All Travellers to Germany Are Now Obliged to Register Digitally Before Entry

The German authorities have obliged all travellers to the country to register digitally before their arrival to the country, since Sunday, November 8.

The new obligation has come into force alongside the model regulation, which has cut short the required period of self-isolation for those coming from high-risk areas from 14 to ten days.

According to a press published by the Ministry of Interior, the registration can be completed in the web application Digital Entry Registration (DEA), through a desktop, tablet, and smartphone is accessible worldwide and has replaced the paper exit card.

Commenting on the digitization of entry registrations, the Federal Health Minister Jens Spahn, amongst other highlighted the move relieves the health authorities.

“You can find out quickly and reliably who is coming from a risk area and has to go into quarantine. This way we can better avoid new sources of infection when entering Germany,” he said.

The Federal Minister of the Interior Horst Seehofer also noted that with the digital entry registration paperwork in travel marks its end, making the procedures easier not only for the authorities but also for travellers.

“We depend on the active participation of the population in fighting the pandemic. The citizens rightly expect that this participation will be made as easy as possible for them,” the Minister said.  

The web application has been made available in just eight weeks of development, and it consists of a network of the more than 370 health authorities in the districts and urban districts and to enable secure data transmission.

While its development has been carried by the technology partner Bundesdruckerei GmbH based on the technical guidelines of the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Interior has also been involved.

The digital entry registration will enable health authorities responsible for the destination of the traveller to receive the necessary information to be able to check, whether the quarantine obligation is being carried in compliance with the national regulations.

Quarantine and Testing Requirements for Travellers From High-Risk Areas

On the same day that the obligation to register digitally before entering Germany became effective,  new quarantine rules for arrivals from high-risk countries also came into force according to the new model regulation.

With the new rules, the period of self-isolation for travellers from high-risk areas is reduced to ten days from 14 days as it was previously. At the same time, all travellers who have been in a high-risk area in the last ten days before their arrival will be required to get quarantined if they do not test, instead of in the last 14 days.

Those who want to get tested and who result negative will still have to self-isolate for five days at least, after reaching Germany.