Absolutely - and I've always thought that the way they chose to explain the rules is quite confusing! Have a good trip.

For entry into restaurants Belgium requires folks to download an app and then upload your vaccination and passport details. A QR code is generated on the app. For visitors it is good for 30 days. It is officially only good in Belgium, but it will be interesting to see if it scans (if asked) in Munich.

I'll report back after I return. If it scans in Munich, then it may be useful in other countries in Europe as well. It is easy to get, no cost, next day turnaround, and all you need to scan and upload is your passport and your CDC vaccination record.

Here's the link: https://coronavirus.brussels/en/belg...or-foreigners/

Just to mention that even if you have a QR code, in Munich you'll need to show ID (German/EU ID card or international passport) with it. At least, every time since it became compulsory I've had to show both.

Thanks for the link. Did they accept your CDC card? One of the questions is

My CDC card doesn’t have a signature, stamp or watermark, but it does have the CDC logo.

Let us know if the CovPass Checked app they use in Germany accepts the certificate. It sounds like it isn’t supposed to work:

Yes, they accepted a scan of my CDC card. Answer "Yes" to the question as the CDC card does have a logo on it.

As I mentioned, the app and QR code are officially only for Belgium, but may carry some weight if the German restaurant is a bit unsure if they should just accept your CDC card. Reports from folks traveling in Germany with just a CDC card are inconsistent and often contradictory, so your results may vary.

I figure it's like chicken soup; it can't hurt and may help, especially since I'll be in Belgium for a majority of my trip anyway..

This is probably no surprise to anyone, but I tied to scan my Belgium Covid Safe Ticket QR code into the German CovPass app and received an error. The likelihood was low, but it would have been very convenient for many if it had worked. Hopefully Germany will follow Switzerland and Scandinavia and end the CovPass requirement in the near future.

Just an update here. Arrived in MUC yesterday (19 Feb 2022). No issues going through immigration as US citizen with vaccination proof (w/booster) only, no test. They did ask so see the German online form also but a digital copy on my phone was fine. Those coming from places with this requirement should have it ready - the guy in front of us held up the passport line for nearly 10 minutes trying to connect to airport wifi to download it. :rolleyes:

FFP2 masks (or N95/KN95 equivalent) are required indoors but readily available at grocery stores if needed. Some places enforce the FFP2 requirement more than others (occasionally you will see someone with just a normal medical mask; virtually nobody with cloth masks).

As mentioned in this thread, vaccination and ID checks are present at all sit-down restaurants and attractions we've visited so far. We have an EU pass via French Pass Sanitaire. Just using the QR code in the Tous Anticovid app and our US passport cards worked perfectly.

And since this is FT, worth mentioning that as in the past, most brauhauses still strongly prefer cash, though using a CC is possible if you insist. :)

Although German-speaking countries still have an unhealthly penchant for cash-only, I get the sense that Bavraria is notoriously slow in this matter. :rolleyes:
Sheesh, in Hesse/RP/NRW most places take cards. Frankfurt/Main is nice in that regard :D . Sure if you truly go off the beaten path, the restos will only take cash (as anywhere else in Europe that's far out) but Bavaria just needs to get with the times.

Notable relaxation of the rules in Hesse went into effect 4/3 (Friday).

Tests are now accepted where previously only the vaccine/recovery pass was accepted. (Stores/cultural places/sports/hotels/leisure, etc....)
Capacity/distancing for restos is completely lifted.
Discotheques are now reopened at 60% capacity maxi.

Further lifting of restrictions expected the 20/03. :)

Am I right in thinking that the variants of concern and the high risk lists are both empty? So no online registration, only a fully vaxxed/boosted certificate from the NHS will be enough?
Thanks.

Correct. You will need to show proof of vaccination at the border, and there are still multiple restrictions (eg masks) in place on a state-by-state basis.

Folks, does anyone know how 3G works in practice for unvaccinated Grundschule-aged children? I have family coming to stay from abroad - they are at school but too young to be vaccinated - but I understand that at least in Bavaria, German children who are regularly tested at school are effectively exempt from 3G. Do you need to somehow prove this, or is it assumed that everyone under 12 falls into this category?

Thanks in advance.

Most of the Covid rules will disappear the 20/03 so I wouldn't worry too much.

