Great Britain

Travel warning

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland continues to be affected by COVID-19.

Up-to-date and detailed figures are provided by the Office for National Statistic and the UK Government, and for Scotland by the Scottish Regional Government.

Since March 18, 2022, any pandemic-related restrictions have been lifted.

As of October 1st, 2021, EU-ID cards will no longer be accepted for entry into Great Britain.

You can check if you need a visa for your stay in the UK here: Check if you need a UK visa

Travel documents

Entry into the United Kingdom is possible for EU-nationals with the following documents:

Passport: Yes
Provisional Passport: Yes
Identity card: No, exception: Gibraltar
Provisional identity card: No
Child Passport: Yes

Entry without a visa:

• If you or a close family member lived in the UK before 1 January 2021 you can apply for the free EU Settlement Scheme. You can apply for this by June 30, 2021 at the latest. There are exceptions to the application after this deadline.
• Students and researchers from the EU or Switzerland: No visa is required for stays of up to 6 months for study or research purposes. For entry, it is sufficient to present a passport that is valid for the duration of your stay.
• You may also be asked to provide a letter of invitation and proof that you have arranged accommodation for your stay and that you will be departing at the end of your visit.

Entry with a visa

Here you can check whether you need a visa and if so which one: visas-immigration

• Persons who are not citizens of an EU country or of Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein have to apply for a visitor visa for stays of up to 6 months since January 1st, 2021.
• A standard visitor visa costs £100.

Online application

For a visa application, an appointment must be booked at a visa application center. There, fingerprints are taken and a biometric photo is taken. In Germany, the centers are in Berlin, Düsseldorf and Munich.

Current information can be found on the website of the Federal Foreign Office. Important: Binding information on entering Great Britain and Northern Ireland can only be given by the responsible British representations in Germany.

Travelling on business, you cannot:

• doing paid or unpaid work for a UK company or as a self-employed person
• do an internship or an apprenticeship
• offer goods and services
• Check here whether you need to apply for a visa for your business trip to carry out your planned activities.
• For regular business trips to the UK, you can apply for a standard long-stay visitor visa, valid for 2, 5 or 10 years. You can then stay for a maximum of 6 months on each visit.
• A standard visitor visa costs £100.
• The fee for a long-term standard visitor visa depends on the length: 2 years - £376; 5 years - £670; 10 years - £837.

Students

• For stays for study purposes longer than 6 months, a student visa must be applied for: student-visa
• The application requires a confirmation from the receiving institution (Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies, CAS) and proof of sufficient knowledge of English: Knowledge of English.
• A student visa can be applied for at the earliest 6 months before the start of the study visit.
• The fee for a student visa is £348. To this must be added the cost of the Immigration Health Surcharge of £470.

Researchers

• For business trips and research stays of non-EU citizens, Swiss or Lichtenstein citizens of up to 6 months a standard visitor visa must usually be applied for.
• For business trips and research stays longer than 6 months, a Temporary Worker - Government Authorized Exchange visa (T5) must be applied for.
• This visa can be applied for no earlier than 3 months before the start of your stay.
• It entitles you to stays of up to 12 or 24 months, depending on the reason for your stay.
• A sponsorship reference number is required for the application.
• The fee is £189 or £244 depending on the country of origin. Calculate Immigration Health Surcharge
• For regular business trips to the UK, a standard long-term visitor visa valid for 2.5 or 10 years can be applied for. You can then stay for a maximum of 6 months on each visit.
• The fee for a Long Term Standard Visitor Visa depends on the length: 2 years - £376; 5 years - £670; 10 years - £837.

Internships

• A Temporary Worker-Government Authorized Exchange visa (T5) is required for interns within the framework of the Erasmus+ program for a stay in the United Kingdom.
• In order to be able to apply for such a visa, the participants must have a so-called Certificate of sponsorship (reference number), which is issued by the British Council for Erasmus+ and is valid for 3 months.
• The application for the reference number must be submitted to the British Council by the sending university and not by the individual grantee.
• This process can take up to three weeks.
• The visa application can be completed online after presenting the reference number from the Certificate of sponsorship and costs £244 pounds.
• Those with a visa must also pay an Immigration Health Surcharge to access the NHS, the public health service. For students, the fee is £470 per year.
• There is no minimum salary requirement in the Tier5 (GAE) category. However, it is also regulated that the students must prove their livelihood through the Erasmus+ funding and/or the internship salary and are not allowed to apply for any public benefits.

Short stays

• For cross-border benefits in the event of illness, the previous provisions will continue to apply from January 1st, 2021.
• European health insurance cards (EHICs) can continue to be used in the previous format for temporary stays in the United Kingdom from January 1st, 2021.
• Students: EU students coming to the UK to study for less than 6 months do not need a visa or pay the Immigration Health Surcharge - they can use their EU-issued EHIC to receive medically necessary healthcare in the UK.
• Health contributions that the United Kingdom levies on students starting January 1, 2021 in order to gain full access to the health system can, under certain conditions, be fully or partially reimbursed by the United Kingdom. More info: https://www.gov.uk/healthcare-immigration-application/refunds.

Longer stays

• If your rate goes beyond June 30, 2021, you will need to apply for the EU Settlement Scheme
• With this you will be able to work in the UK and have free access to the national healthcare system, the NHS

Additional insurance

• In order to receive services that go beyond this basic care, it makes sense to take out health insurance abroad. Here, for example, a return transport to Germany is included.
• It is therefore recommended to take out private travel health and repatriation insurance, which also allows treatment in private hospitals.
• The German Liaison Offices for Health Insurance Abroad provide further details.
• You can always receive information about the current regulations from your health insurance company.

• Find-Your-Great-Britain provides information on driving in Great Britain.
• There is left-hand traffic. When driving your own vehicle, make sure that the headlights are adjusted for this or are taped off accordingly.
• The blood alcohol limit is 0,8, in Scotland 0,5.
• Give way rules are usually signposted STOP or GIVE WAY or marked accordingly, with a double, white cross line meaning STOP, a double, broken left indicates a slow approach.

Driver's license

• The EU driving license will continue to be accepted for short term stays until at least 31 December 2020, see EU drivers visiting or living in the UK after EU Brexit.

The local currency is the British pound sterling (GBP). Withdrawing cash from ATMs and paying with credit cards are possible everywhere. The Federal Financial Supervisory Authority BaFin offers FAQs for consumers on Brexit.

As of February 1st, 2020, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is no longer a member of the European Union.

Answers to specific questions can be found in the British government's Brexit checker.

Erasmus

• The new partnership agreement does not provide for any further participation in Erasmus+ for the current program generation (2021-2027).

Erasmus+ mobility (students, guest lecturers and administrative staff) to/from Great Britain can be funded in 2022/2023 from the remaining funds of the Erasmus budget 2020 (until May 2023). From the academic year 2023/24, Erasmus funds "20% special budget partner countries" are available - for study visits. Guest lecturers will no longer be available, and staff mobility will then only be eligible for funding to a very limited extent. Guest lecturers will no longer be available, and staff mobility will then only be eligible for funding to a very limited extent. Stays longer than 6 months require a visa, additional health insurance and language certificates.

Further information is available from the DAAD.