The Impact Of The CORONA CRISIS On Immigration To Germany
Due to the novel Coronavirus, the EU member states, and Germany
have issued a number of protective measures:
TRAVEL RESTRICTIONS:
- Touristic Travel within and acrossthe Schengen borders shall be omitted. The Schengen countries thus
restricted travel within
and at the outer borders to necessary border crossings for the next
30 days:
- Touristic travel is no longerpermitted
- Professional travel for the deliveryof goods and services will still be possible.
- EU nationals, nationals of EFTAcountries and Swiss or UK nationals as well as their family members
may enter the Schengen Area in order to travel to their home
country.
- Individuals that hold an EU / EFTA /UK / Swiss national visa or residence/settlement permit may cross
the borders in order to return to the country that issued the
permit.
- German missions abroad are known tocancel visa appointments for Schengen Visa as no travel on the
basis of Schengen visa will be allowed within the next 30
days.
- German missions abroad are continuingto issue national visa for employment and family reunion until
further notice.
- We have received no information sofar whether Schengen visa with a work permit will allow entering
the Schengen Area. If your employees need to travel urgently on the
basis of a Schengen visa with work permit, you may try providing
them with a letter on company letterhead confirming the necessary
nature of this travel.
- Individuals showing signs ofinfection may be rejected at the border.
- Hotels and boardinghouses in Germanymust not provide accommodation for tourism purposes. We thus
recommend that
employers provide their foreign personnel with a document on a
company letterhead confirming that their need for
accommodation is strictly job-related if they are currently staying
in a hotel or boardinghouse.
EXTENTION OF SCHENGEN VISA:
Schengen Visa can be extended in case of force majeure. The
current corona crisis can be regarded as such. However, many German
immigration offices are currently unavailable. The German Federal
Government is already working to advise on a solution for this
particular problem. Foreign nationals who require to extend their
existing Schengen Visa will need to contact their immigration
service provider for further guidance.
EXTENTION OF NATIONAL VISA AND PERMITS:
National permits are by law automatically extended for a
preliminary period once an application has been logged before the
validity runs out. This legal automatism does not require a
preliminary permit (Fiktionsbescheinigung) to be issued. Obtaining
evidence that the application has been logged is recommended best
practice. Many authorities currently do not receive applications by
personal appearance of the applicant but can still be reached by
telefax or other suitable technology creating a log report Please
contact us for support.
OUTLOOK:
The services of the Labor Authority are still in operation.
German missions abroad have limited their service but will still
issue visa for employment. Applications related to the delivery of
essential services (health related, travel required to ensure basic
services such as food, basic infrastructure, etc.) will be
prioritized. Please flag applications accordingly if they fall into
this category.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general
guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought
about your specific circumstances.