Taking Your Dog Between Britain and Ireland: The Ferry, the Papers and Northern Ireland

It is a short sea crossing between two islands that share a great deal, and for a long time a dog could make it with no paperwork at all. That is no longer true in every direction. The Republic of Ireland is in the European Union and Great Britain is not, so a dog sailing from Holyhead to Dublin is entering the EU and needs the documents to prove it may. Northern Ireland has its own, much simpler arrangement. There are really three different journeys here, with three sets of rules, and this guide takes them one at a time, using the British and Irish government guidance as it stood in the autumn of 2026.

Great Britain to the Republic of Ireland

This is the journey that needs the most preparation. Your dog is entering the EU from outside it, and the rules are the same as for France or Spain, with one addition. Your dog needs a microchip, put in before or on the same day as its rabies vaccination. It needs a rabies vaccination, given when it was at least 12 weeks old, with at least 21 days passed since. And it needs an animal health certificate from an official vet, issued within ten days of the day you enter Ireland. A pet passport issued in Great Britain is not accepted, and you need a new certificate for each trip.

The addition is tapeworm. Ireland is one of the few EU countries that requires it, along with Finland, Malta and Norway. Your dog must be treated by a vet between one and five days before it arrives in Ireland, and the treatment is written into the certificate. For a British owner this is easy to arrange, because your own vet can do it at the same visit as the certificate. You must then sail within five days, and not within the first 24 hours.

The Irish Department of Agriculture adds some practical points on its pet travel pages. Pets from outside the EU may enter Ireland only through certain places, which are Dublin Port, Rosslare, Ringaskiddy in Cork, and the airports at Dublin, Cork and Shannon. It runs an advance notice system for pets arriving from non EU countries, so look at its portal before you travel and give notice if it applies to your journey. Your dog must travel with you, or within five days of you, and must be accompanied by its original paperwork. Our guide to dog passports, health certificates and microchips explains the certificate in more detail.

The Republic of Ireland to Great Britain

In this direction things are easier. Britain accepts the EU pet passport, so an Irish dog travels on its own passport, with a valid rabies vaccination recorded in it, and needs no certificate from a vet for each trip. Two concessions make it simpler still. Dogs entering Great Britain normally need a tapeworm treatment, but dogs coming directly from Ireland are exempt. And Britain normally requires pets to arrive on approved routes, but the government says you do not have to use an approved route or company if you are travelling from Ireland.

So an Irish family visiting Britain needs the passport and an in date rabies vaccination, and very little else. The complication comes on the way home. To re enter Ireland the dog needs the tapeworm treatment, given by a vet between one and five days before arrival, which means finding a vet in Britain in the last few days of the trip and having the treatment entered in the passport. Book that appointment before you leave Ireland.

A British family returning from a holiday in Ireland has the easiest return of all. They come home on the same animal health certificate they went out on, which is valid for re entry to Great Britain for six months from the date it was issued, and no tapeworm treatment is needed because they are arriving from Ireland.

Great Britain to Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland is part of the United Kingdom but follows EU rules on animal health, and for some years that meant a British dog needed a full health certificate, a rabies vaccination and a tapeworm treatment just to visit Belfast. That has been replaced by something far lighter. A dog travelling from England, Scotland or Wales now needs a Northern Ireland pet travel document. You apply online, it is free, and it lasts for as long as you own the dog. The dog must be microchipped. It does not need a rabies vaccination or a tapeworm treatment.

The document covers Northern Ireland only, and that limit matters. If you plan to drive on across the border into the Republic, you are entering the EU proper, and your dog needs the animal health certificate, the rabies vaccination and the tapeworm treatment described above. There is no checkpoint on that road and nobody will stop you, but the rules apply all the same. If your trip takes in both parts of the island, prepare for the Republic, and the Northern Ireland leg will look after itself.

The Crossing

All the Irish Sea routes carry dogs, and the question to ask about each is where the dog will be during the sailing. Irish Ferries has free kennels on the car deck of each of its ships, and on some ships you can book a pet cabin and keep the dog with you. Pets must be declared when you book, and up to five can travel on one booking.

Stena Line lets dogs stay in the vehicle on all its routes, and its kennels are free between Cairnryan and Belfast, Holyhead and Dublin, and Fishguard and Rosslare. Between Cairnryan and Belfast there is also a pet lounge, where your dog sits beside you in its carrier, and cabins that take pets can be booked on some sailings. Foot passengers can bring a dog as long as a kennel or a pet cabin has been booked for it. Our guide to ferries and the Channel Tunnel explains the choices in more detail.

The crossing from Holyhead to Dublin takes a little over three hours, and the routes from Scotland are shorter. On a cool day most dogs are comfortable in the car for that long, with a window slightly open, water in a bowl that will not spill, and their own bed. In summer, book a kennel, the lounge or a cabin instead, because the car deck warms up and you cannot return to it during the sailing. Flying is possible too, but a dog arriving in Great Britain by air must travel as cargo, so for most people the ferry is the obvious choice.

Breed Rules

Check the breed rules in both directions before you book. Great Britain bans five types of dog, including the XL Bully, and judges by appearance. Ireland has now banned the XL Bully as well, and it places restrictions on a list of other breeds, among them the German Shepherd, the Rottweiler, the Dobermann and the Staffordshire Bull Terrier, which must be muzzled and on a short strong lead in public. Those are common family dogs in Britain, and their owners are often surprised to find a muzzle is required in Dublin. Our guide to banned and restricted breeds by country lists each country's rules.

A Closing Thought

The Irish Sea is narrow, but it has three different sets of rules on it. Going from Britain to the Republic, treat it as a trip to the EU and add the tapeworm treatment. Coming from the Republic to Britain, bring the passport and book a vet for the way home. For Northern Ireland, get the free travel document once and keep it. Book the dog onto the ferry when you book yourself, and the crossing is three hours with a cup of tea and a dog asleep in the car below.