5 day rule importing pets

Hi pet parents!

So, we are moving from NYC to London in a couple of weeks, but our two dogs, a pug and a beagle/boxer mix will have to stay behind to wait for th weather to cool down a bit.  I'a talking with a pet relocation company, and my agent says to get around the 5 day rule, I can just book a flight to anywhere in Europe and then re-enter within 5 days of my dogs arrival. 

Has anyone done this? 

Wait, you have to also enter the country within 5 days of your pet? I moved to the UK in august but my dog stayed behind with my parents and I'm looking to bring him over tin February. Do I need to fly back home in order to move him over here?

Did move to the UK yet?

My cats arrived outside the five day limit.  The agent who handled their arrival sorted it for me.  It meant I had to pay a fee.

I found this:

if you're coming in from outside the EU and you're not travelling within 5 days of your pet(s) other paperwork is required in addition to the 'usual' set.

I found this:

if you're coming in from outside the EU and you're not travelling within 5 days of your pet(s) other paperwork is required in addition to the 'usual' set.

I have yet to find an answer as to why on the whole 5 day rule. I even asked the company we plan to use, if they are going to be delivered to a family member does that waive that rule. Doesn't sound like it. So we are going to (hopefully) try and time our flights within the 5 days, but i'd love to know how they would even know.

I have yet to find an answer as to why on the whole 5 day rule. I even asked the company we plan to use, if they are going to be delivered to a family member does that waive that rule. Doesn't sound like it. So we are going to (hopefully) try and time our flights within the 5 days, but i'd love to know how they would even know.

As far as I know, if you can't travel within 5 days, you just have to follow slightly different rules

See here for what to do if you can't move the pet within the 5 days:
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/balai-directive-moving-live-animals-semen-and-embryos

I arrived in the UK any my first batch of pets arrived after five days, followed a week later by my second batch.  They travelled outside the five day rule.  More paperwork was required and, of course, this meant a fee for completion.  I found the following which seems to make it clear:

https://www.pettravel.com/immigration/England.cfm

Commercial Transport: the owner or a legal representative of the owner is not traveling with or within 5 days of the pet OR the purpose of the transport involves a sale or transfer of ownership OR more than 5 dogs, cats or ferrets are traveling with or without their owner.

Commercial Transport to England from a rabies-free or rabies-controlled country outside the EU:
Regulations in steps 1 and 2 apply.

A licensed veterinarian in the originating country must complete the   commercial EU health certificate within 48 hours of travel. If your pet is traveling from the United States, the veterinarian must be accredited by the USDA for endorsement by the State USDA unless the certificate is completed by a military Veterinary Corps Officer or GS-0701 series civilian government veterinarian employed by the military.

The CFIA must endorse forms issued by Canadian veterinarians.

If traveling to England from another country, then the forms must be endorsed by the government agency responsible for the import and export of animals.

This form is good for transports of 5 or less dogs, cats or ferrets. (see step 7 for transports of more than 5 pets.) The form is good for 4 months of travel within the EU as long as the rabies vaccination documented on it does not expire.

Your pet must enter england at an approved Border Inspection Post (BIP) at an international airport in Heathrow or Gatwick. Notice must be given a minimum of 48 hours prior to arrival.

What I'm wondering is, the form i was looking at includes listing an authorized person to be listed to act on behalf of the owner. We plan to have our cats shipped to my husband's mother's house as we will be residing with her. Not sure if that would help with the 5 day rule though.

Just sent my dog to the UK from Florida we used a company to deal with the paper work and nudge us when we needed  to go and get the vaccinations etc. We also had to complete the ToR - transfer of residency .
Because we did not fly within 5 days of the dog  he had to   fly commercial . He  also had to fly into a BIP airport which for us ended up being LHR even though we will be living in the NW .
It takes at least 4-6 hours for animals to be processed through  ARC (animal receiving center)  at LHR . So plan accordingly if flying your animal to this port of entry  . My dog had to fly to Frankfurt first as he is on medication .
( At Frankfurt he was taken out of his cage given food and water and his medication walked and they also took a picture and sent it to us ) this was through the VIP pet care center and yes it costs $
His flight from Frankfurt was delayed so he did not arrive at LHR  as scheduled it was after 6pm at night . He stayed at the ARC overnight free of charge ( they can stay for 24 hours free of charge) and then the pet relocation service picked him up and transported him to my mothers home .
He did really well on the flights and is now loving the English countryside while we wait for my hubbies spousal visa
It cost us $$ to use a relocation service but well worth it as we where selling our home moving and applying for a spousal visa at the same time .


 

My cats arrived outside the five day limit.  The agent who handled their arrival sorted it for me.  It meant I had to pay a fee.

Blossom, how much was the fee? I plan on bringing my dog, but I don't think I will be able to bring him right away (need to find a place to stay). He is a 14 year old mixed dog.

I'm just checking some paperwork to see if I can find what we were charged.  Will PM you.

Blossom,

We reached out to several companies for quotes. When we are ready to move we will be using Starwood Animal Transport because they will pick the dogs up from our house, transport them and then drive them from the airport in the UK to our house.

The quote below is total for our 2 dogs. (So will be cheaper if you only have 1).
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Our price to move Po and Cas from Renton, WA to London, UK is $5,595* and includes the following: 
 
> Consultation on ToR Customs Form 
> Pick up from residence 
>They'll provide kennels
> Take to veterinarian 
> International Health Certificate  
> EU Veterinary Certificate 
>Tapeworm treatment 
> USDA endorsement of EU Veterinary Certificate 
> Overnight boarding 
> Bring to airport 
> Aircargo charges to London, UK 
> Customs clearance 
> Animal Reception Centre Fees 
> Pick up at Heathrow 
> Deliver to your residence in the UK by our London office 
> Our arrangement / administrative fee 

*The price is subject to change by 2020.

This price assumes that your pet/s will be traveling within 5 days of the owner under the European Union's "non-commercial" regulations.  If your pet/s is/are traveling more than 5 days before or after the owner it will be classified as a 'commercial' shipment per EU law and will incur some additional fees.  If this is the case we will discuss this further with you.

This assumes that your dogs will be in the #500 airline approved travel kennel (Extra Large, 40 x 27 x 30 in inches)

If you choose to work with us, the initial paperwork that we will need to see (when available) consists of the following (you can email it to us): 

>Some proof of microchipping (this can be enrollment form, vet record of microchipping, a letter from the vet stating when the microchip was implanted) 
>Rabies vaccination record with the microchip number on it, signed by the vet.  We need the actual vaccination record; receipts are not accepted.  A vet's handwritten notes are not accepted in the UK either. 


The rabies vaccination certificate needs to have the following on it: 

>Date given 
>Expiration date 
>Manufacturer 
>Vaccine type 
>Vet’s information and signature 

Your dog(s) most recent rabies vaccination must be greater than 21 days old and less than 1 year old at the time of the final health exam for travel. 
 
Multi-year rabies vaccines (i.e., vaccines that are presently over 1 year but unexpired, may be accepted but we will require proof of the previous vaccination to verify). 
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Hi Scottference!

Your details are fantastic and will be a great help to people.

We brought 7 cats over from Saudi in 2017 - so the basics are the same but there are a few differences.

We had an agent handle the export side from Saudi, hubby took the animals to the airport, they flew via KLM so had a stop off in Amsterdam, and an agent received them into the UK, handing them over to another agent who transported them to the house.  We did it in two batches and so were out of the 5 day limit - the agent handled any extra fees etc.

It is stressful so, for us, making it easy was the best way to go.