Read news from:
Austria
SHARE
COPY LINK

TRAVEL NEWS

Germany to ease quarantine rules for vaccinated travellers from ‘virus variant’ zones

The German government announced on Wednesday it plans to relax quarantine rules for fully vaccinated travellers arriving from 'virus variant areas of concern'.

Published: 21 July 2021 16:17 CEST
Germany to ease quarantine rules for vaccinated travellers from 'virus variant' zones
Travellers in Frankfurt airport on July 17th. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Frank Rumpenhorst

It came as Chancellor Angela Merkel’s cabinet extended entry regulations to Germany put in place to help control the spread of Covid-19 until at least mid-September. 

Health Minister Jens Spahn said on Wednesday that the Covid travel rules will be in place until September 10th. They were set to expire at the end of July. 

However, a change in quarantine rules will mean that soon fully vaccinated people entering from so-called ‘virus variant of concern’ zones, such as Brazil and South Africa, will not have to isolate for 14 days.

They will be able to end their quarantine early if they can prove that their vaccination protection is effective against the virus variant in the area they are travelling from.

No details have been given yet on how people will have to prove that – and how early they can shorten the quarantine period. The Local Germany will report on this when we have more information. 

READ ALSO: How Germany’s latest rules on foreign travel affect you

Travel is banned from countries classed by Germany as ‘virus variant areas of concern’. There are some exceptions, including for German citizens and residents – but currently everyone coming from these areas has to quarantine for 14 days with no option to shorten it. 

The cabinet also made it clear that if a virus variant country is downgraded to a high-incidence area while returnees are still in quarantine, the rules for high-incidence areas will apply immediately. 

That means that people will be able to end their 14-day quarantine period after five days with a negative test, and end it immediately if they can prove they are have either been vaccinated against, or recovered from, Covid. 

The German government recently downgraded five countries, including the UK and Portugal, from virus variant areas to high incidence countries after the Delta variant became widespread in Germany. 

The new quarantine rules will come into force after the old regulation expires on July 28th.

READ ALSO: Brazilian workers and students demand end to travel ban

Covid infections expected to rise

Spahn said it was necessary to extend the existing regulations after Germany saw a spike in cases after summer last year. “We learned from last summer that we have to pay attention, also when traveling,” he said.

Spahn also warned of a drastic increase in the 7-day incidence of Covid infections in Germany if the current development continues. 

He said the incidence could reach 400 infections per 100,000 people in September – and even 800 cases per 100,000 people in October.

Spahn reiterated his message from previous weeks – that the situation in autumn depends on people’s behaviour now. He urged everyone to stick to basic restrictions like wearing a mask and keeping distance. 

READ ALSO: ‘Nobody can rule out enormous fourth wave’: German schools fear new Covid restrictions

The 7-day incidence of Covid-19 infections has been rising continuously for over two weeks in Germany, and has recently slipped into double-digits. According to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) on Wednesday morning, the 7-day incidence was 11.4, compared with 10.9 on Tuesday.

Though still at a low level, the incidence has more than doubled since its most recent low of 4.9 on July 6th.

Spahn said consultations would be held with states to determine at what point restrictions would be introduced if needed. The situation is different today compared to last year due to the high vaccination rate, he said. 

The incidence has so far been the basis for many coronavirus restrictions in the pandemic. But in future, other factors ​​such as hospital admissions are to be taken into account more strongly.

READ ALSO: Germany to ‘focus more on Covid hospital admissions’ when deciding measures

Member comments

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

TRAVEL NEWS

Reader question: What will EES mean for foreigners living in Europe?

The EU's new Entry & Exit System (EES) of enhanced passport controls is due to come into force later this year, but among many questions that remain is the situation for non-EU nationals who live in the EU or Schengen zone.

Published: 27 April 2024 07:59 CEST
Reader question: What will EES mean for foreigners living in Europe?

