Travelling to Germany from a High Risk Covid Country – What You Should Know for January 2022

We’re all beginning to learn to live with the Covid-19 pandemic. And, as part of this, those looking to travel to Germany need to be aware of the existing restrictions for high-risk countries. This is continually changing, and as a result, it’s well worth considering the current orange list of countries before moving to Germany or any other EU member states. This has become one of the key aspects of controlling the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic without fully restricting travel, particularly with the rise of new variants such as Omicron.

For Germany at present, there are well over 100 high-risk zones within the world; as such, Germany is now considering over half of the world as an orange risk zone. Moreover, of its neighbours specifically, only Austria remains off the orange list, with the recent green list status being allocated as a result of Austria’s recent, strict lockdowns to tackle cases.

The following countries have been added to orange list:

Angola, Argentina, Australia, The Bahamas, Bahrain, Belize, Bolivia, Cape Verde, The Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Estonia, Fiji, France – the French overseas departments of French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Mayotte, St. Martin and St. Barthélemy, Gabon, Ghana, Grenada, Guinea, Island, Israel, , Jamaica, Qatar, Kenya, Comoros, Kuwait, Luxembourg, Mali, Mauritania, Nigeria, Panama, Rwanda, Zambia, Sweden, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, Togo, Uganda, Uruguay, The United Arab Emirates

Fortunately for those wanting to travel to Germany, there are no countries within the red list specifically; however, recently, numerous countries were removed from the virus variant areas of concern. This previously included the United Kingdom; as such, those from the UK may now be able to enter Germany.

For those individuals entering Germany without a vaccine, mandatory quarantines are implemented for ten days; however, this may end early after a negative Covid test after at least five days of quarantine. Meanwhile, for those under the age of twelve years, the quarantine duration only lasts for five days without requiring a test. Quarantine may currently not be necessary for vaccinated individuals; check with your local authorities initially.

Nevertheless, before travelling, all individuals must provide a copy of either Covid recovery, Covid vaccination passes, or a negative Covid test.