Moving US to UK with pets

I'm relocating to the UK in September. I will be flying from Newark to Heathrow. I have four cats and one dog that I am bringing with me and plan to fly on Virgin Atlantic. I'd like to do the paperwork myself rather than hire a pet transport company since they cost thousands without even including the price of the flight. I'm really freaked out about the whole process.

There is a great "sticky" post here. It walks you through everything you need to do. You really shouldn't need a pet transport company although you will need to be extremely organized with five animals!

Thank you so much! This was a huge help. Also, can anyone recommend a good carrier/crate? Loads out there. Anyone recommended or any I should avoid due to poor quality?

I used the airline-approved PetMate SkyKennels in medium for my cats, and would recommend them to anyone else. They can be purchased from petsupplies.com (although maybe could be found cheaper elsewhere), and come with clip-on food/water dishes and "live animal" stickers. The only thing you'd have to buy separately would be absorbent pads/blankets/whatever to go inside. (:

We brought our Yorkie over about 6 months ago and also used the Petmate Sky Kennels.  Everything went fine, no problems with it going through the airport.  We hired PetRelocation.com mostly because we had enough on our hands with the move.  They did an excellent job!

I recently (December 2012) brought over my dog and cat using Continental/United from Newark to Heathrow with no problems at all. I also used PetMate carriers for both and did all of the paperwork myself. Overall the process went smoothly doing everything myself, except for my own anxiety!

I don't know whether it's the normal process for all airlines or not but included in the price for each pet with United was for them to be received and processed at the Animal Reception Center at Heathrow. So basically I did all of the paperwork and everything myself but once they were off of the plane at Heathrow they were handled by someone else and then I picked them up at the reception center. I have the paper stored away but roughly off the top of my head I believe my dog cost around $1,200 and my cat around $600-800. If you have any questions or worries feel free to PM me. My dog is 12 years old so I was extra nervous with her age - I understand!

EDIT: this site is pretty cool.. newcomer link: http://www.petflight.com/ [nonactive]

I am going through all this right now.  The sticky post above is great for the information.  Because it is a couple of years old, I wanted to share what I have found...

Microchipping-  It must be ISO 11784/11785 compatable.  That means 134 KH frequency.  I used "Homeagain" microchipping.  I called the company and they assured me that it was compatable.  Make sure the microchip number is 15 digits long.  If it is 10 digits then it can only be read by USA scanners.

Worming- The worming requirment hasn't changed.  It still needs to be compliant with what was said on the above sticky note link.

Forms-  I called the USDA and they recommended that I bring the aphis form 7001 and the annex 2 certificate.  I don't believe the EC 998 is valid after Jan 1st, 2012.  These have to be certified by the USDA before we go.  Here is the website newcomer link: http://www.aphis.usda.gov/animal_health/area_offices/ [nonactive]
I would reccomend calling them and making sure you have everything you need to get it signed off.  They told me to have the worming done before we come in.  I am lucky because there is an office in town so I don't have to mail it in.  If you have to mail it in, call them and get time periods as it is all very time sensitive.  They told me it was $38 to certify both.  Your vet must be USDA approved.

Everything else that was stated seems to be what is required now too.

Some traveling info, I am using Virgin Atlantic to ship my dog.  The crate dimensions must be 2 inches larger than your pet. The smallest kennel/crate they will accept is 21x16x15.  I am using "petsmate sky kennel".  I got the small one off of amazon.  Make sure the kennel you are using has air holes on all 4 sides.  If you call Virgin Atlantic, they are very helpful and will tell you what you need.  They told me it would cost $603 to ship from San Francisco to London Heathrow then another £305 once we picked her up from customs in London.  I was told to call before I book my plane tickets to make sure they have room in cargo for her.  You can't book them through normal flight bookings.  They also said to make sure not to arrive on a bank holiday. 

I hope this helps 

I'm also going through the pet rigamarole right now, so I thought I'd chip in with a couple additions.

I would reccomend calling them and making sure you have everything you need to get it signed off.  They told me to have the worming done before we come in.  I am lucky because there is an office in town so I don't have to mail it in.  If you have to mail it in, call them and get time periods as it is all very time sensitive.  They told me it was $38 to certify both.  Your vet must be USDA approved.

Because the USDA office is a hike from Philly, my (USDA-certified) vet faxed everything to the area veterinarian-in-charge for a pre-approval so that we knew the originals I posted would be stamped. I bought two USPS express shipping (overnight) labels — one to get it out there, and one for the return envelope — which was about the fuel cost of a round-trip drive. Thanks to the pre-approval (I also included a cover letter reminding them of who my vet is, that she'd been in touch, the timeline, etc.), the v-i-c knew the documents were coming and turned them around the same day.