We will see how much really disappears and for how long.

Bavaria's 2G/3G rules are being extended until at least 2nd April.

Same thing in Rheinland Pfalz, all rules are extended until 2nd April.

In Hesse, it was decided until 02/04 :

Mask rules remain
Pass sanitaire remains in place.

No more capacity limitations for sporting/cultural events.
No capacity limitations for discotheques
No more contact tracing info required (although this was hardly practiced in the previous months)

Does anyone know if there will the mask mandates at airports after there 2nd of April? Apparently you wont need a mask at train stations anymore but couldn't find anything about airports. Especially asking for Frankfurt airport.

No masks will be required indoors (incl. l'aéroport) except in public transports, health facilities, and courtrooms.

In Hesse, most of the other current restrictions will be lifted 02/04. It will be up to the individual to make the proper health decisions, although individual stores and employers may choose to retain some restrictions.

Frankfurt airport has confirmed today it has no mask mandate anymore as of 3rd of April - only a non-enforced "request" to wear a medical mask remains. Same goes for Berlin airport. No official confirmation from Munich airport yet, but the mask mandate there should be gone too. Hamburg airport still has a mask mandate until end of April.

I'm travelling by train from Zurich to Prague, passing through Austria and Germany, all within one day. Do I need 3G? Do they check 3G on the train? According to the rules on the www.bundesgesundheitsministerium.de page, 3G is still required to enter Germany.

But the same page has an exemption for "persons who, in the context of border traffic, will be spending a maximum of 24 hours in Germany". What does "in the context of border traffic" mean?

But then it also says that passengers who are simply changing flights at an airport in Germany still have to comply. I'm not flying, but wouldn't most people just changing flights stay less than 24 hours? So when does the 24 hour exemption apply and when does it not?

So, I'm going to Germany for a month in May and will be in a bunch of places (basically all major cities plus Bremen if that doesn't count as a major city, IDK). What is the current status re: vaccine passports. I am triple vaxxed and can provide proof via the US card and the California app, but it appeared that at some points at least some states in Germany (including baden wurttemberg and berlin where I will be going) required that you have the EU pass.
I was planning to do a quick trip to a French pharmacy to get an EU pass, but now that France doesn't have a covid pass requirement any more.
Does anywhere in Germany still require the EU pass or can I get away with either the physical US card and/or the CA app (which has a barcode that won't scan with the EU app).
If so, and I will ask the France thread if the answer to the above is "yes," does anyone know if you can get a pass at a French Pharmacy still?

Depends what/where you plan to go or do. In my daily life, I don't use the QR code anymore, and hardly need a mask. Most restrictions were lifted beginning of the month. Restos, fitness studios, cultural events, stores, municipal pools, hotels....none of the QR code stuff anymore....

Are you allowed entry into Germany with just two Pfizer doses?

Yes, that fulfills the requirement of being fully vaccinated.

https://www.germany.info/us-en/coronavirus/2317268

Entered Germany at MUC this morning (final destination CGN). I presented my CDC vaccination card which shows my two Modern shots in April, 2021 and May, 2021 along with a negative PCR test from 4/13. The agent did not want to let me in the country as she claimed a new law said my doses had to be within 9 months and because I wasn't boosted the vaccinations were insufficient. She said my PCR test didn't matter. Eventually she asked if I'd had COVID and once I showed her my positive test result from January, 2021 she let me in.

Research prior to my trip along with research after this encounter failed to show any 9 month shot validity requirement. Even so, guess I should get boosted when I get home.

You shouldn't need anything. According to this, travelling to Germany from Switzerland currently requires no 3G proof (this applies only to origin countries on the high risk list, and there are currently none): https://www.bmi.bund.de/SharedDocs/f...97140bodyText3

Note that currently an FFP2 mask must still be worn on public transport when travelling through Bavaria - not sure whether it also applies in BW, depending on your entry point.

Interesting, and fortunate that you happened to have something that was acceptable to the border officer. I and several of my family members have entered Germany at MUC at different times in the last month or so (non-EU citizens travelling from outside EU) and none of us has been asked to show our proof of vaccination.

According to this page the requirement for a third dose of vaccine doesn't even come into effect until 1 October: https://www.bmi.bund.de/SharedDocs/f...97140bodyText3

Is there something written elsewhere that contradicts this?

