Terms and conditions

Import Your Pet from Ukraine (IYPFU)

Terms & Conditions for Importers of Pet Animals from Ukraine (including individuals and their sponsors in Great Britain)

By using this service to complete the application(s) and registration for an import licence(s) you agree to:

  • Only use this service for a legitimate and lawful purpose, associated with making an application to import a pet animal from Ukraine.
  • Complete the application with correct and accurate information, whether acting as an individual or as a sponsor/representative acting on behalf of a Ukrainian citizen with the necessary authority to do so.
  • Apply for the relevant licence(s) only for the purposes of importing and not for any speculative and/or illegitimate purpose.

The relevant licence(s) will be provided (issued) on the basis of information available at the time.

In the event that the conditions or requirements of a licence are updated on this service after you have made an application and have been issued a licence, you will receive reasonable notification and may be required to re-apply for the licence.

In the event of the Department becoming aware or have any reasonable grounds to suspect a disease (suspicion of disease in live animals which could be reported by owner of animals or their private vet, suspicion of disease at a port/airport of landing in Great Britain or non-negative laboratory results or confirmation of disease (disease is confirmed by the Chief Veterinary Officer (CVO)), it may necessary for the Department, in their sole discretion, to withdraw, revoke or cancel any licence to import pet animals immediately without notice. No liability for losses incurred can be accepted by the Department should these circumstances arise.

The information contained within this service may be disclosed to any other competent veterinary authorities, used in the compilation of statistics or for the purposes of Parliamentary Questions, Freedom of Information requests, general statistical data requests within Defra, performance reporting within APHA/Defra, quarterly reporting to the Devolved Administrations (Scottish Government and Welsh Government).

Terms & Conditions for Veterinary Superintendents and Veterinary Delivery Partners

By using this service , you agree that you are:

  • Authorised and eligible as a Veterinary Superintendent or Veterinary Delivery Partner;
  • Completing accurate and valid declarations, after fully considering independently all the relevant circumstances, documents and requirements necessary for ‘legal’ declarations;
  • Undertaking all of the necessary inspections/checks required to corroborate/verify that the requirements of the import have been met;
  • After registration allow APHA to make reasonable manual background checks to verify your ability and qualifications to provide the relevant veterinary duties;
  • If you are an Official Veterinarian (OV) that you are a member of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS- responsible for monitoring the educational, ethical and clinical standards of the veterinary profession) to be able to practice in the GB and you may be requested to provide confirmation of this to the Department;
  • A holder of a valid and relevant Official Controls Qualification (Veterinarian) (OCQ(V)) entitlement, demonstrating their authorisation and competence to undertake the specific OV activities; whilst complying with any audit requirements;
  • Trained and approved for OCQ(V)) on behalf of AHPA by a company called Improve International, or hold an ‘accredited qualification achieved following training and assessment by a government approved training provider in a particular veterinary discipline.’
  • If you are an Official Veterinarian (OV), the Certifying Officer cannot complete any Home Isolation inspection, approval or routine monitoring or carry out any Defra work until they have received their authorisation letter and the OV official stamp is issued with a unique identifier number;
  • An OV authorisation is not a guarantee or representation by the Agency of the amount and nature of the work required to be performed as an OV.
  • OVs maintain responsibility for the security of all information obtained in the course of the execution of their duties whether documentary, oral or pictorial, digital or printed. All such data is considered personal and sensitive data and may not be disclosed unless authorised under applicable sections of the General Data Protection Regulations 2018 (“GDPR”). The unlawful disclosure of protected data shall be grounds for suspension or revocation of Authorisation.
  • OVs must not enter into any position whereby, in the reasonable opinion of APHA, there is or may be an actual conflict, or a potential conflict of interest, between the financial or personal interests of the OV and any person or business that the OV engages with in respect of the required duties carried out on behalf of APHA.
  • Whilst OVs are carrying out their duties an assessment of proficiency and procedure must be carried out on the practice and the individual OVs working in the practice. OV practices will be assessed by APHA Veterinary Staff as resources allow. Practices which are deficient will be targeted to improve. In the absence of a willingness to improve, consideration should be given to the withdrawal of OV status from individuals in the practice following discussions with Agency’s Veterinary Director.

Revocation of Authorisation

The authorisation of an OV may be revoked for a number of reasons. These include, but not limited to, where the certifier:

  • is no longer a Member or Fellow of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (MRCVS/FRCVS) for whatever reason (including suspension or removal from the RCVS register for disciplinary reasons, or for failure to pay fees)
  • is convicted of a criminal offence that renders them unfit to be a certifier
  • no longer holds a valid certificate with respect to the OCQ(V) training
  • voluntarily requests their authorisation be revoked, giving one week’s notice in writing to the Agency; or
is subject to the final decision of a review panel or appeal outcome of any investigation

Suspension of Authorisation

The Authorisation of an OV will be suspended if considered necessary for the following reasons:

  • there is evidence to suggest that the OV is not competent or is not performing their task(s) to the required standards
  • the OV infringes or fails to comply with the conditions of authorisation
  • the OV is guilty of conduct which makes suspension or termination of the Authorisation desirable in the Agency’s interest or in the public interest
  • OVs must abide by the standards in the RCVS Code of Professional Conduct which sets out Veterinary Surgeons’ professional responsibilities.

Also, all import applicants agree NOT to use this service for:

  • Attempting to gain unauthorised access to this service, including the server on which it is stored or any server, computer or database connected to this website for yourself or for another user
  • Misuse this service, or any other Defra service, for any fraud, illegality or misrepresentation
  • knowingly invite a user who does not have the authority to act on your behalf
  • be a party to sending any unsolicited or unauthorised advertising or promotional material or any other form of similar solicitation (spam)
  • carry out any activities in relation to "screen scraping" or database scraping to obtain lists of users, URLs, internet keywords or other information
  • access this site by any means other than the interface that is provided by Defra
  • infringe the rights of other users
  • restrict or inhibit the use of this service by any authorised third party or entity
  • reproduce, duplicate, copy or resell any part of our site/service in contravention of the provisions of our terms and conditions of this website

Help and Guidance

Additional help and guidance can be found on GOV.UK.