Some traveling info, I am using Virgin Atlantic to ship my dog.  The crate dimensions must be 2 inches larger than your pet. The smallest kennel/crate they will accept is 21x16x15.  I am using "petsmate sky kennel".  I got the small one off of amazon.  Make sure the kennel you are using has air holes on all 4 sides.  If you call Virgin Atlantic, they are very helpful and will tell you what you need.  They told me it would cost $603 to ship from San Francisco to London Heathrow then another £305 once we picked her up from customs in London. 

Check with your airline on this; it varies. The minimum requirement on BA is 27" x 20" x 19". My two 10-lb. cats are dwarfed by these massive, unwieldy carriers, but that's how they're travelling. Also, the fee BA charges up-front (I was quoted $1520 for the pair of ingrates) includes the customs fee on the UK end. Another thing that varies by airline/cargo carrier.   

An update to my post above.

One is that BA's pet passports desk will underquote you on pricing, which was a worrisome issue, as BA's cargo office at PHL accepts cash only. Thankfully, the price went up by just $15, so the extra $150 I'd brought was more than enough.

The other is that I absolutely cannot say enough good things about JCS on the UK end. (JCS is the only customs clearance agents BA use; if you're flying the pets on BA, they will be handled by JCS at the animal reception centre of the airport you're flying into, in my case, LHR.) So I got home and not long after, JCS rang just to say that both cats had arrived safe and sound. They confirmed that we'd arranged for JCS to deliver them home (£95 for delivery versus £80 + time and effort for a cab roundtrip; was a no-brainer). A couple hours later, JCS rang to tell us delivery would happen about 4 p.m. Then, bang on 4 p.m., the delivery driver called to let us know he was outside the house.

If you're a pet person, this kind of responsiveness and customer service is just what you need to make the process bearable. Both the furry prats have since taken over the flat and gotten back to their usual alternately adorable and terrible behaviour. I couldn't be happier.

Yippee!  I totally remember the relief of having my kitties moved and settled.  I am so happy for you to have this step done.   

Yippee!  I totally remember the relief of having my kitties moved and settled.  I am so happy for you to have this step done.   

Thank you! We both exhaled deeply when we learned they'd arrived safely, and had a very happy reunion when they arrived. It's a great feeling, isn't it?

I also commend JCS at Heathrow and all the staff at the Animal Reception Center. However, my experience with contracted BA Cargo agents at Dallas-Ft. Worth airport was a total nightmare. To be fair, I was moving a Newfoundland dog who is massive and ended up needing a custom-made wooden crate (large enough for him and both myself and partner to fit inside--ridiculous!). But they seemed to be willy nilly making up regulations (at one point they said the wood crate he ended up being transported in could not be approved because it was "used").

I wanted to chime in on the worming ... be sure your vet uses the same medicine that contains praziquantel. My vet in the USA substituted and the dog had to be retreated and quarantined an extra 24 hours at the Animal Reception Center. No big deal and the extremely professional people at ARC couldn't have been better.

I also commend JCS at Heathrow and all the staff at the Animal Reception Center. However, my experience with contracted BA Cargo agents at Dallas-Ft. Worth airport was a total nightmare.

I second this experience on the U.S. end. First off, I was provided the wrong building number in Cargo City at the PHL airport, and I only found the right location by mistake. Second, the staff were disorganised and entirely unable to explain policies, procedures and pricing structure (important because I had to pay with cash only — a large wodge of cash, at that). They were nice, but seemed to have no clue what they were actually doing and half the time couldn't find the right person to do a specific task.

Oh, and another thing: It took about 90 minutes for the cargo folks on the U.S. side to square away all the paperwork. So plan accordingly. (Was very glad I arrived long before the four-hours-before-flight deadline.)

My DH and I moved back from the US 5 months ago... and we brought our Lab back with us...  He moved over with us as well in 2008 and yes it is expensive... but, not having to worry if you did everything correctly on top of moving possessions as well as ourselves, it was worth it to get our boy back to the UK safely.

Fred (dog) was actually denied on the flight with us at the last minute because the relocation firm had the wrong sized kennel... It was corrected and he arrived the day after... but while he was stuck in US the extra day, he was well taken care of by the relocation co.  If you get denied at last minute for any reason, please make sure you have a backup plan.

My DH and I moved back from the US 5 months ago... and we brought our Lab back with us...  He moved over with us as well in 2008 and yes it is expensive... but, not having to worry if you did everything correctly on top of moving possessions as well as ourselves, it was worth it to get our boy back to the UK safely.

Fred (dog) was actually denied on the flight with us at the last minute because the relocation firm had the wrong sized kennel... It was corrected and he arrived the day after... but while he was stuck in US the extra day, he was well taken care of by the relocation co.  If you get denied at last minute for any reason, please make sure you have a backup plan.

I find that just appalling.
The whole point of paying all that extra money to a relocation company is so that sort of thing doesn't happen, surely.