Form

Approved Importer status: approval conditions

Updated 14 November 2022

Applies to England, Scotland and Wales

To commercially import dogs, cats and ferrets into Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales) from Belarus, Poland, Romania or Ukraine, you must have Approved Importer status.

Commercial imports are the sale of or the transfer of ownership of a pet animal. This includes rescue animals and if you are travelling with more than 5 dogs, cats or ferrets if these animals are not attending training for a competition, show or sporting event.

Apply for Approved Importer status

Fill in the Approved Importer status application form and send it to the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA). The address is on the form.

If APHA approves your application, they will email you to confirm.

If APHA rejects your application, they will email you with the reason. You can contact APHA to discuss how to appeal the decision.

When you do not need Approved Importer status

You do not need to apply for Approved Importer status if you are:

• moving pet animals from Belarus, Poland, Romania or Ukraine for non-commercial reasons
• attending training for a competition, show or sporting event
• commercially importing dogs, cats and ferrets that did not originate from or have not been dispatched from Belarus, Poland, Romania or Ukraine

Conditions you must meet to apply to be an approved importer

To become an approved importer you must either be:

• an importer
• a transporter
• an organisation
• an agent

Where your organisation is established

You must either:

• be established in the UK and provide details of the organisation or business in the UK that you represent
• have representation in the UK and provide a signed declaration from the organisation or business responsible for providing representation, confirming they agree to be accountable for all imports into Great Britain from your organisation

Where a person or business is providing representation on your behalf, you will need to provide APHA with:

• the name of the person or business
• a full address in Great Britain
• full contact details

Representation in the UK can be provided by:

• an agent
• a transporter
• a business
• an individual

List of registered or approved premises

You must provide:

• a complete list of all the registered or approved premises where the animals you import into Great Britain will be imported from (include any premises you want to use in the future)
• proof of registration or approval of premises issued by the competent authority of the country of origin or dispatch, issued within 6 months before applying

APHA will only accept original documents with an official signature and the issuing competent authority stamp. You could use:

• the original registration document issued by the competent authority in the last 6 months
• a letter from the competent authority issued within the last 6 months confirming the registration is current

Documents must be in English or accompanied by a certified translation into English. Find out the rules for certifying a translation.

Transporters

You must provide a list of the transporters you use including their transport authorisation number.

Non-compliance

Applicants and their representatives must have 12 months clear of any serious non-compliances with applicable animal health and import rules. This includes the rules governing the commercial and non-commercial movement of dogs, cats or ferrets into Great Britain.

Serious non-compliance includes major infringements of the legal requirements to commercially or non-commercially import pets, such as where the documentation accompanying an animal is fraudulent or an animal is found not to have a valid vaccination due to being underage.

Conditions you must meet to import dogs, cats and ferrets

Approved importers can only import dogs, cats or ferrets if they meet the conditions in this section.

Authorisation

You must have received Approved Importer status from APHA confirming you are authorised to import dogs, cats and ferrets.

Notify using IPAFFS

You must notify every consignment on the Import of products, animals, food and feed system (IPAFFS) at least 7 working days before arrival. You must add the:

• name of the approved importer
• place of origin of the animals
• name of the transporter
• destination of the animals
• planned route
• carrier
• common health entry document (CHED) for any movement from the EU that originated in a country not subject to special transitional import arrangements (European Economic Area countries, the Faroe Islands, Greenland and Switzerland)

At least 2 working days before arrival you must upload the:

• export health certificates
• blood test results which accompany the certificate for animals from Ukraine or animals travelling through Poland, Romania or Belarus from a country that is not listed

Check the listed countries.

When you pre-notify on IPAFFS, the name must match the name provided in your application form or the import will not be allowed.

You must only import the animals once you’ve received an email from APHA confirming they’ve approved the import.

Travel by road

The commercial import of dogs, cats, or ferrets originating in Belarus or Ukraine travelling by road must enter the EU through a Border Control Post (BCP). The BCP will check the animals before they enter Great Britain through the Dover or Folkstone terminals.

Animals dispatched from Poland or Romania, or those dispatched from Ukraine or Belarus and travelling through the EU, must arrive at Dover or Folkestone, only on Monday to Friday between 10am and 4pm Greenwich Mean Time (GMT).

Travel by air

Animals travelling by air must enter Great Britain at a BCP designated to accept such animals (Edinburgh, London Gatwick or London Heathrow).

Transporting animals

You must keep a copy of the Approved Importer status confirmation email for inspection by the competent authority.

Change your Approved Importer status details

You must immediately contact APHA if any of the information you provided on the application form changes. You cannot import dogs, cats or ferrets from Belarus, Poland, Romania or Ukraine until APHA reviews the changes and amends or re-issues the approval.

Fee for Approved Importer status

It is free to apply for Approved Importer status.

Revoked approval

If you are found to have committed a major non-compliance (or repeated minor non-compliances), APHA may revoke your approval. This will mean you are no longer permitted to import commercial pets from Belarus, Poland, Romania or Ukraine. You should contact APHA for further information on the decision and to discuss an appeal.

Get help

For information about applying for Approved Importer status or any questions about the scheme, contact: approvedimporterscheme@apha.gov.uk