Germany With Unvaccinated Kids

According to everything I have read, and also according to friends who have returned this summer to Germany after holiday with their children from Hochrisikogebiete, the children need to quarantine for 5 days, with only a few narrow exceptions that a tourist to Germany would not fall under. The vaccine status of the parents does not have an effect on this.

The rules are spelled out in a somewhat straightforward way on the ADAC (German AAA-like organisation) website (for which you can googletranslate): Kinder unter 12 Jahren sind von der Test-Pflicht befreit, nicht jedoch von der Quarantäne-Pflicht: Für sie endet die Quarantäne automatisch am fünften Tag nach der Einreise. Beispiel: Findet die Einreise nach Deutschland am 1. September statt, ist die Quarantäne am 6. September automatisch beendet.

The full rules can be found here in English on an official government website from the Health Ministry. The Health Ministry document that lists the exceptions to this rule is only available in German, but can be found here.

Of course, all this information should be double-checked. Perhaps you could contact the German Mission in the US?

Thank you for this informative feedback. I will certainly be watching this closely and modify plans as needed.

Problem now solved. 5yr and older can now get vaccinated.

Indeed! Our flight to Munchen is a week from Monday so it’s bad timing for us since the kids won’t be fully vaccinated before the trip. I am going get them tested and rely on a couple of loopholes in the rules to get them out of quarantine.

In another thread, this question has just come up, in connection with the question that no vaccine has been approved for younger children in Europe yet, so would their vaccination in fact be accepted? I don't know the answer, but I thought it might make sense to tie those two questions together.

Edit to add:

Not meaning to discourage you, but those loopholes look pretty tight to me. As far as I can see, your only chance would basically be if you are visiting 1st degree relatives or have other really urgent medical or professional reasons for your trip.

Yeah I agree with Anna ---- there isn't really a loophole.....

You don't want to get in Germany and be..well stopped and quarantined because you have two unvaxxed kids. Even the rules for adults you need to be "fully vaccinated" (as in 2 weeks past your 2nd shot)... not "partially" or anything else.

It would seem better for you to just wait to visit vs risking it.

Admittedly it’s as clear as mud, but I read in the government website that a brief visit to see close relatives would be an item of consideration. We are in Germany for less than 48 hours on our way to France. My aunt’s house is a 4 minute walk from the hotel we are staying at. I am mindful of the surge in cases, which may make it more difficult to avoid the kids quarantining. If they do have to quarantine at a hotel for the one full day we are there, at least it won’t be a significant impact on our overall trip. The website is below.

https://www.auswaertiges-amt.de/en/coronavirus/2317268

Yeah... if you can turn that aunt into a parent...

Why don't you change your tickets to fly to France instead of Germany? In the past, authorities checked to be sure quarantines were being respected. If they check and find out that you broke quarantine to take a public train,...! This pesky pandemic is not making plans predictable.

Bets - you read my mind. The ticket change will cost us around $550 pp to do, but I am going to leave Germany within 24 hours of arrival now. An spend an extra day in France. This will allow us to qualify as transit passengers.

We are transiting through Frankfurt to Paris . My daughter will be 12 years And 1 day. She will have one vaccine dose on board and a neg pcr within 72 hours. Should be fine, yes?

Yes- transit passengers are exempt from the rules. You should be fine.

Talk about ever changing rules....but as of tomorrow the US will no longer be on the "high risk country" list. This means your kids can enter Germany unvaccinated and are NOT required to quarantine.

https://www.schengenvisainfo.com/news/unvaccinated-americans-can-travel-to-germany-under-facilitated-entry-rules-starting-from-nov-14/

Thank you for your post! Good lord! I had just reduced our Munich stay to 24 hours after agonizing for weeks about this! I need to rethink this and see if it’s worth it to change the travel plans again!.

Given that cases are the highest they've ever been in Germany right now, and Munich has just cancelled it's Christmas markets, and a "circuit breaker" lockdown is being mulled over, I'd get the heck out of dodge and into France, which is far better off right now, ASAP.

Indeed — I wouldn’t be worried about a country’s rules and what they might do to my trip — I would be worried about my unvaccinated children and what danger taking them on a journey might put them in. Even more so on a journey to a place with enormous case rates !!!

Report: we were in Germany for less than 24 hours. We saw a relative and did a whirlwind tour in the cold of Munich’s main outdoor attraction, Marienplatz. We hopped on a train and went to Paris, where we are now. During our brief stay in Munich, the general level of misery in the community was palpable. Glum faces waiting in line to get vaccinated. Half-constructed Christmas market pavilions. Empty shops. We hope to return in happier times. Thank you to everyone who took time to offer constructive and helpful information (this appreciation is not given to the contribution above).