Here you can find information on visa applications, entry to Germany and quarantine regulations:

1. Processing of visa applications

Due to the development of the pandemic in the United States, visa applications can currently only be accepted in urgent exceptional cases. As soon as this situation changes, an announcement will be made on the website of the German missions.

2. Restrictions on entry to Germany

As a rule, entry from the United States is not possible due to existing entry restrictions. More information is available below under the heading Urgent Need.

For Germany, travel restrictions apply for entry from a large number of countries. Please check with the Federal Ministry of the Interior, Building and Community (BMI) prior to your trip to find out what regulations apply specifically with regard to the country from which you plan to enter Germany.

In principle, entry is possible from:

• EU member states
• states associated with Schengen: Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and Liechtenstein
• the United Kingdom
• from which entry is possible due to the epidemiological situation assessment by the EU.

Entry from other countries is only possible in exceptional cases and is conditional on there being an urgent Need.

3. Quarantine regulations for entry to Germany

In principle, travellers entering Germany from the United States must spend 14 days in home quarantine immediately upon arrival.

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The obligation to go into quarantine is waived if proof that no COVID-19 infection is present can be provided by a test carried out no more than 48 hours before entry. More details on this are available further down under Exception: proven negative test result.

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In Germany, the individual Länder are responsible for quarantine regulations. After coordination with the Länder and the Federal Government, the BMI has issued a specimen agreement, the regulations of which the Länder have largely incorporated into their own agreements.

Upon entry into Germany following a stay in a risk area within the last 14 days

• you must, under these agreements, proceed directly to your destination following entry into Germany,
• self-isolate at home and
• email or phone your competent authority, as a rule the in your place of residence/accommodation.

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A stay in a risk area at any point within the 14 days prior to entry is regarded as a stay in a risk area.

What counts is whether the area was classified as a risk area at the time of entry (i.e. not necessarily at the time of the stay).

Exception: transit

The obligation to self-isolate at home does not apply in the case of transit through Germany. In this case, however, you are obliged to leave Germany immediately.

Exception: proven negative test result

If you can prove that you are not infected with the SARS CoV-2 virus, these quarantine regulations do not apply.

This proof must take the form of a medical certificate. The molecular test to detect an infection must have been conducted no more than 48 hours prior to entry (i.e. the swab must have been taken no more than 48 hours prior to entry). The test must have been carried out in a European Union member state or a state with comparable quality Standards.

Alternatively, the test may be carried out upon entry

• at the border crossing point or
• at the place where you are staying.

The test result must be retained for at least 14 days after entry – regardless of whether the test was conducted prior to or following entry. It must be submitted to the health office upon request.