We receive many comments regarding the costs of taking a pet to England. Every pet flying into England must arrive as manifest (air) cargo. You cannot fly into England with a pet in the cabin or as checked baggage unless it is a service dog entering the United Kingdom directly. This is a rule of all commercial airlines that are approved to fly live animals to the United Kingdom; it is not a requirement of the United Kingdom. The reason for this pet policy is likely due to handling procedures once your pet has landed.

Here is the procedure as to how your pet will be handled once arriving in England.

If you are flying into London Heathrow (LHR) with British Airways or Virgin Atlantic, an agent will collect your pet from the aircraft and take it to the Animal Reception Center where you will pick it up. If you are flying into Heathrow on any other approved airline, a handler from the Heathrow Animal Reception Center (HARC) will collect your pet and take it to the HARC. This center is located on airport grounds but expect to take a taxi to it as it is not close to the terminal.

HARC employees will charge £174 per hour or £87 per pet if no waiting time is involved.

For those pets entering Heathrow from the European Union under non-commercial regulations, and these countries*, the collection charge of £87 and a handling fee of £45 per pet.

*Andorra, Switzerland, Faeroe Islands, Gibraltar, Greenland, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Monaco, Norway, San Marino and Vatican City State.

For those pets entering Heathrow from outside of the European Union under non-commercial regulations:

• If documentation has been pre-checked and approved by HARC, then the collection fee £177 for the first pet will be incurred. If multiple pets are entering Heathrow under the same air waybill, then a handling fee of £45 will be charged.
• If documentation has not been submitted to HARC a minimum of 72 hours in advance of arrival or HARC has not approved or disapproved the documentation, then a charge of £245 will be incurred for the first pet. If multiple pets are entering Heathrow under the same air waybill, then a handling fee of £45 will be charged.

For those pets entering Heathrow under commercial regulations:

The charge for collection will be £177 for up to 12 hours of holding time and £45 per pet per day after 12 hours.

For those pets entering Heathrow under license to quarantine:

The charge for collection will be £177 for up to 24 hours of holding time and £45 per pet after 24 hours.

Assistance/Service Dogs checked at the aircraft.

• If documentation has been submitted to and approved by HARC, the charge will be £225 plus a collection charge of £174 for the first pet. Additional pets will incur a charge of £45 per pet.
• If documentation has not been submitted to HARC or HARC has not approved or disapproved the documentation, then a charge of £458 will be incurred for the first pet and £45 per additional pet.

Birds

Pet birds are charged £45 per box up to 24 hours. Quarantine for birds is £365-£1270 plus lab fees depending on size and housing requirements.

Travel crates should be picked up by owners; however, they will be disposed of at a charge of £16.

The Manchester Animal Reception Center charges £100 per pet, plus an import fee of £0.165/kg with a minimum of £36.

You should expect the entry fees to be between £400 and £450; however, some of these fees may be included in your pet’s transport price. Check with your airline to confirm.

There will also be Value Added Tax (VAT) charges due when entering the United Kingdom. They will amount to 20% of the value of your pet’s breed + the cost of their transport. The minimum charged is £70 for a cat and £100 for a dog. If you are visiting the United Kingdom, the VAT will be refunded when you and your pet depart. If you are moving to the United Kingdom, then you will need to file a Transfer of Residency (ToR) form with England’s custom department (HRMC). Your VAT will be refunded to you as soon as the form is processed. More details on filing the Transfer of Residency Form.

Please note that these charges are being updated and are subject to change. Costs for taking your pet to the United Kingdom certainly needs to be budgeted. Similarly, so does preparation as the rabies titer test needs to be done 3 months in advance of travel for cats, dogs and ferrets entering from high-rabies countries.

More information on our taking your pet to England.