After days of discussions and disagreements, the Member States of the European Union has finally approved a list of 15 countries considered safe due to their epidemiological situation related to the Coronavirus.
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Around the same time, Germany has only provided 11 countries with admission, leaving four others out. With starting from July 2, citizens of 11 third countries will be entitled to access the territory of Germany, all of which are also part of the list of ‘free’ third countries of the EU Council.
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The German Federal Cabinet took the decision today in line with the Council of the European Union Recommendation released on June 30, which suggests lifting entry restrictions for citizens of 15 third countries to the EU Member States and the Schengen Related Nations, considered free.
Nevertheless, the German authorities have agreed to open borders to only 11 of them, which are:
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- Australia
- Canada
- China
- Georgia
- Japan
- Montenegro
- New Zealand
- South Korea
- Thailand
- Tunisia
- Uruguay
According to China, Japan, and South Korea, their citizens would only be able to travel to Germany if they grant Germans entry into their territories because the three of them have German entry bans in effect.
From tomorrow, citizens of these 11 countries will be able to reach Germany without limitations, regardless of their nationalities, such as the quarantine or the COVID-19 check.
Nevertheless, the Cabinet left four councils out of fifteen countries deemed ‘free,’ which are Algeria, Morocco, Rwanda, and Serbia. The decision was taken upon evaluation of the present Coronavirus-related situation in those countries.
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While most EU and Schengen countries have not yet published their lists of countries whose citizens can enter their territory, countries such as Spain and the Czech Republic have published narrow-down lists.
For example, Spain has excluded China and Morocco, while the Czech Republic has agreed to grant the residents of eight out of the 15 countries recommended by the EU Council with permitted entry. The following categories of travellers from the rest of the world countries can enter Germany at the same time as the nationals of these 11 countries starting July 2:
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- German residents, citizens of the Union and residents of third countries with an established right of residency in Germany
- Health care practitioners, health experts and geriatric nurses
- Global experts and highly skilled workers whose job is economically essential and whose work cannot be delayed or carried out abroad.
- Goods transport employees and other road staff
- Seasonal farmworkers
- seafarers
- Global students whose research can not be done entirely overseas
- Family members from foreign countries arriving by family reunification and visiting for urgent personal reasons
- Persons seeking international protection or other humanitarian aid;
- Diplomats, staff from international organizations, military and humanitarian personnel in the course of their duties
- Late Patriarchs
- In-transit travellers
“For incoming and returning travellers from the risk areas defined by the RKI [Robert Koch Institute], a quarantine requirement based on the Infection Protection Act applies in all federal states,” explains a press release from the German Ministry of the Interior regarding the categories of persons mentioned above.
It also points out that this also applies in general, except for travellers in transit traffic, to travellers with a valid purpose for travel. Those who show negative test results at COVID-19 are also excluded from the quarantine requirement.
