Hi All

We are in the process of moving back to the UK (for the 2nd time). About to start the online application for the TOR. I have been told by HMRC that we can make ADDITIONS, not amendments, to the application once it's submitted; that's fine for our household items. However, our confusion (and concerns) comes when trying to figure out when to add the pets to the application.

We must supply a health certificate for each dog; that's fine. The USDA "stamped" health certificate cannot be issued until 30 days prior to flying to the UK and takes 10 business days for the USDA to process & send to us.

The current processing time with HMRC is 15-20 calendar days (according to HMRC helpline today).

Our questions are:

1. Do we start the application process for our household items now/today without mentioning the dogs? Then add the USDA health certificates once they are received?
2. Or, do we start the TOR application now for BOTH our household items & dogs, and when the question is asked about importing the dogs say something like "USDA Stamped Health Certificates will be forthcoming" and provide a copy of the health certificate as it is processed from our vet (who is certified to perform the health examinations) without the "official" USDA stamp?

It doesn't help that we cannot see the actual application until we start it online; would be nice to know what questions are asked so we can be prepared.


Apologies if this sounds confusing..... it is!!!

Full disclosure - I didn't do this, but I had planned to just bring my cat over without adding him to the TOR1. My understanding is/was that if you've got an 'average' cat/dog then HMRC will assign a notional value to it and you'll be charged 20% VAT on that notional value. I think I've read on other posts that folks paid around 20GBP per pet and to me that was worth it to avoid the additional stress of yet more paperwork to file in the last days before moving. That being said, since you are allowed to ADD to but not AMEND an approved TOR1, I believe what others have done is get the initial approval for household goods only and then add pets and health certificates at the end. You could also try contacting HMRC via their online chat or phone for additional clarification on the correct order of doing things. But just remember, your pets will still be able to enter the country even if not on the TOR1, you'll just have to pay VAT on them.

As far as i remember, I added our dog to the initial application and once we received the health certificate, added the required information.