What changed after Brexit
UK pet passports stopped being valid for EU travel after Brexit. 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, valid for EU entry up to 10 days from issue, then for onward EU travel for four months.
The 10-day window means the OV appointment is scheduled tightly against your departure date. Not every UK vet is OV-authorised — APHA can confirm OV-authorisation for a given practice. For a family moving with multiple pets, all pets need an AHC issued at the same appointment.
Microchip, rabies, and what else
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 additional tapeworm-treatment required (the rule applies to entry into Finland, Ireland, Malta, and Norway, but not the Netherlands).
- Identity matching the microchip and the AHC.
Transport routes that suit families
Most families bringing a pet to the Netherlands use one of these routes:
- Owner-accompanied by car and Eurotunnel pet service — the car carries the pet through the Channel Tunnel; the pet stays with you throughout. Lower stress for the pet, simple, the most common family choice.
- Owner-accompanied by ferry — Hook of Holland / Rotterdam routes from Harwich and Hull. Pet stays with you in the car on the deck or in a kennel.
- 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. Practical for one-day moves but stressful for the pet.
- Specialist pet-transport firm — collects from your UK address, handles the AHC where included, transports to your Dutch address. Highest-cost option, most hands-off, suits families with logistics complexity.
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. Pets travel separately. 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.