My name's Alex and this is my website all about Los Alcázares in Spain. Register now for free to talk about Animals and pets in Los Alcázares and much more!
Bringing pets through Eurotunnel to Spain today
Travelling back home to Spain via Eurotunnel with our dog from the UK having sold our house and started our residencia applications last year. £300 for covid tests (3day validity) and £115 for new pet documentation (10 day validity and all 21 pages of a certified vets copy....). Bit like Christmas dinner – got to get your timings right and worry about the expense afterwards.... :-)
Anyway, it was all worthwhile as we are now in our hotel in France with our dog Tilly and no issues at all. Just got to get past the snow now and into Spain.... :-)
In the past on the way out of the UK there were no pet checks whatsoever all, other than to check if you had a pet (and the correct number) ie had you paid for it/them :-) . Now there is a New Pet Documentation Office in the UK Eurotunnel waiting area in the main building just as you go in.
They quickly check your docs but I could only see that they take the document number, scan the pet to check the microchip, and replace your original car mirror tag with a new one that you then display when you get back to the car.
The rest is pretty much as before, passport check at the UK border Office, but a (bit) more to do at the French Passport Office directly afterwards (also this side of the channel) before boarding. We were asked no questions at either Border Office about our reason for going to France, which are now quite restrictive. We had filled in the French questionairre about covid symptoms and our reasons for visiting France and we weren’t even asked if we had completed the forms, never mind if they could see them. It may be they spot check this.
French Border Control did ask for sight of our negative covid test results and they are now stamping passports.
At the Pet Documentation Office I asked the lady who processed our docs how it had been going. Numbers were slow but steady and most people seem have got it right, in the cases where they had got it wrong they were advised for next time (hence you should take your old pet passport with you just in case) but it was pointed out that French Border Control might challenge it and you could get turned back. The spirit seems to be to give people some leeway if possible but not sure how long this will continue for.
On arrival in Calais it is business as usual. Straight off the train, no checks and onto the motorway. We did notice a couple of extra fences and gates that could be closed off around the terminal that weren’t there last time we came through.
I suspect they could not check all the documents properly with the resources in place and hopefully common sense will prevail and a more streamlined system will evolve along the old lines of the pet passport (with a check in the UK on the way out) which I think most people would be fine with.
Good luck!
