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Reader question: Who can look after my children while they quarantine in Germany?

Under the latest German travel rules, vaccinated people are exempt from quarantine when returning from holidays abroad - but their unvaccinated children may not be. Here's who's allowed to take care of them.

Reader question: Who can look after my children while they quarantine in Germany?
Looking after children in quarantine can be tricky for working parents. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Karl-Josef Hildenbrand

Germany’s new travel rules, which came into force on August 1st, were in many ways intended to make it easier for families to go on foreign holidays. 

While previously all children over the age of six had to submit a negative test or proof of recovery from Covid when flying into a Germany, now only children aged 12 and over have to show a negative test (or proof of vaccination and recovery) on their return.

READ ALSO: Germany to require Covid tests for all unvaccinated travellers arriving by ‘plane, car or train’

That essentially means that only children who are legally able to get vaccinated fall under the scope of the new rules when returning from abroad – so families whose kids are too young to get a jab won’t have to pay for tests for them.

Of course, in a global pandemic things are never quite that simple: under the latest rules, some families may still run into problems when returning from a high-risk or virus variant areas. If all the adults are vaccinated, they won’t have to quarantine, but unvaccinated children will face anywhere from five days (for a high-risks area) to two weeks (for a virus variant area) confined at home. 

Here’s what you can do if your children are in quarantine but you’re not – and you need a third-party to help look after them. 

Can grandparents or a babysitter come round to help out? 

In general, visitors aren’t allowed to enter the house during quarantine, the Federal Health Ministry told regional radio station BR24. If several people are allowed to pay visits and then leave again, it would be much harder to control the spread of the virus – which is, of course, the whole aim of self-isolation.

However, there are exceptions to this if there is a “good cause” for the visitors to be there, the ministry explained. This could mean, for example, that a carer could come into to check on an elderly resident in quarantine, or that a babysitter could come to look after the children in urgent situations.

Be aware, though, that even a “good cause” doesn’t give you a free pass to invite a rotating cast of babysitters and neighbours round to your home. Social contact should still be limited as much as possible, so it’s best to stick to a regular babysitter or relatives such as grandparents, who can come round regularly over the course of one or two weeks while your children are in quarantine. 

Can the children quarantine at someone else’s house? 

According to the Ministry for Health, that can be worked out on a case-by-case basis – and specific rules may vary depending on where you live.

READ ALSO:

The best thing to do is to contact your local health authority and ask them for advice on your situation. They’ll be able to advise you directly on whether, for example, the children’s grandparents or another relative can pick them up from the airport and take them to stay with them for the duration of the quarantine.

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WORK PERMITS

Reader question: How long will it take to renew my Swiss permit?

The answer to this question, which is, naturally, of concern to foreign nationals living in Switzerland, depends on several factors.

Reader question: How long will it take to renew my Swiss permit?

The first thing to consider is what kind of work/residency permit you have, as different rules apply.

Let’s look at the long-term B permits and permanent residency C permits that most foreign nationals living in Switzerland are likely to have.

Typically in both of these cases, you will receive a letter from local authorities approximately six weeks before the deadline reminding you to renew.

There will also be an application form that you will need to fill out, which must be submitted to your commune of residence no earlier than three months and no later than two weeks prior to the expiration date.

READ ALSO: When and how should you renew your Swiss residence permit?

Some cantons also impose additional rules for certain categories of foreigners. 

In Geneva, for instance, non-EU/EFTA spouses of B or C permit holders must include a French language certificate if it had not yet been done previously.

Further, for nationals of a non-EU/EFTA state who depend on social assistance for an amount equal to or greater than 50,000 francs for a single person or 80,000 francs for a household of several people, a letter indicating the reasons for the dependence on government aid and the steps taken to get out of it must be submitted.

In Vaud, “your situation and your degree of integration are examined, in particular your financial autonomy”.

Your canton may have other special rules in place as well, so it’s good to find them out beforehand, allowing you to submit all the necessary paperwork with your renewal application.

How long does the renewal process take?

The extension of your current permit may depend on various factors set by your canton which, in turn, may determine how long the renewal process will take.

In straightforward cases, you will receive the renewal within two to four weeks. However, this timeline is not set in stone.

It may happen that the new permit is not immediately issued, because the volumes of applications to be processed are very large, especially in cantons with a sizeable foreign population like Geneva, Zurich, Basel, and Vaud.

And the stricter the regulations (as mentioned above), the longer the process is likely to take.

Can authorities refuse to extend your permit?

Yes, that can happen under certain circumstances.

For instance, short-term L or B permits that are tied to a particular job, which ends within the specified time period (usually up to a year), will expire when the contract is over.

As non-EU / EFTA nationals are subject to a quota system, their work permits are not automatically renewed either.

Other reasons include lack of integration or dependence on welfare, as mentioned above. Also, if you’ve committed serious crimes or other infractions, you can kiss your permit goodbye.

And if you forgot to apply for renewal in the first place, then you forfeit your right to the permit.

The authorities could take special circumstances, such as serious illness, a debilitating accident, or another extreme situation into consideration and make an exception, but you shouldn’t count on that.

READ ALSO: Can Swiss authorities refuse to renew work permits — and for what reasons?

What if you applied on time and provided all the required documentation, but your permit expired before a new one was issued?

The good news is that, if you are a holder of either a long-term B or settlement C permit, your rights are protected while you wait for the renewal.

You can continue to work and live in Switzerland as before.

Under the Foreign Nationals and Integration Act, “when the person concerned has submitted an application to extend a permit, he or she is authorised to stay in Switzerland during the procedure, provided that no other decision has been taken”.

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