When she was 10 months old, my precious dog HoHo (“RôRô”, in Portuguese) went on an adventure. Born as a classic “caramelo” (caramel) dog in Southeastern Brazil, she would never have imagined that her “paw-rents” would take her from sunny Belo Horizonte to cold and wet London. But in early 2019, after a few months of paperwork and vet appointments, that’s precisely what happened. We moved our dog to the United Kingdom.
Seven years later, HoHo couldn’t be more of a Londoner herself. She loves exploring the parks, constantly finds herself walking into local pubs and cafés and is often frustrated with the weather (a most beloved British pastime).
But before introducing HoHo to the UK’s expat lifestyle, my partner and I had to follow rigorous steps to prevent her from being quarantined for months or even denied entry to the country.
Steps for bringing a pet to the UK
The first thing we learned was that travelling from Brazil to the UK would add a few more steps to our process because it is not a “listed country” such as the United States or a European Union member state. This affected the type of pet travel document we would need and required a test to confirm that HoHo was rabies-free.
With this in mind, these were the steps we had to follow:
- Find approved air, sea and rail carriers and routes.
- Get the pet microchipped (with specific ISO standards).
- Vaccinate the pet against rabies (AFTER microchipping).
- Get the rabies antibody titer test after a 30-day wait (required for “unlisted countries” like Brazil).
- Get the “Great Britain pet health certificate” signed by an official veterinarian (the only document accepted for “unlisted countries”).
- Give the dog tapeworm treatment no more than 10 days before the trip (not required for other pets).
- Fill in a declaration confirming that the pet wouldn’t be sold or transferred ownership.
- Get a “transfer of residency” (ToR) declaration to avoid Customs VAT upon arrival (when the pet is shipped as cargo).
As for finding an approved route, we had two viable options with HoHo:
• Travel by plane from Brazil to an EU country such as France, then rent a car and drive to the UK through the Eurotunnel.
• Travel by plane from Brazil to the UK and hire an agency to ship HoHo as “manifest cargo” via an approved airline and route (only an agent can move a pet through UK Customs).
Although we would much rather have her with us in the cabin and she is small enough to fit in a carrier bag under the seat, circumstances led us to choose the cargo option. This is still the only way to bring a pet to the UK by plane. The cargo option means her crate would be placed in the belly of the aeroplane in a climate-controlled compartment.
Image source: Unsplash.
Knowing this would be a scary experience for her (and for us), we checked the crate specifications for her size and bought it right away so we could start training her to become as comfortable with it as possible. HoHo has always been a very shy dog and it took around two months for her to enter the box voluntarily, without treats.
Alongside her training, we acted quickly to get her microchipped and then vaccinated for rabies.
I cannot stress enough how important it is to do this after microchipping; otherwise, you’ll need to vaccinate your pet again.
After 30 days, we tested her to confirm she had antibodies against the virus. Then it was all about some back-and-forth on the paperwork I listed above. The whole process took just over two months. And we were ready to go!
HoHo’s journey from Brazil to London
To spare HoHo at least one flight, we drove seven hours from Belo Horizonte to São Paulo. This was advised by the vet. We hired an agency who handled her entire boarding process for a Lufthansa flight with a layover in Frankfurt Airport. In Germany, she stayed for a few hours at Lufthansa’s Animal Lounge where they feed and look after pets shipped as cargo.
Upon arrival in London, she stayed for a few hours at the London Heathrow Animal Reception Centre before the agency brought her straight to her new (and barely furnished) home in the British capital.
When the doorbell rang, we saw sitting there in her in the crate and the poor thing looked terrified. But the moment we freed her, she was completely herself again. She was happily wagging her tail at us and jumping as if she hadn’t been able to do so in 16 hours. We couldn’t have been more relieved to see her safe and sound.
Costs and other route options
Excluding the crate and vet expenses, the cost of hiring an agency and doing the process to bring our pet to the UK was about $2,000. Some of my Brazilian friends who have moved to the UK with their pets chose the Eurotunnel option. This meant they had to rent a car in an EU country and pay an extra fee to return it in the UK. Adding the rental and petrol costs would result in a similar or slightly higher amount than “manifest cargo” shipping.
There is also a ferry route from Amsterdam to Newcastle in northern England or from Rotterdam to Harwich, which could mean another step before having to drive or arrange transport for large suitcases and a pet. But, of course, the best route depends on the pet’s size, final UK destination and the migrants’ circumstances.
Always check the official website for information
If you are on the move with your furry friend, I hope my experience has helped clarify the process for you. Please note that, although I frequently used “the UK” in this post, there are a few differences when bringing a pet to Northern Ireland. Also, always check the gov.uk website for the most up-to-date information.
**********
Read more from Andrea here on Dispatches.
Andrea Juste is a writer and editor covering health, psychology, travel, productivity, thought leadership, and more. Andrea was born and raised in Brazil, where she worked for a decade as a journalist before moving to Italy in search of her roots, then the UK, to connect with different cultures. Based in London, she manages content marketing projects for clients worldwide.
