The Federal Cabinet today adopted the gradual phasing out of existing restrictions affecting travel from third countries to Germany. Given the improvement of the pandemic situation in numerous countries, in its communication of 11 June 2020 (COM (2020) 399 final) the European Commission recommended coordinated measures by the member states to phase out temporary restrictions. On this basis, on 30 June 2020 the Council of the European Union adopted a recommendation, which will be implemented in Germany as of midnight in the night from 1 July to 2 July.

The recommendation provides for the coordinated lifting by member states of the temporary restrictions on travel as follows:

1. Entry from third countries with low infection rates in line with the agreed list of countries is possible without restriction. The list of countries will be updated every two weeks.
   
   Member states have the option to reintroduce entry from these countries gradually and are not obligated to do so for all of the countries at the same time. Based on current data on infection rates, Germany will initially allow unrestricted entry from 11 countries:
   
   1. AUSTRALIA
   2. GEORGIA
   3. JAPAN*
   4. CANADA
   5. MONTENEGRO
   6. NEW ZEALAND
   7. SOUTH KOREA*
   8. THAILAND
   9. TUNISIA
   10. URUGUAY
   11. CHINA*
   * subject to confirmation of reciprocity
   
   
2. Extended entry possibilities will be given to travellers from all third countries who have an important reason for travel.
   Important reasons for travel from third countries:
   
   1. German nationals, EU citizens and third-country nationals with current right of residence in Germany,
   2. healthcare workers, health researchers and geriatric care workers,
   3. skilled and highly qualified foreign workers if their employment is necessary from an economic perspective and the work cannot be postponed or performed abroad,
   4. freight transport and other transport personnel,
   5. seasonal workers in agriculture,
   6. seafarers,
   7. foreign students whose course of study is not fully possible from abroad,
   8. persons immigrating into Germany for the purpose of joining their families and visits for urgent family reasons,
   9. persons in need of international protection or for other humanitarian reasons,
   10. diplomats, staff of international organisations, military personnel and humanitarian aid workers in the exercise of their functions,
   11. ethnic German resettlers,
   12. passengers in transit.
   
   
3. The place of departure is decisive in regard to whether it is possible to enter Germany, not the nationality of the person wishing to enter.

Regardless of the possibility to enter the country, Germany still has a quarantine requirement in place in all federal states on the basis of the Protection against Infection Act (Infektionsschutzgesetz) for those returning to and entering Germany from regions designated by the Robert Koch Institute as international risk areas. The quarantine requirement also applies across the board (with the exception of transit passengers) for travellers with an important reason for travel. An exception is made from the quarantine requirement if the person has an up-to-date negative coronavirus test.

The most important objective on which all considerations must be based is ensuring we continue to contain the spread of the pandemic.