Flying with a Dog from Costa Rica to United Kingdom — Requirements

The dog must have a valid rabies vaccination administered after microchipping. The dog must be at least 12 weeks old before vaccination. The blood sample for the titre test must be taken at least 30 days after the primary vaccination. The vaccination must be kept current for the titre test result to remain valid.

A Great Britain pet health certificate must be issued by an official government-authorised veterinarian in the country of origin. The certificate must record the microchip number with insertion date, rabies vaccination details (product name, batch number, date administered, expiry date), the titre test result and blood-sample date, and the tapeworm treatment details. The dog must enter Great Britain within 10 days of the certificate being issued.

Dogs from unlisted countries must have a rabies antibody titre test. The blood sample must be taken at least 30 days after the rabies vaccination. The sample must be sent to an EU-approved blood testing laboratory. The result must show a rabies antibody level of at least 0.5 IU/mL. The test date must be recorded in the Great Britain pet health certificate. The test remains valid as long as rabies vaccinations are kept up to date.

The dog must be implanted with an ISO 11784/11785 compliant microchip. Microchipping must be done BEFORE the rabies vaccination — if vaccinated first, the entire vaccination course must be restarted after chipping. The microchip number must appear on all travel documents.

After the blood sample is taken for the rabies antibody titre test, the owner must wait 3 months from the date the blood sample was taken before the dog may travel to Great Britain. This waiting period is in addition to any time needed between vaccination and the blood test. Exception: if the dog was vaccinated, blood-tested and certified in the EU before travelling to an unlisted country, the 3-month wait does not apply.

A vet must treat the dog for tapeworm every time it enters Great Britain. The treatment must contain praziquantel or an equivalent proven effective against Echinococcus multilocularis. Treatment must be administered no less than 24 hours and no more than 5 days (120 hours) before arrival in Great Britain. The vet must record the product name, manufacturer, date and time of treatment, and apply their stamp and signature to the travel document.