Territories with special arrangements

Specific customs rules apply when travelling to Germany from any of the territories listed below.

Although these areas belong to the national territory of individual EU Member States, they are not part of the customs territory of the Community, and the provisions that apply to entry from non-EU countries also apply to them. Items travellers bring with them from these areas are therefore only duty-free when they are within the travellers’ allowances for goods from non-EU countries.

• Büsingen

• Heligoland

  • Goods whose value and quantity exceed the travel allowances for air and sea transport and which are subject to formalities under foreign trade law, as well as prohibitions and restrictions, must be declared by the traveler to the Helgoland Customs Office for release for free circulation before being brought into the customs territory of the Union. Subsequent customs clearance on the mainland is no longer possible
• The Faroe Islands
• Greenland
• Saint Pierre and Miquelon, New Caledonia, French Polynesia, Wallis and Futuna, French Southern and Antarctic Lands
• Livigno and Campione d`Italia including the part of Lake Lugano between Ponte Tresa and Porto Ceresio
• Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao, Saba, Sint Eustatius, Sint Maarten
• Ceuta and Melilla
• the northern (Turkish) part of Cyprus which is not controlled by the Government of Cyprus

Although the following areas are part of the customs territory of the EU, they are not part of its excise duty or VAT territory. When entering the EU from these areas the same customs-approved treatments apply as when entering from non-EU countries; however, if the travellers’ allowances are exceeded only the import turnover tax and any applicable excise duties will be payable.

• The French overseas departments (Martinique, Mayotte, Guadeloupe, Réunion and French Guiana)
• The Canary Islands
• Campione d'Italia and the part of Lake Lugano between Ponte Tresa and Porto Ceresio that belongs to Italy
• The Åland Islands
• Mount Athos in Greece