Changes to the rules on EU Pet Passports have a particular impact on pet-loving second-home owners in France – here’s what the regulations mean for them.
The exit of the UK from the European Union back in 2019 brought all sorts of unwelcome changes to the lives of many Brits – from the necessity for residency permits and visas to the application of the 90-day rule.
But it wasn’t just people who were affected – dogs, cats and ferrets have also had to alter their travel arrangements (or perhaps more accurately their owners did, unless there are some particular good boys/girls out there sorting out their own passports).
Since the end of the Brexit transition period in 2021, the EU Pet Passport has no longer been available for pets (and owners) who live in the UK.
However, there was something of a grey area for second-home owners until April 22nd, 2026, when regulations were tightened up.
Here’s the latest on that situation;
UK residents – people living in the UK can no longer access the EU Pet Passport, and instead must get an Animal Health Certificate for travel into any EU country.
Unlike the passport, the ACH is a one-time document so pets need a new one for every trip to the EU. Exact charges vary, but UK vets charge around £100 per pet for the certificate.
This has been the case since 2021.
France residents – pets who are resident in France can still get an EU Pet Passport, even if their owner is British or a citizen of another non-EU country.
The document is issued by your French vet, and pets must be registered in the I-CAD national register (which is a legal requirement even if you don’t plan on travelling).
Second-home owners
Here’s where we get to the grey area, because French vets have previously been willing to issue EU Pet Passports based simply on proof of a French address, such as an electricity bill – a document that second-home owners will have. Second-home owners who spend a significant amount of time in France may have a regular vet close to their holiday home, in case of emergencies with their furry friends.
Many second-home owners have a French-issued EU Pet Passport in order to avoid complications and expense with the Animal Health Certificate. Bills for regular ACHs can swiftly mount up for people who make multiple trips to France each year, especially if they have more than one pet.
Back in 2022, a year after the end of the Brexit transition period, the French government clarified that EU Pet Passports should not be issued to anyone who was not a full-time resident in France.
But second-home owners who already had a Pet Passport continued to use it, with seemingly no issues at the border.
So what has changed?
Since April 22nd, 2026, the EU has tightened up the regulations to clarify that all UK residents – including those who own property in France – must use the Animal Health Certificate, not the Pet Passport.
This includes people using a document previously issued to them.
The EU states simply: “An EU pet passport issued to a pet owner resident in Great Britain is no longer a valid document for travelling with pets from Great Britain to the EU.”
This change has also been communicated via the UK government’s Gov.uk site, which states: “EU pet passports may now only be issued to people whose main home is in the EU and should not be used by people who have holiday homes in the EU or visit seasonally. EU pet passports issued to GB residents before 22 April 2026 may no longer be valid documents for entry to the EU.”
This is not to say that second-home owners using Pet Passports issued prior to 2021 had been doing anything illegal. But they must now switch to the Animal Health certificate, in the same way as tourists and other UK-resident visitors.
Border checks
As ever, there are the rules, and then there is what happens at the border.
Since the change only came into effect this week, it’s not entirely clear how rigorous checks of the EU Pet Passport will be although transport operators such as Le Shuttle have updated their websites to reflect the changes.
The EU’s new EES system is also tightening up the rules for human travellers, and making it very clear who is resident in France and who is simply visiting.
Humans must show either a carte de séjour residency permit or a long-stay (more than six months) visa in order to prove their residency in France, making it easy to spot when human/pet paperwork does not match.