Eh?

I just arrived at MUC today. Pfizer (both doses) were a year ago, booster last October.

Passport control didn't even want to see my vaccination card. They were more interested in why I was there and where I was going. The typical pre-COVID line of questions.

Lufthansa at EWR on the other hand, called me up to the counter several times to check my vaccination status. It was getting annoying.

I know rules will change between now and later this year when I get back to Germany, but I'm researching the current requirements and it appears Germany no longer recognizes J&J/Janssen as a full immunization against Covid-19? Am I reading this right?

The rules say you must have a full two shots to qualify as immunized through Sept 30, 2022. There is no mention of one shot vaccines unless you have a single shot plus proof of being sick. I last went to Germany in October and the single shot vaccine was acceptable.

So if I'm reading this right and someone has the J&J/Janssen vaccine only then the following is true:
1. They must get at least one shot of Pfizer/Moderna before traveling to Germany and this will only allow entry through Sept 30, 2022.
2. At least two months after the dose from above, another Pfizer/Moderna dose is required to qualify for entry into Germany starting October 1, 2022.

Is this correct? (Note: I believe there are ways to test out of this using PCR/antigen tests but my comments deal solely with what Germany now considers "fully vaccinated").

Thanks,
-RM

yeah, that's what i'm worried about. my booster is more than 9 months old, so it's expired. and i got covid already in jan 2022, so i don't really want to get another booster. but i guess i will.

As you point out things keep changing so my comment is mostly related to the current rules with some history for colour.

Today "fully vaccinated" is a two dose vaccine course completed at least two weeks ago.

If you had J&J as your first shot then you need one of the others as your second.

For a while there was an expiry on two dose of 9 months, so a third booster shot was required if your initial course was that far in the past. The booster never had an expiry date.

That seems to have been walked back to what I described above, at least for now. Expect it to change again by the time you travel.


As mentioned above, Germany never had an expiry for boosters, only the initial two dose course.

Where do you read that the second dose on top of a first J&J must be “one of the others”?

My reading of the rules and the actual law is that you need two doses of an approved vaccine, and J&J is one of the approved vaccines.

In US terms, a second dose of J&J is approved as a 1st booster choice, and people who chose J&J as their booster (rare and not recommended by the CDC if mRNA vaccines are available) would qualify as fully vaccinated in Germany.

(To be clear, I am not suggesting that RobOnLi should get another J&J vaccine)

Sorry, got my wires crossed.

For the second dose, an mRNA is recommended but not required.

For boosters (third, fourth etc) again an mRNA dose is recommended. In Germany you would/should only be offered an mRNA for boosters.

For the US:

FDA authorization for 2nd boosters is only for Pfizer and Moderna. For first booster (which in case of a first dose J&J would be the second shot) CDC recommendation is mRNA, but J&J is authorized.

It's not just Germany, I know France and other EU countries only use mARN to count as a booster.

Is it still possible to get a German COVID certificate based on the US vaccination? Or did they stop issuing these to visitors (now that restrictions are being lifted)?

I am in the Novavax covid vaccine trial and although we are eagerly awaiting EUA with the slow walking FDA here in the USA, I understand that the Novavax vaccine IS approved in most if not all EU countries now?!
I got my Novavax booster on January 31 so I hope I am considered fully vaccinated and can enter Germany when I travel in July?
I understand I am in a very small cohort of people in North America, less than 30,000 so I have had a very difficult time finding answers to my question about having acceptable vaxx status.
Any suggestions are very welcome!

https://www.germany.info/us-en/coronavirus/2317268

the Novavax vaccine is on the PEI list (it is approved and used in Germany):

https://www.pei.de/EN/medicinal-prod...19-list-1.html

With two doses you are considered fully vaccinated, so you should be fine.

Do you have one of those CDC Trial Participant vaccine cards? While they look very similar to the regular CDC cards, you might want to see if you can get a regular card issued (in my area the county public health department issues replacement cards; your PCP might be willing to do it, too, if they do Covid vaccinations).

Thank you for taking part in the trial!

I don’t quite believe that the FDA slow walked approval since Novavax only applied for EUA approval with the U.S. FDA on January 31, 2022.

https://ir.novavax.com/2022-01-31-No...VID-19-Vaccine