Central Europe: Germany, Austria, Czech Republic, Poland, and Slovakia extend border controls to early November /update 4

Event

Austrian, Czech, and Polish authorities have announced the extension of checks at the Slovak border through at least Nov. 2 to combat illegal migration. Additionally, Slovak authorities have extended their renewed border controls at the Hungarian border through at least Nov. 3. Austrian authorities extended border controls at the Slovenian and Hungarian borders until at least Nov. 11. This comes after German authorities enacted temporary border checks on their borders with the Czech Republic and Poland from Sept. 27; as of Oct. 16, German authorities issued increased border controls at the borders with Switzerland. Polish authorities opened 11 road and rail crossing points and 11 pedestrian crossing points on the country's border with Slovakia where they will carry out random checks; only EU citizens will be allowed to use the pedestrian crossings. Austrian and Czech authorities are also conducting random checks at their Slovak borders, while Slovak authorities are conducting random checks at their Hungarian border. It is unclear when German border controls are set to expire.

Individuals traveling via land attempting to cross borders in Central Europe will likely encounter border crossing delays while heightened controls remain in effect.

Advice

Allow additional time if crossing into Slovakia from Hungary, into Austria, Poland, or the Czech Republic from Slovakia, into Germany from the Czech Republic, Poland and Switzerland, or into Austria from Slovenia. Keep important travel documents on hand and be prepared for potential inspections. Strictly heed all instructions issued by local officials.