Simon Rogers wrote: ↑Tue Jul 06, 2021 7:08 pm
I believe that travel restrictions to Germany are being relaxed.
Any tournaments coming up there?
I notice Israel is on the green list, I've found a couple of interesting tournaments taking place there soon.
"Relaxed" is a relative term.
Here is the UK Foreign Office's take on entry requirements to Germany:
Entry rules in response to coronavirus (COVID-19)
Entry to Germany
From 7 July the UK is designated as a high-incidence area, which means that you may only enter Germany from the UK if you are fully vaccinated (for any travel purpose), or, if not, you are a German citizen or, resident, or their spouse/partner/child under 18 serve in an important role, or have an urgent need to travel. Otherwise travellers may not enter Germany from the UK. Further information about restrictions on entry is on the Federal Interior Ministry website, including information about what constitutes an urgent need for travel.
Travel from the UK is generally subject to pre-departure digital registration and 10-day quarantine with test and release available after 5 days. The fully vaccinated are exempt from quarantine.
Unvaccinated children under 12 years of age are allowed to enter Germany if they present proof of a negative test result and travel with at least one fully vaccinated parent.
If you are travelling from a country outside the EU which is not on Germany’s travel corridor list, you are currently generally only permitted to enter Germany if: you are returning to your place of residence; if you serve in an important role; or there is an urgent need for your travel. This excludes commercial travel. Further information about possible exceptions for non-residents is on the Federal Interior Ministry website, under “What constitutes an urgent need for travel”. The decision on whether to allow entry in such circumstances is at the discretion of border guards.
Germany uses a three-tier system of risk categories (virus variant areas, high-incidence areas and risk areas), with distinct rules on entry and quarantine for each tier. You can find a complete list of designated areas here. If you are travelling from a designated risk area, such as the UK, you will need to quarantine on arrival, and complete pre-departure digital registration.
A ‘test and release’ system is in place in Germany. This means that if you are travelling from a risk area you can be exempted from quarantine if you provide a negative test result or indicate that you are fully vaccinated or recently recovered from a C-19 infection when filling in the digital registration. See the ‘quarantine after travel from risk areas’ section below for more details. See the ‘testing requirements’ section below for more details on the type of test accepted.
Proof of residence
UK nationals resident in Germany must demonstrate proof of residence. If you are not yet in possession of a residence card, you will be required to provide credible evidence that you are resident in Germany.
This could include an address registration certificate (Meldebescheinigung), a tenancy agreement, a utility bill in your name, or a certificate of application (Fiktionsbescheinigung).
The German authorities have confirmed that individuals who are registered at a German address in the population register (Melderegister), who can present identification (including residence documents) displaying a German address, or documents (paper or electronic) issued in their name by third parties stating an address in Germany, may be presumed to be resident in Germany. A document which has been left in Germany but which can be accessed by someone else may be photographed or scanned and sent to the traveller abroad by email or via cloud for presentation at checks. See the guidance from the German Federal Ministry of the Interior, Building and Community.
Hauliers
Hauliers are generally exempt from the requirement to quarantine when entering Germany, provided they do not stay for more than 72 hours and that they comply with appropriate health protection and hygiene plans. Hauliers from the UK are required to possess a negative COVID-19 test, proof of vaccination or proof of recovery prior to entering Germany, unless they stay in Germany for less than 72 hours.
Testing requirements
Travellers flying to Germany from anywhere in the world must possess proof of vaccination, proof of recovery, or a negative COVID-19 test prior to departure for presentation to the airline. If you are travelling from the UK and are not fully vaccinated or recovered from COVID-19, you will need to enter Germany with either a PCR test result that is no more than 72 hours old, or a rapid antigen or other test sample that is no more than 24 hours old. The result of the test required by the German authorities can either be in paper or electronic form. Children aged five or under are exempt.
Travellers by land from designated high-incidence or virus variant areas are also required to demonstrate a negative test taken no more than 48 hours or 24 hours prior to entry, respectively. Travellers by land from designated risk areas must demonstrate a negative test taken within 48 hours of arrival.
Molecular based tests (PCR tests) from the UK are accepted in Germany. Antigen tests are accepted as well, provided they meet the minimum criteria recommended by the WHO. This includes tests that meet ≥80% sensitivity and ≥97% specificity, compared to a PCR test. Most lateral flow tests work on the same basis as antigen tests and must meet the same criteria to be accepted. Details on the antigen or lateral flow test manufacturer must be given on the test certificate. ‘LAMP’ (loop-mediated isothermal amplification) tests are also now accepted. Border officials and local public health authorities will not accept a negative test result if there is justified doubt about whether the test meets the minimum performance requirements.
You can find more information about acceptable tests from Germany’s public health agency, the Robert Koch Institute’s, website (PDF available in English via the link). Further information on testing requirements can be obtained from your local public health authority. You can find further details about the current restrictions, including quarantining after a negative test on the German Health Ministry website.
Quarantine after travel from risk areas
From 7 July onwards the UK is designated as a high-incidence area. This means that travellers arriving from the UK are subject to 10-day quarantine, and test and release is available after 5 days. Fully vaccinated individuals are exempt from this requirement.
If, in the 10 days before you travel to Germany, you have been in an area designated at the time of entry as presenting an increased risk of infection, you must register online in advance of travelling to Germany. On arrival, you must travel to your accommodation and quarantine there for up to 14 days. If you are travelling from a high-incidence or risk area, you can be released from quarantine immediately if you provide one of the following with the pre-departure digital registration:
A negative C-19 test;
Proof that you are fully vaccinated (this means that you have taken the last of the recommended doses of a C-19 vaccine authorised in the EU more than 14 days ago) (See ‘Demonstrating your COVID-19 vaccination status’)
Proof that you have recently recovered from a C-19 infection. Proof of recovery is a positive PCR test no older than six months, but older than 28 days.
If you are travelling from a virus variant area, you must quarantine for the full 14 days, and do not have access to test to release.
For travel from designated high-incidence or risk areas there are some exemptions from the quarantine requirement, including for frontier workers and individuals deemed to be providing essential activities. Precise rules are set by the federal states, so please consult the provisions applicable in the place where you are staying.
If you have specific questions about the quarantine requirements which apply in your particular case, you should contact the local public health authority in your place of residence. Please also contact your local public health authority for further details on test and release. You can identify the relevant authority here
Demonstrating your COVID-19 vaccination status
Demonstrating your vaccination status from the UK is not formalised for entry into Germany, so you should follow alternative advice for entry. Your NHS appointment card from vaccination centres is not designed to be used as proof of vaccination and should not be used to demonstrate your vaccine status.
Transiting Germany
For further information about transiting Germany, please consult the Federal Interior Ministry website, under the heading “When is transit through Germany permitted?”.