Currently scheduled to start in autumn 2024 (unless it’s delayed again, which is not unlikely) the EU’s new Entry & Exit System is basically an enhanced passport check at external EU borders, including a facial scan and fingerprinting.

You can find a full explanation of the new system HERE.

Travellers crossing an external EU or Schengen border for the first time will be required to complete EES ‘pre-registration’ formalities including that facial scan and fingerprinting.

There are, however, several groups exempt from EES and one of them is non-EU nationals who have a residency permit or long-stay visa for an EU country.

So if you’re a foreigner living in the EU or Schengen zone, here’s what you need to know.

Exempt

One of the stated aims of EES is to tighten up enforcement of over-staying – IE, people who stay longer than 90 days in every 180 without a visa, or those who overstay the limits of their visa.

Obviously these limits do not apply to non-EU nationals who are resident in the EU or Schengen zone, which is why this group is exempt from EES checks. They will instead be required to show their passport and residency permit/visa when crossing a border, just as they do now.

In its explanations of how EES will work, the European Commission is clear – exempt groups include non-EU residents of the Bloc.

A Commission spokesman told The Local: “Non-EU citizens residing in the EU are not in the scope of the EES and will not be subject to pre-enrollment of data in the EES via self-service systems. The use of automation remains under the responsibility of the Member States and its availability in border crossing points is not mandatory.

“When crossing the borders, holders of EU residence permits should be able to present to the border authorities their valid travel documents and residence permits.”

How this will work

How this will work on the ground, however, is a lot less clear.

Most ports/airports/terminals have two passport queues – EU and non-EU. It remains unclear whether the non-EU queue will have a separate section for those who are exempt from EES.

It does seem clear that exempt groups will not be able to use the automated passport scanners – since those cannot scan additional documents like residency permits – but should instead use manned passport booths. However it is not clear whether these will be available at all airports/ports/terminals or how non-EU residents of the EU will be directed to those services.

There’s also the issue that individual border guards are not always clear on the processes and rules for non-EU residents of the EU – even under the current system it’s relatively commonly for EU residents to have their passports incorrectly stamped or be given incorrect information about passport stamping by border guards.

Brits in particular will remember the immediate post-Brexit period when the processes as described by the EU and national authorities frequently did not match what was happening on the ground.

The Local will continue to try and get answers on these questions. 

READ ALSO What will EES mean for dual nationals

What if I live in the EU but I don’t have a visa/residency permit?

For most non-EU citizens, having either a visa or a residency permit is obligatory in order to be legally resident.

However, there is one exception: UK citizens who were legally resident in the EU prior to the end of the Brexit transition period and who live in one of the “declaratory” countries where getting a post-Brexit residency card was optional, rather than compulsory. Declaratory countries include Germany and Italy.

Although it is legal for people in this situation to live in those countries without a residency permit, authorities already advise people to get one in order to avoid confusion/hassle/delays at the border. Although EES does not change any rules relating to residency or travel, it seems likely that it will be more hassle to travel without a residency card than it is now.

Our advice? Things are going to be chaotic enough, getting a residency permit seems likely to save you a considerable amount of hassle.

Delays 

Although residents of the EU do not need to complete EES formalities, they will be affected if the new system causes long queues or delays at the border.

Several countries have expressed worries about this, with the UK-France border a particular cause for concern.

READ ALSO Travellers could face ’14 hours queues’ at UK-France border

Where does it apply?

EES is about external EU/Schengen borders, so does not apply if you are travelling within the Schengen zone – eg taking the train from France to Germany or flying from Spain to Sweden.

Ireland and Cyprus, despite being in the EU, are not in the Schengen zone so will not be using EES, they will continue to stamp passports manually.

Norway, Switzerland and Iceland – countries that are in the Schengen zone but not in the EU – will be using EES.

The full list of countries using EES is: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland.

Therefore a journey between any of the countries listed above will not be covered by EES.

However a journey in or out of any of those countries from a country not listed above will be covered by EES.

You can find our full Q&A on EES HERE.

SHOW COMMENTS