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Bringing a bird from the United States to the United Kingdom
Sources disagree: Advance notice wording: GOV.UK's public 'travelling from outside the EU' page says tell APHA 'at least one day before you travel', while APHA's technical note PBTC/2 §7 requires notification 'at least one working day before the expected arrival' and says longer notice is desirable. A Friday-evening departure can satisfy the first and fail the second — this page uses the PBTC/2 working-day standard.
Sources disagree: Quarantine confusion: GOV.UK's outside-EU page prominently states 4-month quarantine — but that sentence is under 'Rabbits and rodents', not birds. For pet birds, neither GOV.UK nor PBTC/2 imposes routine post-entry quarantine; the only bird quarantine is the voluntary Option 4 substitute for pre-export preparation (30 days in an approved facility). Secondary guides routinely mis-copy the rabbit rule onto birds — do not.
Sources disagree: HPAI timing risk (live at verification): GOV.UK's bird-flu page, checked 2026-11-12, records the UK as 'no longer free from HPAI' for the 2026–27 season (7 H5N1 + 1 H5N5 cases to date; latest confirmations 9 and 11 November 2026) with an Avian Influenza Prevention Zone in force across England and Scotland from 11 November 2026. That is the destination's domestic situation and does not by itself change the US import conditions in PBTC/2 — but PBTC/2 §12 warns emergency safeguard measures can restrict imports from specific countries at very short notice following outbreaks, and the US itself has active HPAI zones. Recheck both GOV.UK pages in the week before travel.
Until officials align, follow the stricter reading and confirm with the destination authority.
Step-by-step checklist
| Step | What to do | When |
|---|---|---|
| Confirm your bird counts as a 'pet bird' for GB | APHA's Import Information Note PBTC/2 defines pet birds as all bird species except poultry, accompanying their owner (or a person responsible for them on the owner's behalf) within not more than 5 days of the owner's movement, not intended for sale or transfer, maximum 5 per owner/representative. Birds being bred, or used for meat/egg production, shooting or hunting, are outside this route (GOV.UK), and species listed as invasive species of special concern cannot be imported as pets at all. The US is a WOAH member, which PBTC/2 requires of the country of origin. | Before anything else |
| Apply for the APHA import licence | For pet birds imported from non-EU trading partners — the US included — an import licence issued by the APHA Centre for International Trade (CITC) Imports in Carlisle is mandatory (PBTC/2 §4). GOV.UK's public page puts it plainly: you must have an import licence to bring any pet animal that is not a dog, cat or ferret, obtained by contacting APHA. The licence specifies your approved point of entry. (Licence-free entry currently applies only to EU, Greenland and EFTA origins.) Apply well ahead and do not book the flight until the licence and its conditions are in hand. | Weeks before travel — before booking |
| Identification | The bird must be individually identified with a number that traces it to its premises of origin — a clip, leg band, microchip (transponder) or tag (PBTC/2 §5; APHIS lists the same options). The number goes on the health certificate. Travel container should be IATA-compliant, cleansed and disinfected before use. | Before the pre-export preparation |
| Complete ONE pre-export preparation (APHIS options for GB) | APHIS publishes four certificate options for US pet birds to the UK; three are usable: OPTION 1 — the bird is confined on premises under official supervision for at least 30 days before departure with no contact with any other birds (APHIS: kept under the USDA-accredited veterinarian's supervision). OPTION 3 — isolation from other birds for at least 10 days before departure AND a negative avian influenza H5/H7 antigen/genome test (virus isolation or RT-PCR, both cloacal and oropharyngeal swabs, taken at least 3 days after isolation starts, at NVSL or a NAHLN-approved lab; APHIS currently advises using NVSL). OPTION 4 — you have pre-arranged 30 days of post-entry quarantine in an approved UK quarantine facility/centre (see fallback step). OPTION 2 (H5/H7 vaccination) is NOT available: APHIS states pet birds in the US are not vaccinated against avian influenza and the section is pre-lined-out on the certificates. Note the UK test option uses 10 days isolation — not the EU's 14 days. | 30 days out (Option 1) or 10 days out (Option 3) |
| GB health certificate + USDA endorsement | A GB-model health certificate for pet birds (APHIS GBHC611 series, option-specific) signed by an official veterinarian of the country of origin (PBTC/2 §4), plus the owner's/representative's declaration that the bird is a pet animal intended for non-commercial movement. On the US side, once the chosen option's conditions are met, a USDA-accredited veterinarian must examine the bird and issue the UK health certificate within 48 hours of travel (or the last working day before departure), and APHIS must endorse (countersign and emboss/stamp) it. The certificate is valid 10 days (extended by a sea voyage if travelling by boat). | Final 48 hours; certificate valid 10 days |
