Go Back   Horizons Unlimited - The HUBB > Planning, Trip > Travellers' Advisories, Safety and Security on the Road
Travellers' Advisories, Safety and Security on the Road Recent News, political or military events, which may affect trip plans or routes. Personal and vehicle security, tips and questions.
Photo by Daniel Rintz, Himba children, Namibia

The only impossible journey
is the one
you never begin

Photo by Daniel Rintz,
Himba children, Namibia



Reply
 
LinkBack Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1  
Old 4 May 2011
spooky's Avatar
Registered Users
Veteran HUBBer
 
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Utopia/Germany
Posts: 279
Travel Warning for the Federal Republic of Germany!

found this one... well realistic it's more important for students who plan to stay in Germany for longer... but keep this in mind anyway...
this warning belongs to anyone who carries TV, car radio, Laptop, mobile phones in Germany....

[url=http://www.gez-abschaffen.de/Reisewarnung.htm]

Travel Warning for the Federal Republic of Germany!

Attention! Warning of committing an infringement of rules according to § 9 Abs. 1 Satz 1 RfGebStV while staying in or travelling through the Federal Republic of Germany! Foreigners who operate a Rundfunkempfangsgerät when staying, working or studying in the Federal Republic of Germany are obliged to register the Rundfunkempfangsgerät with the Gebühreneinzugszentrale (GEZ) within one month from the date of entry into the Federal Republic of Germany or from the date of commencement of the operation of the Rundfunkempfangsgerät. Non-residents who fail to do so may be subject to a fine of up to 1.000 Euro. On leaving the Federal Republic of Germany the licence for the operation of a Rundfungempfangsgerät is to be canceled with the Gebühreneinzugszentrale (GEZ) or the Landesrundfunkanstalt in charge at the place of work, study or holiday using a registered letter with reply to show receipt. In the case of non-compliance the bearer of the licence for the operation of a Rundfunkempfangsgerät will be entitled to back payment of the fees not paid in accordance with the regulations stipulated in § 1 Abs. 1, 2, 3; § 2 Abs. 1, 2, 3 RfGebStV upon re-entering the Federal Republic of Germany.

The aformentioned rules equally apply to foreigners who travel through the Federal Republic of Germany by train, car, other means of transport or on foot. Failing to do so may result in forced licensing with the Gebühreneinzugszentrale (GEZ) by the Rundfunkgebührenbeauftragten in charge at the place of detection of the infringement of rules. Ignorance is no excuse.

Transit passengers carying Rundfunkempfangsgerät and seeking to avoid an infringement of rules of the kind mentioned above should cross the Federal Republic of Germany by air or circumvent the Federal Republic of Germany by seagoing vessel outside German territorial waters.

Please inform friends and aquaintances!



Notice: This is not a Travel Warning by Auswärtiges Amt. This Travel Warning does not give legal reasons for the cancellation
of bookings free of charge with travel agencies, tour operators or carriers!
__________________
The trouble is that he was talking in philosophy, but they were listening in gibberish.
Reply With Quote
  #2  
Old 4 May 2011
T.REX63's Avatar
Gold Member
Veteran HUBBer
 
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: Atlanta, GA / USA
Posts: 295
Quote:
Originally Posted by spooky View Post
...
[url=http://www.gez-abschaffen.de/Reisewarnung.htm]

Travel Warning for the Federal Republic of Germany!

Attention! Warning of committing an infringement of rules according to § 9 Abs. 1 Satz 1 RfGebStV while staying in or travelling through the Federal Republic of Germany! Foreigners who operate a Rundfunkempfangsgerät when staying, working or studying in the Federal Republic of Germany are obliged to register the Rundfunkempfangsgerät with the Gebühreneinzugszentrale (GEZ) within one month from the date of entry into the Federal Republic of Germany or from the date of commencement of the operation of the Rundfunkempfangsgerät. Non-residents who fail to do so may be subject to a fine of up to 1.000 Euro. On leaving the Federal Republic of Germany the licence for the operation of a Rundfungempfangsgerät is to be canceled with the Gebühreneinzugszentrale (GEZ) or the Landesrundfunkanstalt in charge at the place of work, study or holiday using a registered letter with reply to show receipt. In the case of non-compliance the bearer of the licence for the operation of a Rundfunkempfangsgerät will be entitled to back payment of the fees not paid in accordance with the regulations stipulated in § 1 Abs. 1, 2, 3; § 2 Abs. 1, 2, 3 RfGebStV upon re-entering the Federal Republic of Germany.
...
leave it to the Germans. I'll betcha the administration of this nonsense cost the taxpayer more money then the revenue generated
__________________
Thomas

