Bringing your pets by Ferry to Ireland via Amsterdam (Sonje and Andrew came from China)
With the large volumes of South Africans immigrating these days, it is likely that not every South African moving to Ireland is in fact moving directly from South Africa. This is a story about a couple of South Africans and 2 cats who got to Ireland the long way round, by land, air, and sea
My husband, Andrew is a British passport holder but I (Sonje) only have South African citizenship, we decided years ago to immigrate but didn’t have the savings to pull it off. Like many teachers we headed to Asia to make our fortune, we started in Thailand for a year but eventually ended up in Beijing, China where we lived and worked for 4 years. During this time, we continued to research potential forever homes, the UK spouse visa is notoriously difficult and expensive to obtain, so we were thrilled when we found out about the prospect of Ireland. We started saving and planning our move and settled on March 2020 as the date, hoping to get in before the Brexit cut-off and because that is when our Chinese work contracts and residency permits expired. We were all set, Move Cube booked, cats’ rabies titer tested, vet reports ready and booked on a cargo flight, Airbnb ready, and super excited.
Then came Covid-19… And we were in China.
Beijing went into lockdown in mid-January, so we essentially went into self-isolation for 2 months, working from home groceries being delivered, no outside contact. We were fairly lucky because Beijing is hundreds of miles from the epicentre in Wuhan, but it was very scary. Our scheduled move to Ireland was coming up and we had no other options, our Chinese visas were due to expire and we have nothing left in SA so we had to go to Ireland or prepare for Chinese prison. Everyone advised us to postpone but that was quite literally impossible. Then just as the virus started to clear up in China, it hit Europe… hard.
The first major setback came when our Airbnb host cancelled, which was completely understandable, so I decided to book a Travelodge hotel room since they accept pets. Next our pet relocation company informed us that all Cargo flights from China had been halted, so the cats could not fly. This is where I had to get really resourceful. I knew pets could not fly cargo to Ireland, but from China they could travel to most other EU countries as hand luggage in the cabin, and then by ferry to Ireland. It was an elaborate, complicated plan, but we had to risk it. At the time, the Ferry from France was not running but the Stena line from the Netherlands to the UK was still open, as was the ferry between the UK and Dublin.
We left Beijing on 24 March and flew to Amsterdam with a layover in Moscow.
*Note all South African passport holders will need visas for the countries they pass through if you drive to Ireland via Europe or UK- Schengen Visa for the Netherlands and UK visitor visa for UK
Once we arrived in Amsterdam, the really complicated part of the plan began. My husband, Andrew has a British Passport, so he could enter the Netherlands and UK without a visa. The cats had all their required paperwork, so they could enter the Netherlands and UK without a pet passport. I have an SA passport, so I could not. I booked a room in the YotelAir, airside at Schiphol, where I would set up a command centre to control the journey remotely while my family journeyed on without me.
NOTE: The required documents for moving your on from your EU country of arrival is no different than what you need to leave SA. Just make sure you tell the customs agent that the animals will be traveling on to another EU country.
It is an extensive list of paperwork, but not too hard to acquire, for full details check this page:
Non-commercial movement from non-EU countries
Andrew and the cats travelled on to Hoek van Holland where they stopped at a hotel for a few hours to let the cats out, rest, eat, etc. Then headed for his first overnight Ferry from Hook of Holland to Harwich, UK.
On the Hook of Holland-Harwich route, pets travel for €16 each way. You can choose for your pet to travel in your car or in kennels that are available onboard the ship. The kennels are lovely, and if you book a room on the ferry, you even get security camera access to keep an eye on them.
NOTE: Here is all the information you need regarding taking your pets by ferry:
Travelling with pets on the Irish Sea
Andrew and the cats then needed to get from Harwich in England, to Holyhead in Wales to catch the next Ferry to Dublin. For most people, there would be many ways to do so, rent a car, public transport, etc. Unfortunately, the UK had just gone into full lockdown, so public transport was not an option, and we had lived in Asia for 5 years so we did not have credit cards that were accepted by car rental companies. Hence, we booked the most expensive taxi of our lives, £600 for a 7-hour drive across the UK, to Llandudno, Wales, where they would overnight at a hotel because they would not make it in time for the Dublin Ferry.
On arrival in Llandudno, the hotel was closed…
So, from my command cubicle in Amsterdam, I quickly booked a new hotel right next to the Ferry and got a refund for the closed one.
The next morning, they took another taxi to Holyhead and boarded the ferry to Dublin. At the same time, it was safe for me to head to Dublin too. I had all my necessary EU treaty rights forms, as well as an invitation letter from Andrew explaining why he was not with me and all his ferry tickets to prove his journey should they ask. We also timed it so that he would be at our hotel in Dublin if there were any issues, but luckily there weren’t and all 4 of us arrived safely at our Dublin hotel that afternoon, after 82 hours of travel.
We had booked a room at the Travelodge, since they allow pets, hoping to stay there until we could secure a long-term rental, but that night, Ireland went into full lockdown and we were kicked out of the hotel the next morning.
Luckily, I was able to get a month-long Airbnb booking near Waterford at the last minute, which subsequently led to the second most expensive taxi ride of our lives, €400 from Dublin to Kilmacthomas.
And that is where the drama ended, the people in the village were absolutely amazing, they helped us with all the paperwork we needed for my EU treaty rights application. We are eternally grateful to our Airbnb Host, Rosemary and Paddy, the local pub and store owner at D.Kirwans, we highly recommend them if you need short term stays with pets.
I received my temp stamp letter by email within 48 hours. My husband got a lovely job, we found a nice house and my IRP will be available in a few days.
It was a crazy journey but worth every struggle and penny.
Beijing Capital International Airport, the busiest airport in the world. Totally empty, except for us.
Aeroflot allowed the cats as carry-on luggage on both flights from Beijing and Moscow. From SA I believe they have to go in the hold.
We basically had a private plane, no one in our section
One of the biggest challenges is passing through customs, because you have to remove the cats from the carrier when you pass through security. But the airport staff were very helpful.
Like the airport, the ferry was totally deserted, but the kennels were super comfy and the cats quickly settled
We highly recommend spending the extra few Euro to book a room on the ferry, you'll need the rest.
By this point, the cats had been in 3 airports, 2 hotels, 2 planes, 4 cars and 1 ferry. PS: Andrew had a bag of kitty litter and bin liners in his suitcase to deal with their needs.
These cats have travelled through more countries than most people, and they love Ireland!
Important links:
#MapMyMove- Our coaching Services - Confused or lost and need some direction, book a session with us to help untangle the confusion and work out your route of immigration
Animals: The care of and rules within Ireland - What are the rules on animals in Ireland
Finding a home: Renting - Tips on how to get the rental and what to look out for
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