Moving a pet to France: what the day looks like

France is the journey we do most, and the one that surprises people by how ordinary it is. Most of them are done in a day.

The shape of the day

• Collection from your door at an agreed hour, usually early
• Two to four hours to Folkestone, depending on where you are
• Thirty-five minutes under the Channel on LeShuttle, with the animals in the car
• The drive south, with a stop every three to four hours
• Hand-over at the new address, with the documents

Why the tunnel rather than a ferry

On the shuttle the animals stay in the car with the driver for the whole crossing. On most ferries they do not: they stay on the vehicle deck, alone, for ninety minutes. The tunnel costs more and we use it anyway.

What France asks for

The same as the rest of the European Union: a microchip, a rabies vaccination at least twenty-one days old, and an Animal Health Certificate issued within ten days of entry. No tapeworm treatment on the way out. There is one on the way back.

French vets are used to British paperwork and the certificate is a familiar document to them, which makes the return leg easier than people expect.