What changed after Brexit
Before Brexit, UK pet passports were valid for travel between the UK and the EU under the EU Pet Travel Scheme. Post-Brexit, UK-issued pet passports stopped being valid for EU entry. The replacement document for UK→EU travel is the Animal Health Certificate (AHC).
For travel in the opposite direction — pets arriving in the UK from the Netherlands — different rules apply, outside the scope of this site.
The Animal Health Certificate
The AHC is issued in the UK by an Official Veterinarian (OV) — a vet authorised by the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) to issue export documentation. The certificate covers a single trip and is valid for EU entry for up to 10 days from the date of issue, then for onward EU travel for four months from issue.
The implication for UK→Netherlands pet travel: the AHC must be issued within the 10-day pre-travel window, so the appointment with the OV is scheduled tightly against your departure date. Not every UK vet is OV-authorised — APHA can confirm OV-authorisation for a given practice.
Microchip, rabies, and other requirements
For the AHC to be issued, your pet must have:
- A working microchip, implanted before any rabies vaccination.
- A current rabies vaccination administered at least 21 days before travel (a rabies vaccine given before the microchip does not count).
- For dogs entering the Netherlands, no specific tapeworm treatment is required (tapeworm-treatment rules apply for entry to Finland, Ireland, Malta, and Norway, but not the Netherlands).
- Evidence of identity matching the microchip and the AHC.
Transport options
Three main routes for pet travel UK→Netherlands:
- Owner-accompanied by car and Eurotunnel pet service — your car carries the pet through the Channel Tunnel; the pet stays with you throughout. Lower-stress for the pet for shorter-distance moves; the Eurotunnel pet service is well-established and routine.
- Owner-accompanied by ferry — Hook of Holland / Rotterdam routes from Harwich and Hull. Pet stays with you in your car on the deck or in a kennel on the ferry.
- Owner-accompanied by air — direct UK→Amsterdam (Schiphol) flights with the pet either in-cabin (very small dogs and cats) or in the hold under IATA carrier transport.
- Specialist pet-transport firm — collects from your UK address, handles AHC where included, drives or flies the pet to the Netherlands, delivers to your Dutch address. Highest-cost option but most hands-off for the owner.
What we do not do
We do not transport animals. Pets do not travel in removals vehicles — temperature, ventilation, journey-time and animal-welfare regulatory requirements are entirely different from cargo, and any firm willing to put a live animal in a removals lorry is one to walk away from.
We work alongside specialist pet-transport firms when our customers need them and can refer you when you reach the planning stage.