When we first thought about coming to Gibraltar with Ella we were a bit worried, after all this is British territory and the United Kingdom is very well known for their strict pet import regulations. However, as soon as we started our research regarding what was involved to bring our puppy dog over on a sailboat we quickly learned that Gibraltar adheres to the PETS passport scheme so it seemed pretty straightforward since Ella just got hers in Portugal.
We did find some information in non-official channels stating that there was a possibility of pets arriving by sailboat not being allowed ashore if there was any evidence of having been outside of EU during the previous 6 months, but since we also have the Rabies Titer Exam we decided not to worry much.
When booking our slip with the marina they sent us a link for us to fill for Customs Services as pre-arrival notice and vessel register (it's a recent requirement we believe) and one of the items is regarding any pets on board. After submitting the form we got a notification regarding the necessary documents to be presented upon check-in.
After a few delays during our transit from Portugal to Gibraltar due to weather, we finally arrived, contacted Gibraltar Vessel Traffic Services (Gibraltar VTS) on Chanel 16 to request permission to enter the port and proceed to the marina. Once we got their clearance we docked and went to the marina office to check in (they act as agents for the entire process, since our passports don't require stamping), they requested for Ella's passport for scanning together with our passports and informed us that we were all officially checked in and we would be contacted if anything else was needed, info was all sent to Customs Services and maybe 30 minutes later we received an email from them confirming that we were all cleared.
The entire process was a very positive experience on efficiency and simplicity!Besides that Gibraltar seems to be "puppy heaven", everyone loves dogs and all places we've been have brought out water bowls even without us asking for anything.
Useful links and contacts:
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