Before you go: Pets Passports

Thanks to the Pet Travel Scheme (PETS), cats and dogs can leave and enter the UK without being quarantined. However, strict rules apply for getting pets cleared for travel. Animals entering the UK will be quarantined if they've been to a non-PETS country in the last six months.

The EU countries participating in PETS include:

Austria, Azores, Cyprus (but not North Cyprus), Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Faroe Islands, Finland, France, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Greenland, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Madeira, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain including the Balearic and Canary Islands and Sweden.

The scheme also includes these non-EU destinations:

Andorra, Antigua & Barbuda, Argentina, Aruba, Ascension Island, Australia, Bahrain, Barbados, Belarus, Bermuda, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, British Virgin Islands, Canada, Cayman Islands, Chile, Croatia, Falkland Islands, Fiji, French Polynesia, Grenadines, Guam, Hawaii, Hong Kong, Iceland, Japan, Liechtenstein, Mauritius, Faroe Islands, Liechtenstein, Mauritius, Mayotte, Mexico, Monaco, Montserrat, Netherlands Antilles, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Norway, Russian Federation, Romania, St Helena, St Kitts & Nevis, St Pierre and Miquelon, St Vincent, San Marino, Singapore, Switzerland, Taiwan, Trinidad and Tobago, United Arab Emirates, USA (mainland), Vanuatu, Vatican and Wallis & Futuna.

HOW TO GET A PASSPORT

It costs from about £165 to get a PETS certificate, depending on your vet's fees.

Step one:

Have a vet microchip your pet. It should meet the International Standards Organisation (ISO) Standard 11784 or Annex A of ISO Standard 11785.

Step two:

Have your pet vaccinated against rabies. Animals should be at least three months old before having the jab.

Step three:

Have your pet blood-tested to check whether the vaccine has protected them against rabies. It's best to have this done about 30 days after the jab. There are two EU-approved blood testing laboratories in the UK.

Step four:

If the stages are completed successfully, you can get an official PETS certificate from a government-authorised Local Veterinary Inspector.

UK BLOOD TEST LABORATORIES

Veterinary Laboratory Agency, New Haw, Addlestone, Surrey, KT15 3NB. Tel: 01932 357 840

BioBest, Charles Darwin House, The Edinburgh Technopole, Bush Estate, Penicuik, Midlothian, EH26 OPJ. Tel: 0131 440 2628

Commercial service Dogs Away guides owners through passport procedures, and arranges vet appointments before they return home. Various fees apply. For details call 020 8441 9311.

THE PASSPORT

Your pet won't need a photo for this. Pet Travel Scheme certificates note that an animal has a current rabies vaccination and has had a successful blood test, and records its microchip number. They are valid until your pet's next booster vaccination.

Before returning to the UK, animals also need to be treated for ticks and tapeworm by a vet. This must be done 24 or 48 hours before travelling and you must get an official certificate of treatment.

PET-FRIENDLY TRANSPORT

As pets need to be transported in containers, it's important to check the size and shape your carrier prefers. Animals are generally kept in the cargo hold of aircraft, and on ferries they stay in the car. Travel cases should have food and water containers fixed inside.

New routes are added continuously to the Pet Travel Scheme, so check the Department of Food and Rural Affairs website, listed below, for the latest information before booking transport.

By sea:

Pets can enter the UK from many European destinations. They include: Caen to Portsmouth with Brittany Ferries and P&O Ferries; from Calais to Dover with P&O Ferries and SeaFrance; from Cherbourg to Portsmouth with Brittany Ferries; from Cherbourg to Poole with Brittany Ferries; from Roscoff to Plymouth with Brittany Ferries; from St Malo to Portsmouth with Brittany Ferries; and from St Malo to Poole with Condor Ferries.

By rail:

Pets can travel on the Eurotunnel Shuttle Service, but not Eurostar, from Calais to Folkestone. Guide dogs can travel on Eurostar services from Brussels, Lille and Paris to London Waterloo.

By air:

A growing number of airlines are joining the Pet Travel Scheme and will carry pets on particular routes. Participating carriers include: Austrian Airlines, bmi British Midland, Cyprus Airways, Finnair, GB Airways, Lufthansa, Air Malta, Monarch Airlines, British Airways, KLM Cargo, Britannia Airways, Sterling Airlines, MyTravel and Thomsonfly.

Short-haul destinations offered by airlines include: Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and Sweden. Non-EU destinations include: Australia, Bermuda, Barbados, Canada, Gibraltar, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, Singapore and USA.

Some transport companies might offer different travel conditions for guide dogs and hearing dogs. Contact individual transport companies for further details.

USEFUL REMINDERS

• Before booking, check what a ferry company or airline's policy is about carrying pets.
• Pets should be checked by a vet before any journey of more than a few hours.
• Animals that are heavily pregnant, ill, or have just given birth, should not travel.
• Some airlines might allow pets to travel as checked baggage.
• On ferries, pets will probably have to stay in the car.
• On aircraft, animals are usually carried in the hold and will be inaccessible to owners.
• Guide dogs are allowed to travel in aircraft cabins and in passenger areas of ferries
• Food and drink should be provided in fixed containers inside a pet's carry case.
• There are no restrictions on travelling with pets within the UK or Ireland.

FURTHER INFORMATION

PETS helpline: 0870 241 1710 (8.30am to 5pm, Mon-Fri).

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs website has full details of the PETS scheme:defra.gov.uk