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READER QUESTIONS

Reader question: Do I still need Covid apps in Germany?

Proof of Covid vaccination is no longer needed in Germany - so can people delete the health apps?

Published: 3 January 2023 16:20 CET
Updated: 4 January 2023 08:57 CET
A digital Covid certificate.
A digital Covid certificate. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Armin Weigel

A year ago Germany looked a lot different. To get into many public venues people needed to show proof of Covid vaccination, recovery from Covid, or a negative test (known as the 3G rule). In some cases only vaccinated and recovered people were allowed entry (2G). 

These requirements were dropped months ago. And since January 1st 2023, the vaccination requirement for healthcare workers has also been abolished.

Nevertheless, many people in Germany still have apps for displaying vaccination certificates on their smartphones: the Corona warning app and the CovPass app. So do we still need them, or can people safely uninstall them?

Proof still needed for the USA and some other destinations

It depends a little on what you are planning to do: in Germany, proof of vaccination no longer plays a role. But abroad, things are sometimes different – especially in America.

If you want to travel to the United States as a non-US citizen, you still have to show proof of vaccination when entering the country. Even in some popular destinations in the USA, such as New York City, proof of vaccination is still required in some cases, for example to attend certain events or plays.

Those wishing to travel to the USA can also use other forms of proof of vaccination for this purpose – however, the apps make it particularly easy to access the required QR code and a vaccination certificate in PDF form.

Internationally, however, the US is pretty much on its own. Almost all nations have phased out their vaccination requirements over the course of 2022. Only Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, and Hong Kong still require proof of vaccination for entry at the moment.

Some other nations still have provisions equivalent to the 3G rule, including Kenya, Nepal, and Venezuela.

Will there be a return of vaccination certificates in Europe?

In Germany and the EU, a return of vaccination certificates is currently very unlikely. Recently, restrictions continue to be removed throughout Germany, including the mandatory public transport masking in Bavaria and other German states. Despite the wintry weather, a return of 2G and 3G provisions is therefore not in sight.

One thing to keep in mind is the Covid situation in China. Lawmakers and health experts across Europe are currently discussing if Covid restrictions should be brought in across the board for people travelling from China due to the Covid wave there. That would likely involve testing on arrival, though, rather than showing proof of vaccination. 

READ ALSO: German doctors call for Covid restrictions for China arrivals

Should I get rid of the Corona warning app, or Luca app?

The Corona-Warn app is a special case: it not only serves as a repository for vaccination records, but also for contact tracking. Currently, the operation of the Corona warning app is state funded until May 31st 2023, when it would have to be extended again. So anyone who wants to use this feature of the app can continue to do so until May.

Furthermore, Health Minister Karl Lauterbach recently said that the app will be developed furthermore.

The situation is different for the Luca app. Last year, it was discontinued by the federal states and turned into an app for mobile payments. It therefore no longer has anything to do with Covid-19.

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For members

TRAVEL NEWS

How do the EU’s new EES passport checks affect the 90-day rule?

As European travellers prepare for the introduction of enhanced passport checks known as the Entry & Exit System (EES), many readers have asked us what this means for the '90-day rule' for non-EU citizens.

Published: 1 May 2024 07:18 CEST
How do the EU's new EES passport checks affect the 90-day rule?

From the start date to the situation for dual nationals and non-EU residents living in the EU, it’s fair to say that readers of The Local have a lot of questions about the EU’s new biometric passport check system known as EES.

You can find our full Q&A on how the new system will work HERE, or leave us your questions HERE.

And one of the most commonly-asked questions was what the new system changes with regards to the 90-day rule – the rule that allows citizens of certain non-EU countries (including the UK, USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand) to spend up to 90 days in every 180 in the EU without needing a visa.

And the short answer is – nothing. The key thing to remember about EES is that it doesn’t actually change any rules on immigration, visas etc.

Therefore the 90-day rule continues as it is – but what EES does change is the enforcement of the rule.

