Help/advice PLEASE! After Brexit we had to pay out for the AHC paperwork costing between £100 and £200! On our last trip 2 years ago, even though we had the AHC issued in UK, for some reason the French vet issued us with a passport which they said would last for years, however they didn’t enter the valid Rabies vaccine in the passport so our vet has said the passport won’t be valid and we need a new AHC. We are about to travel to France and the rabies is still in date until April so could we get a French vet to re-vaccinate and enter in the EU passport or even do a new passport with a vaccine ? This is a minefield and obviously an EU passport is far cheaper than the AHC document so surely this is the way round the extortionate UK vet fees?
Yes it is, now what’s the problem apart from having to pay for another AHC?
A very reasonable priced AHC is available 10 mins from the Eurotunnel terminal if that’s any help @£99
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We’ve kept our French PP going and had our dog’s rabies jab updated last August in France, I see no reason why a French vet wouldn’t do the same for Carol. The annual jab the dog has is done by our UK vet who has started a separate vaccination booklet as non EU vets can’t update an EU PP.
Are you talking about rabies jab?
Thanks for the info on the AHC at the tunnel which we will have to purchase anyway this trip. Is there an issue with purchasing the EU passport for future journeys - will it be legal?
Just do a search on here. You’ll find plenty of opinions.
Yes it is the rabies jab which is valid until April in a separate vaccination card but we will be in/out of France before the vaccine expires. I wonder if we can get the rabies vaccine in France and entered either in the passport we already have or purchase a new one?
Lots of opinions but I don’t want to get stuck in France with what I believe to be a valid passport and currently a valid rabies vaccination card. I will have to pay for the AHC to get out there but was hoping to save £££’s with an EU passport but keep finding conflicting advice - yes it’s valid/no it’s not!
Like you even as a returning customer for the AHC (£69) several trips per year it adds up. Our French vet was reluctant to issue a PP at first but as they have got to know us and Willow, the last trip we asked again and got the EU PP. It was like you timed around the rabies shot. It takes time to get the passport and the file completed by the vet has to be sent off immediately it’s completed to the registration people (forget their name) obviously you cannot travel for 21 days after the rabies jab and must return the same time the following year for the next one that lasts 2 years. So you need to be in France for more than 3 weeks to achieve this and we did our first appointment with the vet in France the day after we arrived to the French rabies shot and get things moving. Hope that helps.
Yes it helps, thank you, but the rabies vaccine would just be a booster so I don’t imagine we’d have to wait around for 21 days for the blood test results? Our vet charges £199 for the AHC so I’m sure you understand why I am keen to get the passport?
Incidentally, I had the AHC paperwork for ‘any’ vet to complete on our return but the vet we went to didn’t speak English and we just said ‘pet passport’ and handed him the paperwork. We were shocked when we were presented with an EU passport and only charged €8!
They will probably not accept the booster, Ours didn’t as they use a different vaccine in France I believe, so its a start again vaccine procedure. Your UK Vet is ripping you off, even if you have to get the on the day AHC from the link I gave you, it’s about £30 more on top of the £99. You send over by email all the details to Chris the vet and he has the documents ready apart from the quick checkup that’s needed.
The first shot in France lasts a year and the next booster 2 years.
I do understand that if I get the rabies vaccination done by by a UK vet they are not allowed to enter the details into a EU passport but would issue a vaccination card to show the rabies vaccine is up to date, however, that said I do have a valid EU passport and a valid Rabies vaccine card so do I really need to even purchase an AHC I wonder? Is there a legal body (such as DEFRA perhaps) who would be able to tell me the legalities?
We were charged more than that but it included the rabies shot around €50. The rabies shot has to be done in France to comply (that’s the nuisance part) they accept the UK jab for the AHC so why not for the EU PP is an argument for another day.
So we’d have to be sure to travel to France again in a year to get the booster or it would expire and we’d have to start again? Some threads on this site have said their vet uses vaccines that last 3 years. Perhaps you haven’t heard of these? I will definitely use the vet you have recommended for the greatly reduced price for a simple trip to France for a weeks break in Brittany. I wonder how I will find an English speaking vet in the area (any recommendations would be greatly appreciated)
Tricky question, depends on the person on the day in the cubicle at the port. To our surprise, we just showed the actual PP passports and as soon as the person in the cubicle saw them they said fine and didn’t even open them just handed them back, could have been anyone’s PP. That’s not a good idea to hope that happens for you but I get your point. However if the French vet issued a PP without sending off the information to the French authorities it’s probably not valid. That seemed to be the most important part as we were instructed to immediately go to the post office and send the paperwork as it must arrive in 48 hours. (The authorities messed up but our vet sorted it out for us)
Yes the UK vaccine is 3 years but the one used by our vet is 1 year initially, then every two years but of course that could well be a 3 year one now. Won’t know until May/June when we get there.
What paperwork did you have to send off? We used the newly issued PP to return to the UK without issue. I’m guessing it was to do with the rabies vaccine. We didn’t get this done in France as the uk certificate was still valid
That could be your problem, as it’s a 21 day wait after the jab before travelling, although your UK vaccine would still be in date at that point of departure from France? so the AHC would get you back to the UK on that trip and then use the PP for future journeys. Don’t forget the worming treatment max 5 days, min 2 days before departure.
No, annual booster jab for Kennel Cough and Leptospirosis.
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