My dog doesn't need a visa but I do! Humorous story amidst Brexit gloom
Dear friends,
As we are all fed up with what’s happening with Brexit, we wanted to send you something cheerful. It’s 2 years today since Article 50 was triggered, and the only thing we know is that Brexit has been delayed until 12 April 2019. On the visa side, for now, the rules remain the same as pre-Brexit, until 12 April anyway, if it doesn't change again…
So, the humorous story was told by a client who came to us for a French Schengen visa. He said, "My dog doesn't need a visa but I do”. Indeed. Is it because of Brexit? No, some nationals needed a Schengen visa for years, Brexit or not. In this case, it was a South African national. South Africans, as well as many others (Chinese, Russians, Indians etc), need a Schengen visa to travel to Europe. A dog, however, needs a passport but doesn't need a Schengen visa. Since it is a UK pet passport, a dog is kind of a British ‘citizen’, so doesn't need a visa.
I myself (Natalia) have just applied for a passport for our dog so he could travel with us in the summer. Took about 2 months for the whole thing, including vaccinations and blood test. No visa required for this little chap (a miniature schnauzer), even though he is actually half-Russian. His father was imported from St. Petersburg. Jokingly, we assume he came on a UK Spouse visa. Russian (human) citizens are normally required to secure a Schengen visa before travelling to Europe.
My own (human) UK passport renewal has been completed in February 2019, having taken 2 years! Actually, it’s still going on because the Passport Office misspelt my name. Why 2 years? Because I happened to have dual nationality, and my Russian passport still had my maiden name. The UK Government changed the law on dual nationals, demanding the name was the same on all passports. They did not demand this 10 years ago when they issued me my 1st UK passport in 2007 in a different name (married name). Was good fun for 10 years to have 2 passports in different names. No more!
The staff at the Passport Office in London Victoria sympathetically told me to go to the Russian Embassy and change my Russian passport (to align the names). Sure, I did just that. The system under Russian law meant it was going to take 4 months. Very long, you may think. In the end, it took almost 2 years!
While waiting, I had to travel with my Russian passport. And needed a Schengen visa. My dog would not have needed but I did…
When I, finally, had my brand new UK passport in February this year, it had a spelling mistake in my name. I am trying to correct it now, you can guess it's not straightforward!
To read a serious page on pets travelling to Europe in case of no-deal Brexit: https://www.gov.uk/
To read about how dual nationality may affect your UK passport renewal: https://
If you would rather switch off from the serious stuff, to watch a hilarious video of our dog, a mini schnauzer puppy, picking on a big labradoodle: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yAUiax0Pe8U
1st 4Immigration and Multi Travel Visas team
Contact us now:
- We are based in the City of London (Bank/Monument), office open 9am – 6pm Monday to Friday, no appointment needed. Office address: 68 King William Street, City of London, London, EC4M 7DZ.
- Email info@1st4immigration.com or info@multitravelvisas.co.uk , we reply on the same day and this is the fastest and most efficient way to contact us.
- Phone 0871 472 1468 or 07795471483 or text. Calls to 0871 number cost £0.10/min but emails are free.
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