90 days 

The 90-day rule applies to citizens of a select group of non-EU countries;

Albania, Andorra, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Australia, Bahamas, Barbados, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominica, El Salvador, Georgia, Grenada, Guatemala, Honduras, Hong Kong, Israel, Japan, Kiribati, Kosovo, Macau, Malaysia, Marshall Islands, Mauritius, Mexico, Micronesia, Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro, New Zealand, Nicaragua, North Macedonia, Palau, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, San Marino, Serbia, Seychelles, Singapore, Solomon Islands, South Korea, Taiwan, Timor-Leste, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tuvalu, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay, Vatican City and Venezuela.

Citizens of these countries can spend up to 90 days in every 180 within the EU or Schengen zone without needing a visa or residency permit.

People who are citizens of neither the EU/Schengen zone nor the above listed countries need a visa even for short trips into the EU – eg an Indian or Chinese tourist coming for a two-week holiday would require a visa. 

In total, beneficiaries of the 90-day rule can spend up to six months in the EU, but not all in one go. They must limit their visits so that in any 180-day (six month) period they have spent less than 90 days (three months) in the Bloc.

READ ALSO How does the 90-day rule work?

The 90 days are calculated according to a rolling calendar so that at any point in the year you must be able to count backwards to the last 180 days, and show that you have spent less than 90 of them in the EU/Schengen zone.

You can find full details on how to count your days HERE.

If you wish to spend more than 90 days at a time you will have to leave the EU and apply for a visa for a longer stay. Applications must be done from your home country, or via the consulate of your home country if you are living abroad.

Under EES 90-day rule beneficiaries will still be able to travel visa free (although ETIAS will introduce extra changes, more on that below).

EES does not change either the rule or how the days are calculated, but what it does change is the enforcement.

Enforcement

One of the stated aims of the new system is to tighten up enforcement of ‘over-stayers’ – that is people who have either overstayed the time allowed on their visa or over-stayed their visa-free 90 day period.

At present border officials keep track of your time within the Bloc via manually stamping passports with the date of each entry and exit to the Bloc. These stamps can then be examined and the days counted up to ensure that you have not over-stayed.

The system works up to a point – stamps are frequently not checked, sometimes border guards incorrectly stamp a passport or forget to stamp it as you leave the EU, and the stamps themselves are not always easy to read.

What EES does is computerise this, so that each time your passport is scanned as you enter or leave the EU/Schengen zone, the number of days you have spent in the Bloc is automatically tallied – and over-stayers will be flagged.

For people who stick to the limits the system should – if it works correctly – actually be better, as it will replace the sometimes haphazard manual stamping system.

But it will make it virtually impossible to over-stay your 90-day limit without being detected.

The penalties for overstaying remain as they are now – a fine, a warning or a ban on re-entering the EU for a specified period. The penalties are at the discretion of each EU member state and will vary depending on your personal circumstances (eg how long you over-stayed for and whether you were working or claiming benefits during that time).

ETIAS 

It’s worth mentioning ETIAS at this point, even though it is a completely separate system to EES, because it will have a bigger impact on travel for many people.

ETIAS is a different EU rule change, due to be introduced some time after EES has gone live (probably in 2025, but the timetable for ETIAS is still somewhat unclear).

It will have a big impact on beneficiaries of the 90-day rule, effectively ending the days of paperwork-free travel for them.

Under ETIAS, beneficiaries of the 90-rule will need to apply online for a visa waiver before they travel. Technically this is a visa waiver rather than a visa, but it still spells the end of an era when 90-day beneficiaries can travel without doing any kind of immigration paperwork.

If you have travelled to the US in recent years you will find the ETIAS system very similar to the ESTA visa waiver – you apply online in advance, fill in a form and answer some questions and are sent your visa waiver within a couple of days.

ETIAS will cost €7 (with an exemption for under 18s and over 70s) and will last for three years.

Find full details HERE. 

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