Taking Your Dog to Ireland: What You Need
Two Irelands, two sets of rules, and one of them is far simpler than you might expect. Get the right paperwork for the one you're visiting and the crossing is straightforward.
What your dog needs depends on whether you’re going to the Republic of Ireland or Northern Ireland. Taking a dog to the Republic from Great Britain means a microchip, a rabies jab, an animal health certificate and a tapeworm treatment. You also need to book a check at the port. Taking your dog to Northern Ireland is a much lighter job: a free travel document and a chip scan, with no jabs or treatments at all. These rules were checked in October 2026, so confirm them on GOV.UK before you book.
What your dog needs for the Republic of Ireland
Since 1 January 2021, Ireland’s Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) treats a pet arriving from Great Britain as coming from outside the EU. The full set of entry rules applies, so an EU pet passport won’t help if you live in England, Scotland or Wales. From 22 April 2026, DAFM says an EU pet passport held by a GB resident is no longer valid for this trip. Our guide to pet travel after Brexit explains what replaced the old passport.
Work through these in order, because each one depends on the last.
- Get your dog microchipped. In Ireland, the chip must be in place before the rabies vaccination. If your dog isn’t chipped yet, our dog microchipping page covers how to book it. You can register the microchip with Pet Database so the record carries your current details.
- Get the rabies vaccination, then wait at least 21 days before you travel.
- Get an animal health certificate. Your own vet completes it, and an official vet must sign and endorse it within 10 days of your dog’s arrival in Ireland. Our animal health certificate page explains what it costs and how to arrange one.
- Book the tapeworm treatment. A vet must treat your dog for tapeworm with a product containing praziquantel, no less than 24 hours and no more than 120 hours before your scheduled arrival. The vet records it in the certificate. If your dog doesn’t arrive within five days of the treatment, it has to be done again.
Bring the original paperwork, stamped and with a wet signature. DAFM says photocopies and digital printouts are not acceptable.
Your dog also has to travel with you, or within five days before or after your own journey with someone you’ve authorised. Anything further apart, or a change of ownership after arrival, falls under commercial rules instead.
Arriving in Ireland
Pets from GB can only enter through six places: Cork Airport, Dublin Airport, Dublin Port, Shannon Airport, the Port of Cork at Ringaskiddy or Rosslare Europort. You can’t sail into any other Irish port with a pet.
Before you travel, you must give advance notice through DAFM’s Advance Notice Portal and book a compliance check. It’s your responsibility as the owner, and you must not leave the port or airport until the check is done. There’s no charge for the check on pets entering from Great Britain, though at Dublin Airport a private kennel handles out-of-hours checks and fees apply there. If your dog fails the check, it may be refused entry or quarantined, and all the costs of seizure and quarantine fall to you. It’s worth double-checking the tapeworm window and the certificate dates before you set off.
Coming home from Ireland
The return is easier. GOV.UK says you don’t need an approved route or company coming from Ireland to Great Britain. A private boat is allowed from Ireland or Northern Ireland. There’s no tapeworm treatment needed for a dog coming directly from Ireland either.
You do still need a valid travel document. GB accepts an EU-issued pet passport or an animal health certificate issued in GB within the last six months. It also accepts a GB pet health certificate, or a GB pet passport issued before 1 January 2021.
Taking your dog to Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is a different and much simpler trip. Your dog needs a microchip and a Northern Ireland pet travel document (PTD). The PTD is free, you apply for it online, and it lasts as long as you own the pet. With a PTD, your dog doesn’t need a rabies vaccination or tapeworm treatment.
Travelling by ferry, you scan your dog’s chip yourself at the GB port using a provided scanner, and it’s checked against the PTD. If there’s a problem, you’ll need to attend the inspection facility at Belfast or Larne when you arrive.
Travelling by air, you must tell the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) by email at least 10 working days in advance. The same five-pet limit applies as elsewhere, so a household with more than five dogs should look at the rules before booking. Coming back, there are no checks at all travelling from Northern Ireland to Great Britain.
Why your dog's chip record matters when you travel
Make sure your contact details on the chip database are current, and consider adding the address where you’ll be staying overseas to the record. If your dog slips a lead abroad, that record is what a finder reaches you through.
Whichever Ireland you’re headed to, check that your dog’s chip record is up to date before you travel. If the details on file aren’t yours, register your pet with Pet Database well ahead of the vet visits.
