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Bringing a cat from France to the United Kingdom
Step-by-step checklist
| Step | What to do | When |
|---|---|---|
| Microchip | ISO 11784/11785 microchip, implanted before or at the same time as the rabies vaccination — a vaccination given before the chip does not count and must be repeated. If the chip is not ISO standard, travel with your own reader; an unreadable chip can mean refusal or quarantine. A clearly legible tattoo applied on or before 3 July 2011, with rabies vaccination after tattooing, is the only alternative. | Before vaccination |
| Rabies vaccination | At 12 weeks of age or older, with an inactivated or recombinant vaccine approved in France. After a first (primary) vaccination you must wait at least 21 full days before travel — day 1 is the day after vaccination, and some vaccines take longer to become valid, so check the datasheet with your vet. French guidance makes the same point from the other side: with the 12-week minimum age plus the 21-day wait, a kitten is at least 15 weeks old before it can travel. Boosters given in date need no new wait; a missed booster restarts the primary course. | ≥21 days before travel |
| No titer test | France is an EU country, and Great Britain only requires a rabies blood test for departures from countries that are neither in the EU nor listed. No blood sample, no 0.5 IU/ml result and no 3-month wait apply on this route. | — |
| EU pet passport | Your cat's EU pet passport, issued in France by an authorised vet, is the normal travel document for entry to Great Britain — you do not need a new certificate for the trip. Only a vet in a country that can issue pet passports may enter rabies vaccination details in it, so a booster recorded by a vet in Great Britain would not count. If your cat has no EU pet passport, the alternative is a Great Britain pet health certificate signed, stamped and dated by an official veterinarian — your cat must then enter Great Britain within 10 days of it being issued. Bring originals, not photocopies. | Before travel |
| Approved route & carrier | You must enter on an approved route with an approved carrier — ferry and Eurotunnel checks happen at the departure port in France, before you board. Check the route is still approved before you book, as routes change and some are seasonal. On a plane your cat travels as cargo unless you charter a private plane. You cannot bring a pet into Great Britain by private boat from France. | Booking stage |
| No tapeworm treatment | The Echinococcus tapeworm treatment rule applies to dogs only. Cats need no tapeworm treatment to enter Great Britain from any country. | — |
| Declaration & the 5-pet limit | This page covers non-commercial travel: you sign a declaration that your cat is not for sale or transfer of ownership, your cat travels with you or with a person you have authorised in writing, arriving within 5 days of you, and you bring no more than 5 pets unless you have written evidence of attending or training for a competition, show or sporting event. Anything else follows the extra (Balai / commercial) rules. | Travel day |
Your preparation timeline
- 1Any time — Microchip (or check the existing chip reads and is ISO), then rabies vaccination
- 2≥21 days out — The 21-day wait after a primary rabies vaccination runs — no wait after an in-date booster
- 3Before travel — Check the EU pet passport is complete and correctly filled in; book an approved ferry, Eurotunnel or air route
- 4Only if using a GB pet health certificate — Certificate issued by an official veterinarian — enter Great Britain within 10 days of issue
- 5Arrival — Checks happen before boarding in France on sea and Eurotunnel routes, or on arrival by air; compliant cats go straight through
Costs you can plan for
Neither GOV.UK nor the French Ministry of Agriculture publishes a government fee for this route in the guidance checked: there is no British charge for entering on an EU pet passport, and no official fee schedule for the passport itself. Your real costs are your French vet's charges for the passport and vaccination, plus the carrier's pet fare or cargo charge. The expensive scenario is non-compliance — quarantine for up to 4 months is at your expense.
Questions people ask about this route
Did Brexit change the rules for bringing a cat from France to Great Britain?
For the EU to Great Britain direction, no — the French foreign ministry states the conditions for non-commercial movement from the EU to Great Britain have not changed following Brexit, and GOV.UK still accepts an EU pet passport issued in France. What changed is the other direction: pets leaving Great Britain for the EU need an animal health certificate.
Does my cat need an animal health certificate (AHC)?
No. An AHC is issued in Great Britain for pets leaving Great Britain for the EU, and it can only be used to come back to Great Britain within 6 months. For a cat starting in France, the entry document is the EU pet passport issued in France — or, if there is no passport, a Great Britain pet health certificate.
Are any cat breeds banned?
No. The UK banned list covers dog types only; there are no cat breed bans in the pet travel rules.
What if the paperwork is wrong?
Your cat can be quarantined for up to 4 months at your expense, or refused entry if it arrived by sea — and on ferry and Eurotunnel routes the check happens in France, so a problem usually means you do not board at all.
Related guides
- Bringing a dog from France to the United Kingdom
- Rabies titer tests (FAVN / RNATT): validity and waiting periods by country
- How many days before travel do you need a pet health certificate?
- Pet quarantine by country: how long, where, and how to avoid it
- Microchip before or after rabies vaccination?
- How far in advance should you start preparing?
Official sources for this page
- GOV.UK — Bringing your pet dog, cat or ferret to Great Britain
- GOV.UK — Pet travel: checks on pets by transport carriers (Part 1 listed documents)
- GOV.UK — Great Britain pet health certificate
- France — Ministry of Agriculture: travelling abroad with your pet (identification, EU passport, rabies)
- France in the UK (French foreign ministry) — Travelling with your pet between Great Britain and France
- EUR-Lex — Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/131 on non-commercial movement of pet animals (replaced Regulation (EU) No 576/2013 from 22 April 2026)
We check each rule against the exporting country's official page and the destination country's official page. If the two disagree, we show the disagreement instead of guessing.
Want a professional to run this route for you?
Licensed pet relocation companies handle permits, vet paperwork and flights daily. We are adding vetted partners for this route — check back soon.