UK Animal and Plant Agency, which basically states that an EU pet passport issued to or held by a pet owner who is resident in GB— note it doesn't say UK, it says GB— will no longer be a valid document for traveling with pets from GB to the EU. This applies to EU pet passports issued in an EU member state or Northern Ireland, including those issued before the 22nd of April 2026. EU pet passports may only be issued to owners whose main residence is within the European Union. GB residents traveling to the European Union with a pet dog, cat, or ferret will need to attain an animal health certificate for travel from the 22nd of April 2026. I mean, they have made that now abundantly clear. They have been appalling about it. They have given 5 days' notice. So people who are traveling, like, this week do not know that they are not going to be able to travel with the document that has been legal for the past God knows how many years, and they've been happily using it. It is going to cause chaos. But what I find really interesting, apart from the complete lack of any thought— what the heck is going on with the Northern Ireland bit? So that's part of the UK. Northern Ireland are not in the EU or the Schengen zone, and yet apparently if you get a Northern Ireland pet passport issued, you can use that to go into the EU, which is insanity in itself because that makes the UK is now split in half. And I have seen emails or notices issued to vets Northern Ireland stating that they are not allowed to issue these pet passports to people from Great Britain who do not reside and cannot provide proof of residency in Northern Ireland. It is an absolute mess, but what is even more worrying is there are reports of vets in the European Union who will not stamp the pet passports to return back to the UK with the tapeworm. So there are, I mean, there are forums and Facebook groups of people going, this is ridiculous, and there's uproar and all the rest of the stuff. Putting all that to one side, because it's not what we wanted to hear, and it is unfair given that we've all paid really good money for these things, and it shouldn't have happened like this, but the fact is it has happened like this. This is now what is going on, but there are people right now in the European Union with their pets who don't know that they might not be able to get their pet passport stamped to get back into the UK or Great Britain, because now apparently it's a totally separate system from Northern Ireland, and that is, is a mess. So I wanted to just make this really quick video to share what is going on. I know that there were people who traveled yesterday, so at the date of filming now, this is what we're on now, this is the 19th, so people who traveled 4 days before traveling on the Eurotunnel were told by the Eurotunnel staff that they would not be able to use their EU pet passport in 4 days' time. It is coming in, it's changing. What we have not been aware of is how the border controls would react to this, but my thought is that it's not worth it, because even if you manage to get a friendly border control person who lets you get out of the UK, Great Britain, you might not be able to get it signed by a vet and get a tapeworm issued by a vet in the EU to get yourself back into Great Britain. Now, There are also stories of vets across the EU who've heard nothing about this, and they're quite happily still signing pet passports who are registered to people who live in the UK or Great Britain. But there are also plenty of others who have been told that they can't get it done. So my advice to you, if you are traveling outside of Great Britain with your dog or cat or ferret, is to get an animal health certificate done. Like I say, it's not what any of us wanted to hear, but it is unfortunately what has now happened, and I wanted to get this out to share with as many people as possible so that people don't get to the border and get caught out. So if you do know somebody who's traveling with a pet into the European Union, then please do share this video with them. Now, when it comes to Northern Ireland, there is still the thing called the Pet Travel Document, which means that you don't have to do an Animal Health Certificate to travel from Great Britain into Northern Ireland. You just search Pet Travel Document on the UK Gov website, and it's basically a form that you download, you fill in, you don't have to pay anything, It's valid for the life of your pet, but it very explicitly says that you cannot cross from Northern Ireland into the Republic of Ireland unless you have an Animal Health Certificate issued. So please do bear that in mind if you are traveling to Northern Ireland, and if you're traveling from Great Britain directly into the Republic, then you of course need to get your Animal Health Certificate and also your tapeworm done and stamped on your Animal Health Certificate before you cross. Into the Republic. So I really hope that helps. Safe travels to you and your pet. If you want to find out about any future changes or when the new UK Pet Passport Scheme is going to come into place, please do make sure you are subscribed to the channel, and I'll share the information with you as soon as I know more. Until then, take care, and I'll see you out on the road somewhere. Bye!