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What you need to know if you’re travelling from Germany to the UK

The UK government's travel rules for arrivals from the EU were relaxed on October 4th - but be aware that there are still restrictions and testing requirements in place.

Published: 4 October 2021 10:34 CEST
Updated: 6 October 2021 10:38 CEST
Travellers at Hanover airport on October 2nd.
Travellers at Hanover airport on October 2nd. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Michael Matthey

New travel regulations have come into force in the UK affecting travellers from Germany. 

The announced rule change is for England. If you are travelling to Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland, click on the relevant country link.

The UK government has got rid of the amber list and now classes countries as only green or red – all European countries are on the green list.

For those countries such as Germany, Switzerland, Norway and Austria – which were on the green list under the old system – the rules remain the same for fully vaccinated arrivals but have become more strict for those who are not vaccinated.

READ ALSO: How travel to England from Germany has become stricter

Here’s what the new rules say:

Vaccinated

Fully vaccinated arrivals will no longer need to take a test in Germany and show it before boarding a flight to England.

Crucially, however, you will still need to book and pay for the Day 2 test, and this must be done before leaving Germany. 

At the border you will need to show the Passenger Locator Form, and this cannot be completed without a booking reference number for a Day 2 test.

These tests have a byzantine booking system and are frequently infuriatingly expensive – find the full breakdown on booking HERE.

The Day 2 test is required even if you are spending less than two days in England.

The UK government has said that in the future Day 2 tests could be the cheaper antigen (lateral flow) tests rather than PCR tests, but there is no firm start date for this policy.

READ ALSO: What it was like navigating Covid travel rules to get home to the UK from Germany

Unvaccinated arrivals 

People who are not vaccinated (or who do not meet the UK government definition of vaccinated) will have to quarantine for 10 days on arrival, this can be done at a private home and you do not need to go to a hotel.

In addition, they will have to book and pay for both a Day 2 test and a Day 8 test before leaving.

There is an option to pay extra for a Day 5 test and end quarantine early in England, but be warned that quarantine does not end on Day 5, it only ends when the test results arrive. Many readers have reported long delays in getting test results leaving them spending 9 or 10 days in quarantine anyway, but having paid more for an extra test.

Who is vaccinated?

The UK government accepts people as ‘fully vaccinated’ if they have received either Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca or Johnson & Johnson vaccines and received their final dose at least 14 days ago.

The EU vaccine certificate that you can get in Germany is accepted as proof at the border.

After a confusing period, the UK government now accepts as fully vaccinated people who had a ‘mixed dose’ eg one dose of AstraZeneca and one of Pfizer.

However people who only received a single dose after previously recovering from Covid – as is standard practice in Germany and other European countries – do not count as vaccinated.

READ ALSO:

From the UK to Germany

The travel rules for people coming from the UK into Germany remain unchanged. Fully vaccinated people need to upload proof of their vaccination to the digital register, while unvaccinated people can only enter if they can prove they have an urgent need to do so.

However, there are some exceptions such as for German citizens or residents and members of their immediate family. These people are allowed to enter the country even if they are not vaccinated. 

People travelling into Germany from anywhere in the world also need to show proof of vaccination, proof of recovery or a negative Covid test before being allowed entry. The airline carrier will usually check this, and spot checks around borders may be carried out on drivers. 

READ ALSO: Five things to know about Germany’s Covid testing rules

Note that all travellers need to fill in the online form before travel from the UK to Germany. 

Member comments

  1. A warning to all travellers from Germany to the UK to turn off your Smartphone “Location” function when you arrive. Double vaccination in Germany is now accepted for entry into the country. However, the information on your Passenger Locator form will be used to automatically enrol you in the UK Test and Trace system. I was “pinged” 2 days before due to return to Germany and discovered that only people who have been double vaccinated by the NHS are exempt from 10 days legally mandatory self isolation. Double vaccination with the very same vaccine e.g BionTech/Pfizer in Germany is not recognised. I therefore had to break the law (on risk of a minimum £1000 fine and being pulled off the flight) to get back home (and did 2 extra Antigen self tests as proof of negative status). This is a shameless act of UK Government political spite over healthcare safety, and not appreciated by someone who has already been stripped of their precious European citizenship by a small majority of ignorant, xenophobic English voters.

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WILDLIFE

Southern Germany sees explosion of mosquitos after floods

First flooding, and now a plague of mosquitos: hoards of the annoying bloodsuckers are spreading on Lake Constance. Here's what to expect if you are visiting the region.

Published: 24 June 2024 16:57 CEST
Southern Germany sees explosion of mosquitos after floods

After severe floods in southern Germany, conditions are ripe for mosquito populations to explode, according to an expert in the region. 

Rainer Bretthauer, environmental and climate protection officer at the city of Radolfzell on Lake Constance, told DPA that the popular holiday location is already seeing signs of a mosquito plague.

 Bretthauer said that the floods have offered perfect conditions for egg laying, resulting in masses of mosquito offspring.

People living around the area or visiting should be prepared, Bretthauer said. He suggested, for instance, wearing loose-fitting and long clothing.

Timing also plays a role when you’re outside. “They tend to bite during twilight hours when the temperature is higher than 18C,” he said. 

Mosquitos ‘not a bad thing for wildlife’

While growing mosquito hoards may ruin peoples’ camping trips and planned lake vacations, for local wildlife, the mosquitos are a good thing, according to the Nature and Biodiversity Conservation Union (Nabu).

“All the insects that are now developing are a very important food source for many fish species and also for birds,” said Eberhard Klein from Nabu in Constance.

Around 50 species of mosquitoes are known in Germany. Some of them are counted among the so-called floodwater mosquitoes, which increasingly hatch after flooding.

According to experts, these mosquitos are particularly zealous blood hunters, as they have to reproduce quickly before the favourable conditions disappear again.

Floodwater mosquitoes like to lay their eggs on moist soil, often in riparian zones and floodplains. There they can survive in the soil for several years.

When these zones flood and the temperature is favourable, the eggs develop and hatch mosquitos. Therefore large-scale flooding, as seen recently in Southern Germany, can lead to mass hatching.

Mosquito borne illness is spreading to Europe as temperatures warm

Warming temperatures brought by human-caused climate change have allowed mosquito populations to extend further northward in Europe, including disease-carrying species that were previously limited to regions closer to the equator.

For example, the Asian tiger mosquito is not native to Europe but has already been observed in much of southern and central Europe, including Germany.

Tiger mosquitos are particularly concerning because they are known to spread diseases such as dengue fever, chikungunya and Zika virus. Mass outbreaks of these infections have been rising globally. Last year local Dengue outbreaks were recorded in France, Italy and Spain.

With reporting by DPA

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