maz
LIFE MEMBER
From 4 June this year you will be able to use a lifelong 'Pet Travel Document' (PTD) to enter Northern Ireland (NI) from Great Britain. The online service to apply for a PTD is now live.
Source: https://www.gov.uk/taking-your-pet-abroad/travelling-to-northern-ireland
The PTD does away with the current theoretical need for an AHC (or valid EU Pet Passport) to enter NI, although checks have been suspended since September 2021 anyway.
For those people who live in England, Scotland or Wales and want to visit only NI, the PTD will simplify the process considerably. Their dog (cat or ferret) will not need a rabies vaccination or worming treatment to do so. If they never travel outside the UK then a PTD is all they will ever need.
However, the PTD includes a declaration that you will not travel onward from NI into the Republic of Ireland (ROI) or any other EU country. If you plan to do so then the PTD is not for you, and you will still need either an AHC or an EU Pet Passport (PP).
There may be a few motorhomers who do not wish to travel beyond NI, but I suspect that the vast majority of us will want to venture on into the ROI. If you have entered NI using an AHC or PP, this is fine. However, if you have entered NI using a PTD, then the lack of a hard border with ROI makes the crossing impossible to police. Please note that I am not advocating doing this but, from a number of posts on here and on the dreaded Facebook, we know that people have crossed the border without an AHC or PP since checks have been suspended. Not 'fair play' but understandable given the cost of AHCs. Whether there will be random checks in the ROI to ascertain whether you are travelling with the correct document, I have no idea.
For those of us that travel to other countries and have obtained EU PPs, the only use that I can see for a PTD is that it will save you a worming treatment on the odd occasion that you want to visit just NI. If you don't have a PP and normally travel on AHCs instead, then it will obviously also save you the cost of one of those as well.
The UK government webpage makes it sound as though everyone travelling from GB to NI with a dog (cat or ferret) will need a PTD. But think about it - if you have a PP and will travel onwards into the ROI, what earthly use is a PTD declaring that you will not travel onwards into the ROI? However, the PTD is free so if you want one, go for it.
Source: https://www.gov.uk/taking-your-pet-abroad/travelling-to-northern-ireland
The PTD does away with the current theoretical need for an AHC (or valid EU Pet Passport) to enter NI, although checks have been suspended since September 2021 anyway.
For those people who live in England, Scotland or Wales and want to visit only NI, the PTD will simplify the process considerably. Their dog (cat or ferret) will not need a rabies vaccination or worming treatment to do so. If they never travel outside the UK then a PTD is all they will ever need.
However, the PTD includes a declaration that you will not travel onward from NI into the Republic of Ireland (ROI) or any other EU country. If you plan to do so then the PTD is not for you, and you will still need either an AHC or an EU Pet Passport (PP).
There may be a few motorhomers who do not wish to travel beyond NI, but I suspect that the vast majority of us will want to venture on into the ROI. If you have entered NI using an AHC or PP, this is fine. However, if you have entered NI using a PTD, then the lack of a hard border with ROI makes the crossing impossible to police. Please note that I am not advocating doing this but, from a number of posts on here and on the dreaded Facebook, we know that people have crossed the border without an AHC or PP since checks have been suspended. Not 'fair play' but understandable given the cost of AHCs. Whether there will be random checks in the ROI to ascertain whether you are travelling with the correct document, I have no idea.
For those of us that travel to other countries and have obtained EU PPs, the only use that I can see for a PTD is that it will save you a worming treatment on the odd occasion that you want to visit just NI. If you don't have a PP and normally travel on AHCs instead, then it will obviously also save you the cost of one of those as well.
The UK government webpage makes it sound as though everyone travelling from GB to NI with a dog (cat or ferret) will need a PTD. But think about it - if you have a PP and will travel onwards into the ROI, what earthly use is a PTD declaring that you will not travel onwards into the ROI? However, the PTD is free so if you want one, go for it.
