From Sunday, August 1, the rules for entering Germany will change – the regulation on the crossing of the border by travelers has entered into force. Under the new regulations, it is mandatory to have a negative COVID-19 test result when crossing the border – also by land. The obligation does not apply to fully vaccinated and healed persons.
Previously, only airline passengers were required to submit a negative test if they had not been vaccinated and recovered from COVID-19 in the past six months. People entering by road, rail or sea were not obliged to do so.
Crossing the border with Germany – new rules, test, vaccination certificate
The test must be done at the earliest 48 hours before entering Germany. The time is counted from the time the sample was taken.
Polish tests are recognized if they are translated. The test result must be in English. German, English, French, Spanish or Italian.
The obligation does not apply to: vaccinated persons (14 days from the administration of the last dose of vaccine authorized in the EU); convalescents (28 days- 6 months after illness); children up to 12 years of age; cross-border workers; people who transport people or goods professionally; people entering Germany under local border traffic (up to 24 hours).
The regulation does not provide for an exemption from the obligation to have a test when driving through Germany. This means that people who are not vaccinated, are not convicted or are not transporting persons or goods professionally via Germany to another country should have a negative test result with them.
The EU COVID-19 Certificate may serve as confirmation of being a vaccinated or healed person.
Entering Germany from coronavirus risk areas
If they enter an area at risk of coronavirus, those vaccinated and treated must also provide evidence that the test has been performed.
Evidence of vaccination, recovery or a negative test result must be carried on entry and shown in the event of random checks carried out by the federal police or by the competent authority during cross-border traffic checks to Germany. There will be no permanent border checks, but random checks are possible at border crossing points or at stations.
There will only be two instead of three categories for classifying areas in the world with a higher risk of infection: high-risk areas and those with new and worrying variants of the coronavirus. The ministries of health and internal affairs and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs decide jointly about classifying the region as a high-risk area. Poland is not on the list of high risk areas.
Rules for entering Germany from high-risk areas
Unvaccinated or non-disease survivors must go to a ten-day quarantine upon arrival from a high-risk area, which may be terminated at the earliest on the fifth day after presenting a negative test. For those arriving from countries where variants of the virus are introduced, there is a 14-day non-shortening quarantine, including vaccinated people and convalescents.
People entering Germany from a high-risk area or from an area where new coronavirus variants are present must provide their personal details and place of residence on the government website for the duration of the necessary entry quarantine.
“Failure to follow the rules can be costly,” writes the weekly “Spiegel”. For example, a person caught entering Hamburg from an endangered area without notifying their arrival “will pay a fine of EUR 300. In North Rhine-Westphalia, persons who do not comply with the quarantine obligation face a fine of up to EUR 10,000. who goes to work despite having to remain in quarantine after their travel, faces a maximum fine of € 25,000. “
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