So I am from Hawaii and I will be moving to London next year. I'll be bringing my dog with me as well. I know all about the PETS scheme but I wasn't sure how Hawaii factors in. Hawaii is completely rabies free and my dog has had all the vaccinations and the titer. Does anyone know if it is any easier to bring your animals with you if you are coming from a rabies free state?

i guess i am just looking for what experiences others have had doing this.

I havent had them microchipped yet - did anyone have any problems with the microchip not scanning when you got your cat here?
do you know what kind of microchip you have? my vet offers avid - anyone have experiences with that kind?
how long did the blood test results take from kansas?
any advice? etc?

thanks.

A bit of intro. I'm an American citizen, married to a British citizen/American conditional permanent resident, currently both residing in the US. I did most of the immigration paperwork, so I'm versed in American Law and legalese, but I need a bit of a leg-up understanding things from the British side.

We're planning a trip to England next year, and possibly thinking about resettling over there. This visit will be my first time on British soil (not counting flight layovers).

Now onto the questions:

1) If we decided to resettle, could we begin the application for a spousal visa with both of us living in the US? Also, can someone point me to a nice walk-through of the settlement visa process?

2) I have a disability and use a service dog. I know there is a national service dog registry in England (there is not one in the US). What will I have to do to get public access with my American-trained service dog in England? Will I have to do something different as a visitor compared with what I would have to do as a resident (should we decide to resettle)? I've been able to find plenty of info on travel - but its been surprisingly hard to get information on access once I'm there.

3) I'm a college instructor (sociology) here in the US and should we resettle I want to start teacher training ASAP. Will I have to take the subject course AND the further education course? Does anyone have experience/info on this? I've gone through the website, but since I'm not as familiar with the British education system I want to make sure I'm understanding everything correctly.

I'm sure I have more questions, but these are the big ones on my mind at the moment. Thanks in advance :)

I know this information is probably accessible online somewhere, but I was hoping someone might have a quick answer for me.

I am, in all likelihood, going to be moving to the UK through BUNAC in the new year, and I would like to get a cat while I'm there. I would get one now but my current roommate is highly allergic to mostly everything, specifically animals. Since the BUNAC program is only six months long, I was wondering what quarantine/vaccination issues I might encounter if I'd be bringing the cat back from the UK to the US.

I had read into this topic briefly when I was considering getting a cat here (before I decided to live with this girl) and bringing it over. I remember reading something about having to quarantine a cat for six months if you were bringing it into the UK from the US, and I wouldn't be able to do that to an animal!

Can anyone please help me out here? Is there any official place I can look up this information? Is it really six months for a domesticated animal??

Thanks very much.

Does anyone know an airline that will not only allow guinea pigs onboard a flight from London - Orlando, but also one that will allow them as a carry-on. I usually fly with Virgin, but they only allow dogs/cats/ferrets and even then they're "stored" in the cargo. Plus I've heard bad things about their pet-service.

Crossposted quite a bit.

Hello everyone. My girlfriend is looking into the logistics of a move to the UK and has raised the prospect of coming by transatlantic liner. She has a pair of cats and thinks it may be easier on them, cost her less in shipping costs, and that there will be no luggage restrictions. Has anyone moved to the UK via sea, whether on a liner or a freighter, and brought their possessions with them? any ideas on costs, companies, times etc?

I have a couple fo questions that I hope you guys can answer.

I'm moving to Harrow in September.  I've never travelled up there, so I'm not sure what the area is like.  Good?  Bad?  Are there any local agents you can recommend for renting a flat?  Any information would be great.

Also, I'm taking my pets with me (a small dog and a cat).  I have no one to leave them with in the US and I would be terribly incomplete without them.  Has anyone on here brought their pets?  What carrier did you purchase?  Can you recommend good feeding and water dishes for the carrier.  There seem to be so many!  I'm concerned about the flight for my dog as he's nearly eleven years old.  Also will it be difficult to find a landlord that will accept them?  My dog cannot bark physically, so he's not a nuisance of any sort and my cat is declawed.

Thanks again!

ETA:  Just so everyone knows, I did NOT have my dog de-barked!  He was born unable to bark.  I've never even heard of someone doing that to their dog and if they found a vet who would, they need to be shot.  My cat was given to me by someone else who was moving when she was seven months old and that person had already had her de-clawed, so it was not my choice.