| CITES permits, if your species is listed | Separately from the APHA import licence, moving a CITES-listed bird into GB requires CITES permits: an APHA (UK CITES Management Authority) import permit — issued in advance, APHA aims to process within 30 days per PBTC/2 — plus the corresponding US export permit from FWS (Form 3-200-46; allow 60–90 days; for Appendix I species FWS needs the UK import permit first). The GOV.UK CITES guidance is explicit that the personal-effects exemption does NOT cover live specimens, so a pet parrot cannot ride on it. CITES birds must also enter via a CITES-designated point of entry. Annex A species can only be imported in exceptional circumstances — check your species on Species+ early. | 30–90 days before travel |
| Notify APHA and fly to an approved airport | You must notify APHA CITC Imports at least one working day before the expected arrival in GB (longer is preferred), and APHA staff carry out the checks at the approved pet point of entry. From non-EU origins the only approved points of entry are Edinburgh, Gatwick, Glasgow and Heathrow airports, as specified in your import licence. GOV.UK's public page phrases the notice as 'at least one day before you travel' — PBTC/2's 'one working day before expected arrival' is the stricter, safer reading (see Conflicts). | ≥1 working day before arrival |
| After arrival: home, and no bird gatherings for 30 days | The bird must be moved to a household or another residence within the UK and must not be entered in shows, fairs, exhibitions or other gatherings of birds during the 30 days following entry (GB health certificate condition, confirmed on the APHIS UK page). There is no routine post-entry quarantine for birds that completed Option 1 or 3 — quarantine is only the Option 4 pathway. Keep the licence, certificate and CITES documents for inspection. | Arrival + 30 days |
Your preparation timeline
- 160–90 days out — CITES: FWS export permit application; APHA CITES import permit (aims ~30 days)
- 26–8 weeks out — APHA import licence application to CITC Imports, Carlisle
- 330 days out — Option 1: begin 30 days confined under official/accredited-vet supervision, no contact with other birds
- 410 days out — Or Option 3: begin isolation; H5/H7 swabs (cloacal + oropharyngeal) on/after day 3, NVSL/NAHLN lab
- 5Final 48 hours — USDA-accredited vet examination; UK health certificate issued and APHIS-endorsed
- 6≥1 working day out — Notify APHA CITC Imports of the expected arrival
- 7Arrival — Land at Edinburgh, Gatwick, Glasgow or Heathrow; APHA checks at the pet point of entry
- 8Arrival + 30 days — Settle at home; no shows, fairs, exhibitions or bird gatherings
Costs you can plan for
The UK publishes no fee for the APHA pet-bird import licence or the arrival check in the sources checked, so budget around the items that are priced: your USDA-accredited vet's examination and certification, APHIS endorsement — US$101 per certificate with no tests to verify (Option 1) or US$160 for the first bird where 1–2 tests must be verified (Option 3), plus US$10 per additional bird (APHIS user-fee schedule checked 2026-11-12) — NVSL/NAHLN H5/H7 testing charges if you use Option 3, CITES permit fees on both sides if your species is listed (APHA publishes a CITES fee table on GOV.UK; permits must be in hand before travel), air cargo, and — only for Option 4 — at least 30 days of boarding at an approved UK quarantine facility, priced by the facility. If a bird arrives non-compliant, safeguard action and quarantine are at the importer's expense.
Questions people ask about this route
Do I really need an import licence for a pet parrot?
Yes. Pet birds are not dogs, cats or ferrets, so the pet-travel scheme does not apply. PBTC/2 requires an APHA import licence for pet birds from every non-EU trading partner, the US included, and GOV.UK's public page states the same rule for any pet animal that is not a dog, cat or ferret.
Will my bird be quarantined for 4 months?
No — the 4-month quarantine on GOV.UK's outside-EU page is for rabbits and rodents. A pet bird that completes Option 1 (30-day supervised confinement) or Option 3 (10-day isolation + H5/H7 test) goes home after the airport checks, with only the 30-day no-gatherings condition. Quarantine (30 days, approved facility) is just the Option 4 alternative if you do not do the pre-export preparation.
Can I fly into Manchester or Birmingham to be closer to home?
No. Pet birds from non-EU partners may only enter GB via the approved points of entry named in the import licence: Edinburgh, Gatwick, Glasgow and Heathrow airports. Plan the onward domestic leg from one of those four.
My bird was vaccinated against bird flu abroad years ago — can I use Option 2?
No for a US departure: APHIS states that pet birds in the US, including birds previously brought into the US, are not vaccinated for avian influenza, and the vaccination section is pre-lined-out on the GB Option 1, 3 and 4 certificates. Use Option 1, 3 or 4.
Related guides
Official sources for this page
- APHA — Import of pet birds, Import Information Note PBTC/2 (GOV.UK)
- GOV.UK — Bringing pets to Great Britain from outside the EU (birds; import licence; 1-day notice)
- USDA APHIS — Pet travel from the US to the United Kingdom (Birds: Options 1–4, GBHC611)
- GOV.UK (APHA) — Check if you need a CITES permit to import or export endangered species
- GOV.UK — Bird flu (avian influenza): latest situation in England (checked 2026-11-12)
- US Fish & Wildlife Service — Form 3-200-46: export of personal pets under CITES / WBCA
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.
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