Read news from:
Austria
SHARE
COPY LINK

COST OF LIVING

Reader question: Can I leave Switzerland to fill up my car in Germany?

From Wednesday, June 1st, Germany will reduce taxes on petrol by around 30 cents per litre. Can Swiss residents cross the border and fill up?

Published: 31 May 2022 16:37 CEST
Petrol prices in Switzerland are climbing. Photo by Erik Mclean on Pexels
Petrol prices in Switzerland are climbing. Photo by Erik Mclean on Pexels

Among many of the common items to be hit with inflation over the past few months, perhaps the most painful has been the cost of petrol. 

While drivers are all to aware of the price hike when they visit the pump, even people without cars have been hit due to the flow on effect of increases in the cost of petrol. 

To soften the blow, the German government has put in place a temporary reduction in tax on petrol and diesel across the country. 

Petrol costs will fall by around 30 cents per litre – or as much as 35 cents including VAT – while diesel costs have been slashed by 17 cents per litre. 

Can Swiss drivers cross into Germany and fill up?

Yes. Germany will not charge foreign drivers different amounts, meaning everyone can benefit from the tax cut. 

Some countries, like Hungary, have restricted fuel discounts only to locals, however Germany has declined to do so. 

German automobile club ADAC expects a significant increase in Swiss customers for German petrol stations. 

READ MORE: Where in Switzerland can you find the cheapest fuel?

Is a similar plan being considered in Switzerland? 

Some Swiss petrol stations have complained about the German government’s decision, saying they fear significant losses if customers decide to cross the border and fill up. 

A similar decision by the Italian government saw drivers flock over the border, with fuel companies in the southern canton of Ticino saying they saw a 35 percent drop in customers. 

The Swiss government is currently considering a tax cut. The issue will be debated in mid-June, with the populist Swiss People’s Party advocating for a cut in costs. 

National Councillor Franz Grüter said the government should do more to release the pressure. 

“The pressure is enormous, I know people who turn off the gas pump because they don’t know how to pay for the gas. The federal government collects hundreds of millions of francs in additional taxes because fuel prices are so high.”

20min.ch/story/deutschland-senkt-spritsteuern-jetzt-droht-chaos-bei-tanktouristen-ansturm-413269357129

If implemented however, the impact of such a change would be less significant than in Germany, as Switzerland already has comparatively low tax on fuel. 

Only Austria has lower fuel taxes than Switzerland (among Switzerland’s neighbours).

Fuel in Switzerland: Why are Germans crossing the border to fill up?

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.
For members

TRAVEL NEWS

What will Europe’s EES passport checks mean for dual nationals?

The EU's Entry & Exit System (EES) of enhanced passport checks will usher in big changes for travellers - here we answer readers' questions on the position for dual nationals.

Published: 22 April 2024 17:10 CEST
What will Europe's EES passport checks mean for dual nationals?

The EU is preparing, after many delays, to introduce the EES system for travel in and out of Europe.

You can find a full explanation of how it works HERE, but in essence it is an enhanced passport check – registering biometric details such as fingerprints and facial scans and introducing an automatic calculation of how long you have stayed within the EU/Schengen zone in order to detect ‘over-stayers’.

And it’s already causing stress for travellers. We asked readers of The Local to share their questions here – and one of the biggest worries was how the system will work for dual nationals ie people who have a passport for both an EU country and a non-EU country.

EES: Your questions answered

EU passports 

One of the main purposes of EES is to detect ‘over-stayers’ – people who have either stayed in the EU longer than their visa allows or non-EU nationals who have over-stayed their allowance of 90 days in every 180.

As this does not apply to EU nationals, people travelling on an EU passport are not required to do EES pre-registration and will continue to travel in the same way once EES is introduced – going to the ‘EU passports queue’ at airports, ports and stations and having their passports scanned as normal.

Non-EU 

Non-EU travellers will, once EES is up and running, be required to complete EES pre-registration.

This means that the first time they cross an EU/Schengen zone external border they will have to go to a special zone of the airport/port/terminal and supply extra passport information including fingerprints and a facial scan.

This only needs to be done once and then lasts for three years.

Non-EU residents of the EU/Schengen zone

This does not apply to non-EU citizens who are permanent residents of an EU country or who have a long-stay visa for an EU/Schengen zone country – click HERE for full details.

Schengen zone passports/Irish passports 

EES applies within the Schengen zone, so people with Swiss, Norwegian and Icelandic passports are treated in the same way as citizens of EU countries.

Ireland and Cyprus are in the EU but not the Schengen zone – these countries will not be using the EES system at their borders, but their citizens are still EU citizens so can continue to use EU passport gates at airports and will be treated the same as all other EU citizens (ie they don’t have to do EES pre-registration).

OK, so what if you have both an EU and a non-EU passport?

They key thing to remember about EES is that it doesn’t actually change any of the rules on immigration – it’s just a way of better enforcing the rules that are already in place. 

Therefore the rules for dual nationals remain as they are – for most people which passport to travel on is a matter of personal choice, although Americans should be aware that if you have a US passport and you are entering the USA, you must use your American passport. 

But it’s also important to remember that the passports of dual nationals are not ‘linked’ – therefore if you present an American passport at the Italian border, you will be treated exactly the same as every other American, there is no way for the border guard to know that you are also Italian.

Likewise if you are a UK-Germany dual national and you travel back to the UK on your German passport, you can expect to be treated the same as every other German at the border, and might be asked for proof of where you are staying in UK, how long you intend to stay etc – the system has no way of knowing that you are also British. 

Therefore whether you have to complete EES pre-registration or not is entirely a matter of which passport you are travelling on – if you use your EU passport you won’t have to do it, if you use your non-EU passport you will.

It’s also possible to use two passports for the same trip – so let’s say you’re travelling from Spain to Canada – you enter Canada on your Canadian passport, and show your Canadian passport again when you leave. However, once you re-enter Spain you show your Spanish passport in order to benefit from the unlimited length of stay.

If you’re travelling between France and the UK via the Eurostar, Channel Tunnel or cross-Channel ferry, you need to remember that the Le Touquet agreement means that French passport checks take place in the UK and vice versa. You can still use both passports, but you just need to keep your wits about you and remember to hand the French one to the French border guards and the British one to British guards.

In terms of avoiding immigration formalities using two passports is the most efficient way for dual nationals to travel, but some people prefer to stick to one passport for simplicity, or don’t want to keep both passports together in case of theft.

Basically it’s a personal choice, but you just need to remember that you will be treated according to the passport that you show – which includes completing EES pre-registration if you’re showing a non-EU passport.

It’s also worth remembering that if the changes do cause border delays (and there are fears that they might especially at the UK-France border), then these will affect all travellers – regardless of their passport. 

SHOW COMMENTS