Dog via Paris to UK with Pet Moves

Hi All.

So we made it!!! Just wanted to finally give you all an update and let you know how our adventure went.

Some background. After much research we decided we did not want to crate our cockapoo to get her into the UK. We found the only reasonable option was to fly to Paris then take the Pet-Moves.com service from Charles De Gaulle through the Chunnel.

Air France will allow you to fly with your dog in cabin if the combined weight of dog and carrying case is 17 pounds, and we were sweating this!! Our dog with case came in at 18 pounds and we had the lightest case we could find. We had lost hours of sleep on this imaging getting to the airport, my visa in hand all our luggage packed for our new life and the beloved dog being turned away. Not to mention all the paperwork and shots down the drain. It was amazing. We were lucky or blessed or both. They did not even weight her!!! Cant garuntee this will happen to everyone but we got lucky!! They did check her paperwork very well at the check in counter as they gave us our boarding passes and as we checked in our bags, but the man really never gave her a second look!!!

On the flight itself the Air France crew were the same. We had paid $60 extra to be at the rear of the plane were there were only two seats on the side so as to not disturb any other passengers with the dog but she was a dream. Slept the entire way.

Once on the ground in Paris my wife went in the EU passport line with the dog as she in the UK citizen, and just as the Pet Mover owner Barry had advised us, they never even checked the dogs paperwork upon entry into France. We guess they assume that was done at the other end.

After collecting our luggage we went up to the arrivals level as instructed by Barry and Whatsapped him. In about 10 minutes he met us at the designated area.

We had requested a van as we had 7 pieces of check on size luggage. He was happy to accommodate us but did charge extra for the larger van service. He had all the things your dog or pet could need. Water, wipes, poop bags, and the van was clean. We stopped at a gas station and were able to relieve the dog although she had gone pee pee back at the airport.

After a few hours of some pleasant talk and also us sleeping in the back seat we arrived at the Chunnel pet processing building for entry to the UK. We all went inside and Barry presented our paperwork and about 10 minutes later we were back in the van and headed over to the Chunnel.

We got in line for the French passport check which is all done right from your car. We simply handed all the passenger passports through the window. Once the French check is complete you drive about 20 meters and the UK does their check. I showed them my passport with shiny new VISA and required letter. They gave me my stamp and on we went.

The fun part is the van and passengers all drive right onto the train for the ride in the Chunnel, one never has to be separated from your pet. A few minutes after boarding the train is closed in around the cars and 35 minutes later...... we were in our new home..... the UK!!!!

All in all a very pleasant experience. I would definitely recommend the Pet Moves service. Barry delivered exactly the service he was paid for, was prompt, and very nice. That being said he is a business man and the service was not cheap. For my wife and I our small cockapoo with seven check on size bags to go from CDG Paris to Folkstone he charged £1025. That is obviously not a small amount of money. I do however have no idea what the cost of taking a car on the Chunnel is and as we all know gas is not cheap....soooo.

One last bit. We had decided to rent a car to get to our final destination and the nearest rental car was in Dover, six miles past Folkstone the “drop off” agreed upon. Barry was happy to drive us to the rental car lot but charged us an extra £30. Again I understand he is a business man and probably charges by the mile beyond Folkstone but I felt like this was “nickle and dimeing” a bit after charging £1025.

All of this being said we would recommend the service highly if, like us you have a small dog or cat and can't bare the idea of being seperated from your pet.

NWKH

Great summary!  I know that will help lots of people who are interested in this route.

What did your total relocation costs for the pup end up being?

And now that you are in the UK, you have to start calling it the Eurotunnel.    

We had decided to rent a car to get to our final destination and the nearest rental car was in Dover, six miles past Folkstone the “drop off” agreed upon. Barry was happy to drive us to the rental car lot but charged us an extra £30. Again I understand he is a business man and probably charges by the mile beyond Folkstone but I felt like this was “nickle and dimeing” a bit after charging £1025.

Who told you Folkestone didn't have car rental places? And that the nearest rental place was Dover?

Hi NWKH - I am doing this exact move on Friday. Did you have a UK health certificate or a France health certificate? The USDA is telling me that they will only endorse one for me!

Thanks in advance!

