Change of ownership on a EU Pet Passport Query

We have 2 rescue dogs, 1 with a Spanish EU pet passport (issued July 2019) and the other with a Romanian EU pet passport (issued March 2019). We have adopted both dogs in the UK and now need to change the owner details into our own; one problem which I hope somebody can give me some clarification on is:

My UK vet says when we change the ownership details, the current passports will be invalid and we need to have new UK ones and a Animal Health Certifcate (depending on Brexit or not), because the dogs will become English. My understanding was the passport belongs to the dogs and are valid for life until they are full and need replacing and is not based on where we live. Our problem is we are due to relocate from the UK to France in January 2020 and if we need to have new passports now because we live in the UK then again when we move in 3 months time it sounds silly.
Has anybody else heard of this? I have checked the Defra website and from what I am reading it states if a passport has been issued by another EU country the passport is still valid and to enter into the UK that is acceptable so long as we have the tapeworm treatment. If there is a no deal brexit we need to have a successful rabies antibody blood test result.
Please can anybody help me over this matter?

Meant to add successful rabies antibody blood test results to re-enter the EU if we leave the UK

Why is it so complicated to get them new passports? Surely it is simpler and quicker than getting eg a human passport? Just do it, if you have to do it again in a few months’ time, so what, it isn’t really a big deal in the grand scheme of things.

Hi, we don’t have a problem with doing it twice once in the UK and once in France, our problem is with trying to obtain a UK one now especially as there is still so much uncertainty over Brexit and from the hoops we have to jump through it will take 4 months and we move in less than 3 so our dogs won’t be able to move with us.

I’m guessing that the Spanish and Romanian passports are the same as the French EU one, so I dont really understand what the problem is. You simply change the address on the first page and get the vet to update the database. Hopefully you can get them to france before brexshit day, whenever that may be, if not you will just have to get the rabies ab test done before entering france.

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See how long the Brexit extension is before panicking. If it is until January 2020 you can move without having the blood tests done and have enough time to get new passports.
Maybe check with another approved vet, some vets are as confused about the regulations as we are and interpret the rules differently…
If all goes pear shaped, bring the dogs over to France before your move and have them in a kennel waiting your arrival.

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Your vet is telling you porkies. He’s after money. Your dogs both hold European Pet Passports. Your dogs are European. They DO NOT need a UK passport as one doesn’t exist. My two dogs have the EPP (France issued) and can travel anywhere in Europe. My previous boys had the EPP (UK issued) and could travel throughout Europe. Your dogs will, of course, need the wormer prior to entering the UK as is the norm, and the passports stamped and chip checked.

DEFRA are correct. And you are correct in thinking the passport is for the dog no matter what nationality he is.

Thank you for adopting. Would one of your adoptees be a galgo or a podenco?

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I agree with others saying that you needn’t bother with changing the passports. A waste of time. We had a dog with an American passport, and all we had to do was ask the vet to change the address, no charge for that. It was good his whole life. You can even do this yourself online, but I now forget the site.

Hi Carol,
Thanks for your response. Our Spanish dog is a springer spaniel, very lovable and adorable
Marina

Thanks for your response Nancy. Marina

Thanks for your response Bettina. We will wait to see what happens this week hopefully we will be in a better position to make final plans for our move and hopefully it will work out well for us. Marina

Hi Mark, yes both passports state EU after country of origin, issue is we have been told by UK vet that they are invalid as EU passports if we change address in the section to our current UK address as the dogs would become know as UK dogs and need a certificate plus Rabies jab to take them out of the UK. Rabies stuff will take 4mths from start to finish at a cost of £300 per dog and the vets won’t even do it until they have further info on defra rules post Brexit. We leave the UK at the end of December 2019

We have to put the UK address as we do not have any other address currently to rely on

I think your vet might be wrong/skint/trying to rip you off…
It’s just an address hand written in the front of the passport, it’s never going to be checked and only of use if you lose your pooch. Don’t worry about it for now, and hope brexshit is delayed long enough for you to get them to france.

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Marina, the vet does not make sense. You imported the dogs into the UK with a pet passport. In order to get these, the dogs would have had to get vaccinated against rabies in their country of origin. That vaccination needs repeating after 2 years. We just took our cats to France from the UK and did the whole 4 months, get blood test etc, because originially we would have left after the March Brexit date. BUT until the UK really leaves you only need proof of the rabies vaccination without the extra blood test. And perhaps some worming tablets and a vets certificate 48 hrs before travel. (Not sure about that one as not required for our cats).
Travelling on Britanny Ferries, all that was checked was microchips matching the passports.

Presuming that your dogs are micro-chipped for their passports, you should register them with the I-CAD scheme here in France. It keeps a data base of domestic pets so that if your dogs stray or get lost they can be traced back to your contact details. We had our Spanish rescue dog registered by the local vet and received a certificate back fairly punctually. A passport is great for travelling but is of no use if your dog disappears.

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Do you not know where you will be living when you leave the UK at the end of December ?

Your vet is ripping you off and talking a load of bollicks. Put your UK address in the space provided. If the chip is on the uk database (which it probably isnt) get it updated and your dogs are EU doggies. We have done this 3 times now with our labrador. The passport is the same all over the EU, just the languages change and is acceptable all over the EU. Stop the panicking and just enter your details into the book and forget the Vet,

My understanding (having just changed our dog’s UK passport to a French EU passport and being a vet, (albeit retired!) is your current EU passports are fine to enter the UK (with correct worm treatment). However to return to France or other EU countries you will need to show a Rabies antibody blood test if no agreement is reached. Test done in France takes about a month for the results to come back and I would suggest having it done as soon after the rabies booster as possible, but at least 30 days after the injection. One test result does for life.

Hi Marina , i work in dog rescue Spain and have many adopted uk , France , Germany etc . As many have said whether it be a uk / Eu passport all valid as long as vaccinations correct . Normally your vet can just update data base with new address .
Otherwise you can re register chip to you st new address by phone or online with several companies , one being petlog uk .
Sorty load of B ---- ks they become british and need uk passport and a AHC . The AHC is issued over here to confirm the dog is healthy and fit for travel .

If and when you move you move to France yes a titre test maybe needed depending if deal or no deal but even then there is no need for a passport change .