Taking Your Dog Abroad: The Full Checklist (Incl. Spain)
Taking a dog abroad means getting several steps right in order, from the certificate and tapeworm timing to airline rules, the trip home and Spain's extra requirements.
If you’re planning to take your dog abroad, you’ll need an animal health certificate issued by a vet for each trip. Our guide to the pet passport and what replaced it explains the change in full, and our animal health certificate page covers cost and how to get one. These rules were checked against gov.uk in October 2026, and it’s worth confirming on gov.uk before you book.
The steps have to happen in order, and our how to apply for an animal health certificate page takes you through them one by one. If your dog isn’t chipped yet, our dog microchipping page covers booking it.
Tapeworm treatment
A vet must treat your dog for tapeworm before travelling to Finland, Ireland, Malta, Northern Ireland (unless you have a Northern Ireland pet travel document) or Norway. The treatment must be given no less than 24 hours and no more than 120 hours before arrival, and it must be approved for use in the country where it’s given and contain praziquantel or an equivalent effective against Echinococcus multilocularis.
Coming home, you need the treatment again when you re-enter Great Britain from most countries. The exceptions are the same five: Finland, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Malta and Norway, which are considered tapeworm-free and so don’t require treatment on return.
If it’s a short trip and you’re back within five days, you can have the treatment done before you leave. You then wait 24 hours and re-enter within 120 hours of it. Cats don’t need this treatment; it’s a dog rule.
How many pets you can take
You can take up to five pets to an EU country, whether in a private vehicle or as a foot passenger. The exception is if you’re attending or training for a competition, show or sporting event. In that case, you’ll need written evidence of the pet’s registration for the event, and all the other travel rules still apply.
Flying with a dog
When a pet comes into Great Britain by plane, it has to travel as cargo. The exceptions are a chartered private plane, or travelling with a guide or assistance dog. British Airways says it doesn’t carry pets in the cabin on any route. EasyJet says animals are not allowed on its flights apart from recognised registered guide and assistance dogs.
Check with the airline or ferry company before you book, both for whether it will accept your pet and how many. Also ask whether it needs proof your pet is fit to travel.
Coming home to Great Britain
The document you need on the way back depends on the country you’re travelling from, so check it for your route rather than assuming one answer. Coming back from an EU country, your pet needs one of four documents: a pet passport issued in an EU country or certain other countries; an animal health certificate issued in GB within the last six months; a GB pet health certificate; or a pet passport issued in GB before 1 January 2021.
Your pet can travel with someone else rather than with you, as long as you’ve authorised it in writing. A dog of a banned breed cannot be brought into GB without a valid Certificate of Exemption.
Taking your dog to Spain
Spain has its own rules on top of the EU ones. Dogs, cats and ferrets arriving from outside the EU must enter through one of Spain’s authorised travellers’ points of entry. There you declare the animal and present its documents for checks, including a chip read. The animal health certificate must be presented in Spanish, and Spain’s agriculture ministry publishes a bilingual Spanish and English model that satisfies this. Spain admits no dogs, cats or ferrets under 15 weeks old, because a pet vaccinated at the minimum 12 weeks needs a further 21 days before the vaccination is valid.
Spanish law treats the Staffordshire bull terrier as a potentially dangerous dog. The list also covers the pit bull terrier, American Staffordshire terrier, rottweiler, Dogo Argentino, Fila Brasileiro, Tosa Inu and Akita Inu, along with their crosses. In public, a dog on the list must wear a muzzle suited to its breed and stay on a chain or non-extending lead under two metres, with no more than one such dog per handler. Residents keeping one of these dogs need a licence from their town hall and liability insurance of at least €120,000. The law doesn’t say clearly how this applies to visiting tourists, so if your dog is on the list, check with the Spanish authorities before you book.
If you’re sailing, Brittany Ferries says that on its Spain sailings pets stay in a pet-friendly cabin or, for dogs, a kennel; cats must stay in a pet-friendly cabin. For the ferry leg through France, our taking your dog to France checklist has the rules for France.
Common questions
Can I bring a rescue dog home from abroad?
Not under the pet travel rules. GOV.UK says a dog, cat or ferret counts as a commercial import if it’s being rehomed, sold or having its ownership transferred, including rescue animals. The same applies if the pet arrives more than five days before or after you, or if more than five pets travel without going to an event. That holds even if you’re travelling with fewer than five animals.
Commercial imports fall under the Balai rules. They need a commercial health certificate issued through the competent authority of the exporting country. You must also notify the authorities through IPAFFS at least one working day before the animals arrive. EU countries use the same tests for pets coming in from Great Britain. French customs, for example, require animals that fail the pet criteria to be presented at a border control post with a commercial certificate, and not every post can check pets.
Before any of this, make sure your pet’s chip is registered and your details are current, so the number on the certificate leads back to you.