I have two very important questions about this process:

first off, i have determined the only way i'm going to feel a little better about putting my dog in a plane, is if i'm on the plane too (even if he is in the cargo hold as luggage).  this was also going to be my most affordable option, as IcelandAir offers flights directly from my hometown, layover in iceland, then to france with a fee of about $175 for the dog to go in checked luggage.  direct into UK is cargo only, plus additional fees, around $1600 more expensive. so i'm going into france, where my fiance and our friend will be picking me up and driving me to the UK (possibly eurotunnel).

so, here are my two questions: if i get my UK fiance visa, do I have permission to land in france and travel to the UK?  i don't know what the rules are regarding non-EU citizens, or if my passport and/or visa will cover that.

second: my plan was to include a "prospective flight itinerary" in my visa application as proof of intended travel date, and a short note explaining I would be driving from france to the UK to enter.  should i do this?  will it cause issue?  and what would be a good way to show intended travel date?

thanks!  so happy to hear a USA - France - UK pupper success story!!

1. if i get my fiance visa, and i only plan to

I have two very important questions about this process:

first off, i have determined the only way i'm going to feel a little better about putting my dog in a plane, is if i'm on the plane too (even if he is in the cargo hold as luggage).  this was also going to be my most affordable option, as IcelandAir offers flights directly from my hometown, layover in iceland, then to france with a fee of about $175 for the dog to go in checked luggage.  direct into UK is cargo only, plus additional fees, around $1600 more expensive. so i'm going into france, where my fiance and our friend will be picking me up and driving me to the UK (possibly eurotunnel).

so, here are my two questions: if i get my UK fiance visa, do I have permission to land in france and travel to the UK?  i don't know what the rules are regarding non-EU citizens, or if my passport and/or visa will cover that.

second: my plan was to include a "prospective flight itinerary" in my visa application as proof of intended travel date, and a short note explaining I would be driving from france to the UK to enter.  should i do this?  will it cause issue?  and what would be a good way to show intended travel date?

thanks!  so happy to hear a USA - France - UK pupper success story!!

1. if i get my fiance visa, and i only plan to

1.  Your UK visa will be checked at the port of entry into the UK from France.  The French border control won't care about your UK visa.  You'll enter into France as a visitor and then into the UK on your shiny new visa.

2.  UKVI don't care about your intended travel plans.  They simply give you a timeframe of 30 days to get into the UK and it's up to you to come in and collect the BRP during that time. 

Hi! I just wanted to post an update now that we have made the journey.

My little woofer and I crossed over on Saturday relatively hassle free (despite the noreaster). He flew on my lap on American. The flight attendant was very nice and understanding.

We actually didn’t use Barry’s. We did use Folkestone taxi which was about 600 pounds (significantly cheaper). However they don’t check your paperwork. I ended up using the bilingual certificate for France but altering it to remove the strike through that my dog was not treated for echinoccucus (tapeworm). My vet and I got quite good with pdf editors. We had no issues at all though.


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I have two very important questions about this process:

first off, i have determined the only way i'm going to feel a little better about putting my dog in a plane, is if i'm on the plane too (even if he is in the cargo hold as luggage).  this was also going to be my most affordable option, as IcelandAir offers flights directly from my hometown, layover in iceland, then to france with a fee of about $175 for the dog to go in checked luggage.  direct into UK is cargo only, plus additional fees, around $1600 more expensive. so i'm going into france, where my fiance and our friend will be picking me up and driving me to the UK (possibly eurotunnel).

so, here are my two questions: if i get my UK fiance visa, do I have permission to land in france and travel to the UK?  i don't know what the rules are regarding non-EU citizens, or if my passport and/or visa will cover that.

second: my plan was to include a "prospective flight itinerary" in my visa application as proof of intended travel date, and a short note explaining I would be driving from france to the UK to enter.  should i do this?  will it cause issue?  and what would be a good way to show intended travel date?

thanks!  so happy to hear a USA - France - UK pupper success story!!

1. if i get my fiance visa, and i only plan to

Meg-

So sorry just getting back. As always KFdancer is on the spot and right. All the visa people care about is your date of entry into the UK not were or when or how you are getting here, so don't even worry about this on you application. In general on the application give ONLY the information they ask for. FULL STOP. Nothing more nothing less I think is best.

As long as you have you UK visa and your pet paperwork is in order it should all go easy.

NWKH