Right you clever people… I have a client that’s returning to the UK and are in a sticky position… I’ll describe below but any information or ideas would be great!
They have 2 dogs both on UK passports and that moved here in 2018. Owners British and protected by withdrawal agreement (I have found out pets aren’t covered by the WA).
They have been told a French vet can’t give them the rabies shot required and put this into their passport as it’s a Uk one.
They won’t issue a French passport as they have a chip and passport from the Uk.
The dogs need to be imported into France and need a Uk vet to complete a health certificate and give the rabies jab so they can come to France.
But of course they can’t get them to a uk vet as they are here and can’t get the correct jabs etc to travel back.
From what I can read they need a Time Machine or a miracle.
Hopefully I’ve explained it correctly and if anyone has any info on this or someone that’s been through this can share anything it would be great.
They have asked a few and got the same response but I am sure there will be some out there that will just do it. Trying to find the right way to do it as at the port if they hit a know all at France or UK then animals can end up in 4 month quarantine at their cost so have to be careful
The catch as you’ve discovered is they didn’t do the paperwork in 2018 to import them. Vets are no longer meant to issue passports unless the animal is on ICAD - but you are meant to do the ICAD promptly not 5+ years later when the paperwork is all out of date. So the vet can’t start the ICAD process because the jabs aren’t up to date and there’s no import paperwork.
Throw themselves at the mercy of ICAD and plead is probably the only real course of action.
Or call DEFRA and see if they can advise. The logical position is a French Vet completing the equivalent of the AHC but …that’s not listed as acceptable.
Are we not just in time, still being within 5 years of Brexit? The dogs may not have communicated their intention very well at the time, but are we sure we have identified which trip they actually considered they were coming here to live on?
Start from scratch as if it were an abandoned dog?. Get new French ID and can then get new passport and export to UK oerhaps. Will need new vaccinations unless vet will go along with this.
L’animal vous a été cédé sans avoir été identifié et sans certificat vétérinaire :
Vous devez impérativement vous rendre chez un vétérinaire pour faire identifier l’animal. Pour rappel, l’identification est une obligation légale pour les chats âgés de plus de 7 mois et pour les chiens âgés de plus de 4 mois. L’identification est également obligatoire en cas de cession (vente ou don), quel que soit l’âge de l’animal.
L’animal a été cédé identifié avec une attestation de cession, mais le changement de détenteur n’a pas été effectué ou le document d’identification a été égaré :
Vous devez vous rendre chez le vétérinaire avec l’attestation de cession fournie par le cédant. Elle prouve que vous êtes désormais le nouveau détenteur de l’animal.
Le vétérinaire va vous remettre un formulaire de demande de carte d’identification à remplir, à accompagner d’un chèque de 12,00 € TTC à l’ordre du Fichier National I-CAD. Le tout est à envoyer par courrier à l’adresse “Fichier National I-CAD” . Une fois que la société aura mis à jour les informations dans le fichier national d’identification, le détenteur recevra un nouveau document d’identification.
L’animal a été cédé identifié mais le cédant n’a transmis aucun document et n’est plus joignable :
Il faut présenter l’animal à un vétérinaire. Ce dernier, après vérification, transmet un formulaire de demande de carte d’identification. Une fois rempli, il doit être envoyé aux services I-CAD, accompagné d’un chèque de 12,00 € TTC par courrier à l’adresse suivante :
Fichier National I-CAD
29 Rue du Progrès
CS 50011
93108 Montreuil CEDEX
En l’absence de document du cédant, une demande doit être faite par le vétérinaire et les services I-CAD se rapprocheront de l’ancien détenteur par courrier recommandé pour obtenir son accord de cession. Dans ce cas, le traitement de la demande est d’au moins un mois.
I agree with the advice given. However these people got themselves, and their pets, into this under the radar position, there is only one solution and that is to begin at the beginning.
They need to take the dogs, with UK passports, which proves their ownership, to a nicer vet who is willing to support them carry out French registration.
The dog’s microchips must first be registered with iCad. May take a couple of weeks. It matters not that the dogs have chips put in by UK. The number stays the same but they will now be entered into France’s register.
When this is done the vet can apply for a France pet passport for each dog. May take another couple of weeks, perhaps more if over July-August
Once the France pet passports are obtained the vet can commence the rabies vaccines procedure. I’m assuming that as the people have been in France since 2018 and not registered the dogs in France, there may be no record of annual rabies shots, and hopefully the vet is so nice he can overlook this.
First, the rabies vaccinations, then a wait and a test to ensure the dogs are fully covered. Takes more time. Sometimes, the vaccine does not ‘take’ and the immunity test afterwards shows negative. This is more likely if there haven’t been annual boosters kept up. If the test is negative, the vaccine will be given again. Then another test. Until the tests prove effective. Then the vet will enter the vaccines into the France pet passports.
Once the French pet passport is in hand and completed with the vet’s signed and stamped confirmation of rabies cover, the people can travel with their dogs, stopping at pet control at the port before exiting France.
This may read as a warning to others who may not have kept their pets up to date with residence in France! Not following the designated procedures is absolutely a false saving in both time and wallet. Wouldn’t everyone want to protect their beloved pet by following laws designed to protect them?
@SuePJ kindly provided me with a number of a vet who had explained the situation… the dogs should have been registered and the local vet should have probably said something. But again being ignorant of the law doesn’t count for much… Still it’s not like they have smuggled an endangered animal into France just want to do the right thing and it was tough to find any info. I’m pretty good a sniffing out the info but thanks everyone and Sue in particular. My client who was really stressed out is now sorted and I am a hero… despite me just passing a phone number on. Hahaha
Summary
Pets need to be registered in iCAD
Then passport can be issued
Then rabies can be done
Pets can go with owners back to the UK and will take up to 8 weeks to sort out.
I would also add that smuggling a dog into the UK has a fixed penalty of either prison (unlikely for an individual who is not a “professional” smuggler), and/or a fine of up to £5,000 for smugglers. What happens to the dog is unclear. If not vaccinated then could be at a serious risk too.
We forgot to mention, border control will want to see in the France pet passport that the approved tapeworm treatment has been given with the required time limit
One of our dogs came over on a UK passport before Brexit and the vet continued to enter rabies jabs etc into the passport. Only when we read of the invalidity of a UK passport for travel, did we approach our vet and she just filled out a new French one using the existing chip. The dog had to start a new course of rabies jabs as the still current one in the UK passport was no longer acceptable. There was no issues changing over passports
The border control will not be so forgiving about having filled in the wrong passport or with incorrect full details. I have been behind several people who have been turned away at the Tunnel border control for minor errors.
Not all vets are fully cognoscente of all these travel rules and not wanting to get caught up in the responsibility may be why they sometimes refuse to help.
No one wants their pet seized and put into an unpleasant quarantine. It is totally worth making all the efforts to become aware and carry out what is necessary for safe travel.
Yes, us too. The one we became aware of in front of us was that the very had not entered the full date and time of the (worming?) treatment. They were turned back.
Hi, speaking from my own experience, a vet in France can most definitely issue the dogs with French passports. The owners will need to complete the document I-CAD which is sent of to the Minstère de l’Agriculture et de l’Alimentation. The animal keeps the same chip number and it is the vet that issues the French Passport and it is he or she that fills out all the details of the animal. Then, of course, the French vet administers the rabies vaccination and notes it on the new passport. It is correct that a French vet cannot note a rabies vaccination on a UK passport. If their vet in France is saying they can’t do this, find another vet. As long as their legal address is in France, then they have the right to re register their animals with French passports.
