Information for your arrival to Kiel

Quarantine measurements due to Corona


If you enter Germany from a risk area, you are subject to a 14-day quarantine. If there is no negative COVID-19 test that you can present upon arrival, this quarantine must be observed.

Please note that quarantine cannot be carried out in an apartment where you share the bathroom and kitchen with other residents. This applies, for example, to most rooms in the dormitories of the Studentenwerk. You can only move into these rooms after the 14-day quarantine or after submitting a negative COVID-19 test.

It is not easy to find a quarantine-suitable apartment / room in Kiel for the 14 days. In addition, it must be ensured that you are provided with food during the 14-day period in an apartment. In case you go into quarantine, it would therefore be advisable to contact people you might already know in Kiel and to ensure that you are supplied with sufficient food that is allowed to be imported into Germany.

As quarantine is very difficult to perform, we strongly recommend that you take a molecular biological test (PCR test) before entering the country, in order to enter with a - hopefully - negative test result. After entry, the responsible health authority in your community will decide whether quarantine is unnecessary. Please note that this will only be determined with the final decision of the local authorities.

 

You have the following testing options:

a)
Perform a COVID19 (SARS-CoV-2) test in your home country. The test must have been carried out no more than 48 hours before entry. Molecular biological tests (PCR tests) are currently accepted in principle from all countries of the European Union and from the countries on this list of the Robert Koch Institute: https://www.rki.de/DE/Content/InfAZ/N/Neuartiges_Coronavirus/Tests.html
Please check regularly whether the tests carried out in your country of departure are still recognized in Germany. If this is the case and the result is negative, you are not subject to quarantine.

b)
Lufthansa, Fraport and CENTOGENE offer a COVID 19 test at Frankfurt Airport in a swab center in the immediate vicinity of the airport building. You can use this option if you are entering Germany via Frankfurt. The test center has specific opening hours and by pre-registering online for your test you can significantly reduce your waiting time at the test center.
There is a standard and an express test, both of which are recognized in Kiel. Just remember to allow time for the test and for waiting for the result. This could be difficult if you have a direct connecting flight (e.g. to Hamburg).
You can find more information here: https://www.centogene.com/covid-19/testing/testing-at-frankfurt-airport.html

Passengers at Munich Airport also have the opportunity to be tested for possible infection with the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2.  A test is available at the airport's medical center. You must register for the test by telephone or email.
You can get more information here: https://www.munich-airport.com/travelling-in-times-of-the-coronavirus-pandemic-8395611

It is possible that other airports in Germany will also set up additional test centers. Please check the websites of the airports on a regular basis.

After entry, a notification must be made to the responsible health authority. In Kiel the notification is made by email to infektionsschutz@kiel.de. In the email, please state your full name, date of birth, address and telephone number as well as the country of origin/departure and the date of your last day in that country. Depending on your state of health, the health office (Gesundheitsamt) will then determine the rules for quarantine or if quarantine can be waived. The test result (from the home country or from the airport) must also be sent. The requirements of the health office are binding.


More  information about entering the State of Schleswig-Holstein an be found here.

General Information

Information about the bus system (including schedules and fares) is available from the Kiel Transit Company (KVG). Here you can use a computerized route finder function by filling in the Start (from) and Ziel (to) fields. For example, your Start might be Bahnhof and Ziel might be Universität (or the location of your housing). A few days after you enrol at Kiel University you will receive your »Semesterticket«. It will allow you to use public transportation in Kiel free of charge.

  • Information related to the location of faculties on campus and in the city of Kiel can be obtained here.
  • A town portrait of the city of Kiel you can find in this flyer.

Transport connections to Kiel University

...by car

Coming from the South:

Drive northwards as far as Hamburg and then follow the motorway A7 in northward direction. At the motorway junction Bordesholm switch to motorway A215 to Kiel. At the end of A215 please follow the road signs to Kiel University.

Coming from the North:

Drive southwards on the A7 and switch to the motorway A210 to Kiel at the junction Rendsburg. At the end of A215 please follow the road signs to Kiel University.

...arrival by airplane

From Hamburg Airport you can take the airport shuttle »Kielius«, which makes the trip between Hamburg Airport and Kiel up to 19 times daily. Consider that on your return trip, you may be enrolled as a student, in which you pay less than the regular fee. The bus stops at a clearly marked location directly outside the airport terminal. The schedule and prices  can be found here.

...arrival by train

Kiel has a major railway station with modern transfer (in German, »Umsteiger«) services. The »Umsteiger« consists of a service center where you can get information from the staff of the Kiel public transit authority, the KVG.
Information about other services such as auto sharing, operated by the firm StattAuto (whose name is a nice play on the identical sound of the German words for ‘city’ and ‘instead’), is also available here.

There is also a bicycle station where Brücke SH operates a monitored bicycle park, repair service and rentals. You can find out more here (in German only).

From the railway station, you can take a bus or taxi to the University, your student dormitory or wherever you’re staying (taxi fare to the University is around € 8 - € 10). Taxis wait outside the north exit (straight ahead), and buses are outside the west exit (to the left).

...arrival by ferry

If you arrive on one of the Baltic Sea ferries (at either Norwegenkai, Schwedenkai or Ostuferhafen), you can take the bus or a taxi to your destination of choice. Taxis are usually waiting there; if you plan to take the bus, determine your route in advance. Information about the bus system (including schedules and fares) is available from the Kiel Transit Company (KVG). Here you can use a computerized route finder function by filling in the Start (from) and Ziel (to) fields.