Editor in chief at IamExpat Media
The “3G travel rule” - according to which people may only enter Germany if they are vaccinated, recovered or have tested negative for coronavirus - has been extended for another month, until the end of May.
The German government decided this week that it would extend its current entry requirements, which were due to expire on Thursday, until at least the end of May. This means that people will continue to have to show proof of vaccination, recovery or a negative test before being allowed to board a flight to Germany.
Travellers who are transferring at an airport in Germany are also affected by the rule, including both non-Schengen transit to or from non-EU countries, and those transiting between Schengen states.
It also affects people driving into Germany or arriving in the country via another means of transport. In theory, random checks are still possible at the border, so all travellers should have the necessary paperwork to hand, but the police have not been prioritising checks lately.
At the beginning of March, Germany updated the criteria by which it defined a country as being high risk, to essentially remove all countries where the Omicron variant was circulating widely from the list. Since the high risk list remains empty at the time of writing, no one is currently required to fill in a digital entry form before travelling to Germany or go into quarantine upon arrival.
However, it’s worth checking the latest updates before travelling, to make sure you don’t fall foul of the rules. If a country is reclassified as a high risk or virus variant area, stricter rules including mandatory quarantine periods and testing requirements come into effect, even for people who are fully vaccinated.
The rule also remains in place that, in general, you need to be fully vaccinated to travel to Germany from a country outside the EU. Unvaccinated people need an “essential reason” to travel, unless they are coming from one of the small list of “safe” countries, as defined by the European Union. The ban on entry does not apply to people with German citizenship, their families, or people with EU citizenship and their families.