Cross-border workers

Cross-border workers outside the Czech Republic

If you are one of the cross-border workers, it is recommended to frequently check the website of the embassy of the country in which you work. Conditions change dynamically.

If you can't find the answer on the page, call the Information Center for Trips Abroad of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic: +420 222 264 222 (available on MON-FRI from 08:00 - 16:00, however from 18.2. even outside this time frame there will be basic information regarding traveling to other countries available).

If you have lost your job as a cross-border worker, see the Guide to Applying for Unemployment Benefit for Cross-border workers (only in Czech) issued by the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs.

The following regimes now apply to Germany:

From 14 February 2021 onwards, the Czech Republic has been included among the so-called risk countries with a mutating virus. In most cases, only German citizens and their families, persons with a residence permit in Germany, transportation workers, healthcare workers, and passengers for urgent humanitarian reasons (eg death in the family, birth of a child, serious health issues) can travel to Germany. Passage through Germany is possible only for humanitarian reasons. Every traveler to Germany must register, no later than 48 hours before the journey, undergo a PCR or antigen test, which must be in English or German and, with a few exceptions (only in Czech or German), enter quarantine upon arrival.

Employees who work in healthcare, care services, or transportation are exempted from quarantine. The entry ban also does not apply to seasonal workers in agriculture (they are required to present an employer's certificate of accommodation in Germany) and to employees who are necessary to maintain the functioning of companies - this exemption applies only to Saxony and Bavaria (from 19.2 onwards an individual certificate must be issued by the Bavarian or Saxon authorities stating the information on the employee and the company). However, these employees still have to follow the quarantine measures of the specific federal state to which they head and take a test every 48 hours.

To cross the border, you can use the Czech-English or German version of the antigen test form.

Furthermore, the use of public transport service is prohibited to persons that have no residence permit in Germany and stay in the last 10 days in a country that is on the list of high-risk countries with a virus mutation. For these reasons, the Czech Railways suspended trains between the Czech Republic and Germany.

The specific quarantine measures, including their duration, are set by each federal state separately and the information can be found on the website of the federal government (in English, German, or French).

The Federal Police has created a form (in German) which you can use to ask them if you fall into one of the entry exception categories.

More information for cross-border workers can be found on the website of the German Embassy in Prague (only in Czech or German).

You can view summary information for travelers to the Federal Republic of Germany in Czech and English and other languages.

Saxony:

From 14 February 2021 onwards, all persons over the age of 6 must register before arriving in Saxony, have a negative antigen or PCR test of not more than 48 hours old, and must enter a 14-day quarantine. Only those who work in healthcare, care services, drivers in freight firms, agriculture where they take care of animals and those, whose work is necessary for the functioning of critical infrastructure undertakings are exempt from quarantine from cross-border workers. These cross-border workers must submit a system relevance certificate (only in German,(Bescheinigung der Systemrelevanz), which is issued at the request of the employer by the regional authorities (Landkreis). You can find which sectors are counted as the critical infrastructure on the website of the Consulate General of the Czech Republic in Dresden (only in Czech or German). In any case, if this exception applies to you, contact your employer first.

In addition to registration, all cross-border workers are required to submit a test every day. It is necessary to submit an employment contract in case of a possible inspection. It is better to always submit the originals of the given documents.

Detailed information, including the most frequently asked questions, can be found in the information poster for cross-border workers (in Czech, German).

Bavaria:

Cross-border workers, like all other passengers, must arrive in Bavaria from 24 January 2021 with a negative test of not more than 48 hours and be registered and enter the 10days quarantine. Both PCR and antigen tests are accepted. The certificate must be in English or German. You are required to have the certificate of registration at you during the entrance to the country. Only cross-border workers that working in healthcare, nursing services, seasonal agricultural workers (they are required to provide an employer's certificate of accommodation in Germany) and cross-border workers who are necessary to maintain the functionality of critical infrastructure companies are exempted from quarantine. In order to achieve this exemption, cross-country workers must obtain an individual official certificate issued at the request of the employer by the authorities of the provincial council (only in German). The basis for issuing the certificate is the list of occupations given in the relevant communication of the European Commission (in Czech and German). In any case, if this exception applies to you, contact your employer first.Other conditions (registration and test every 48 hours) are still being required for all cross-border workers.

You may undergo the test at the borders with Bavaria.

The following regime now applies to Austria:

From 10.2.2021, electronic registration will also be necessary for cross-border workers, which must always be repeated when submitting a new test or when changing the entered data. In addition, commuters will be required to submit a medical certificate of undergoing the antigen or PCR test with a negative result, which is valid for 7 days from the time of collection (medical certificate form is available in German and English). The medical certificate may be replaced by the test result in English or German if it contains the following information: name, surname, date of birth, date and time of collection, a result (positive/negative), a signature of the person who performed the test and stamp of the institution that performed the test.).The medical certificate can be replaced by a test in Austria within 24 hours of crossing the border. It is possible to use cost-free Austrian test stations for this purpose (in this case you must prove that the employer's registered office in Austria).

Instructions on how to fill out the registration and more information on registration can be found on the MFA website (only in Czech or German).

Further information can be found on the website of the Embassy of the Czech Republic in Vienna (only in Czech or German).

The following regimes now apply for Slovakia:

Details can be found in the section Traveling abroad > Slovakia.

Czech cross-border workers heading back to the Czech Republic:

Neither fulfilling the arrival form nor submitting the PCR test result is required for Czech cross-workers while coming back to the Czech Republic.