I'm familiar with the PETS scheme and my animals are already taken care of, so that is not my question.  I was asking more about how landlords react to having animals and what the likelihood of finding a flat that will accept both of them are.

I was wondering.. is there some sort of mandatory pet insurance in the UK? Not health insurance, but some sort of accidental damage insurance? (for instance, she darts in front of a car and causes an accident)
Thanks guys

:: oops, forgot to mention-- I have a dog ::

So...question for all you great minds out thar in LJ land...

Has anyone brought their cat to the states from the UK? Would love details on price, etc, anything you can think of that might be helpful!

Many thanks!

So I know everyone asks questions about moving and such. I am going to be going to England on BUNAC in the fall and I was wondering if they would let me take my fish. It is a betta and they are easily transported, so I am not worried about that part. I want to know if they would let me have him on the plane and if I would have trouble getting him through coustoms. I am figuring I should probably just leave him home, but I love the little bugger and will miss him. I also assume he wouldn't have to go through the pets program like a cat or dog. Anyway, does anyone know the answer to this, or the easiest way I could find out. Thanks so much!!

This is a question for those of you who have shipped your pets to the UK...via airlines

My cats (3 of them) are nearly finished with the Pets program and will be cleared to fly out as of 6-28-06.
SO I'm looking for people's experiences with the different airlines and airports.

We are flying from Newark--either to Gatwick or Heathrow, depending on what I can find out here.

The Defra Pets Program airlines approved for our route are: British Airlines, Virgin (these are only for Heathrow) and Continental (continental only for gatwick)

From the experience of those of you who have done this already with cats (or dogs!):

Which airline did you use? Why?

What was your impression and how were your animals treated?

How did you collect your pets at the end of the trip? Did the airline direct you?

Was there anything that the carrier didn't tell you about prior to booking but that you found out at the time you picked up the animals?

Any fees that they don't mention?

And please, if you have heard or experienced something unpleasant, I'd like to know.
2 of my cats are geriatric (one w/ CRF and the other newly diagnosed diabetic)  and are of particular concern for me.

And lastly, has anyone heard of the loss rate of pets on any of these airlines? (I tried searching around online but can't find anything)

(ps. Sorry but I am cross posting this to get the most replies possible before we purchase tickets in the next week)

I am an American who uses a white cane. I'm incidentally traveling to England soon, but obviously this doesn't apply to me. I was just really surprised by this.

A friend of mine just informed me that if you are flying with your dog guide, and either your destination is or you are crossing British airspace, the dog is required to ride in cargo space and not with you in the passenger section.

First, am I misinformed? Second, why is this still the case? There are blind people in England with dog guides. Why is England an exception? This just really surprised and shocked me that this would still be a common practice in 2006. I know that people have fought for rights (and received them quite a while back) as far as dog guides traveling internationally. Now I'm not talking about quarantine, not even gonna touch that subject. But the mere fact that this situation occurs now really shocked me.

I know that there was a rumor circulating on some mailing lists here in the States on a law being passed that would require all dog guides to ride in the cargo section as opposed to the passenger section. Also, I believe something was mentioned ot the affect of an owner having to buy an extra ticket for his/her dog guide or some such nonsense. This would obviously be a huge step back in legislation for people with disabilities. Luckily, it was merely a rumor. At any rate, I'd just assumed that all dog guides would be allowed to ride with the owner in the passenger section. In 2006 I'd thought that the laws were better. I guess I'm wonderig why this isn't the case when considering flight in to or threw British airspace?

So if you lived in US and moved to the UK, did you take your pets with you? How did that work out?

From what I recall there isn't a quarantine thing anymore, but I heard you get a pet passport?? Is it expensive for them to go with you?

Any info would be great!

Hi all, I'm going on a trip to England in May, and I've been researching ways to stay there on a more long-term basis. Right now it's looking like the best way would be to join the YHA and stay as a tourist for 6 months first and maybe find a job there in that time. Some questions about that:

How much do cheap youth hostels run, how long can you stay in one and do any of them allow you to bring pets?

Those of you who have made the move to UK, how did you do it (aside from marrying a Brit, but that may be a possibility in the future depending on what happens...)? Personal experiences welcome of course.

And, would I need a different permit to join a band and play gigs over there?

Thanks for any input. And don't anybody say "don't bother cuz it's too hard"; I'm not giving up that easily. I can always come back and say well it didn't work out but at least I tried.

Cheers.