"Hey, ...I'm just ridin' shotgun"
Reply With Quote
  #3  
Old 4 May 2011
Registered Users
Veteran HUBBer
 
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Germany
Posts: 147
Well, the GEZ is well known for the rude and overreaching approach. The fee is similar to the UK broadcasting fee. Basically, by German law public broadcasting cannot be paid for with tax money. Hence the substantial fee. The GEZ has long argued that everyone has a TV and/or radio and thus must pay. It was up to you to proof you don't. It was enough to own one. It doesn't have to be installed. Since the public broadcasting stations started to have an internet presence and started to stream content it has been argued that anyone having a computer, smartphone, etc. will have to pay. Of course they weren't asked to provide that content. Since everyone has to pay they may as well use tax money instead of having a special agency, which spies on citizens. Lot's of money wasted, dozens of TV and radio stations, well and above the original (important!) public broadcasting mandate.

Shouldn't affect you when traveling though. However, if you use someone else's address to register a vehicle that data will be passed on to the GEZ and you may receive a letter at that address asking you to pay. Happened to me.

The law is about to change and there should be only one fee for each household, instead for everyone in the household. So even the above scenario shouldn't be a problem anymore.

The web site quoted above is a campaign to abolish the GEZ fee. So the scare mongering is no coincidence.

Quote:
leave it to the Germans. I'll betcha the administration of this nonsense cost the taxpayer more money then the revenue generated
They proudly claim to be the most efficient "Behoerde" in the country :-)))

While most of us hate them with a passion the idea behind it was actually sound. After WWII the government was not supposed to ever have any influence over public broadcasting. Hence the fee and not the tax. In reality the boardrooms of the broadcasting companies are filled with ex politicians and there is always considerable influence :-(
Reply With Quote
  #4  
Old 4 May 2011
T.REX63's Avatar
Gold Member
Veteran HUBBer
 
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: Atlanta, GA / USA
Posts: 295
Quote:
Originally Posted by boarder View Post
They proudly claim to be the most efficient "Behoerde" in the country :-)))
...
That's an oxymoron right there "efficient Behörde".

But, seriously, I was not aware of the history behind it, thanx for explaining that
__________________
Thomas

"Hey, ...I'm just ridin' shotgun"
Reply With Quote
  #5  
Old 5 May 2011
Gold Member
Veteran HUBBer
 
Join Date: Apr 2000
Location: Samaipata / Bolivia
Posts: 888
Hola,

I had a good laugh, thank you for posting it here. Yes, Germany is a dangerous place if you get involved with the Behörde - so stay away ;-)

Saludos de Salta
Mika
Reply With Quote
  #6  
Old 29 May 2011
Registered Users
Veteran HUBBer
 
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Köln/Cologne (Germany)
Posts: 222
Hey Spooky,

don´t scare people!
Your warning is rather unrealistic, at least for motorcycle travellers visiting our country.
What do you intend with this post? This is a forum for motorcycle travellers and not for exchange students etc.

That rule is not really practicable: it will not be enforced by e.g. police, who might stop mc-traveller´s for a generell traffic control.
The only one who cares about this, is the GEZ itself. And they can´t enforce it regarding motorcycle travellers passing through Germany.

Greetings from a German motorycle traveller in Ecuador

Panny
__________________
www.krad-vagabunden.de
Reply With Quote
  #7  
Old 29 May 2011
beddhist's Avatar
Contributing Member
Veteran HUBBer
 
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: Whangarei, NZ
Posts: 2,214
Quote:
Originally Posted by T.REX63 View Post
That's an oxymoron right there "efficient Behörde"
Not when it comes to enforcement of rules, I'm afraid.
__________________
Cheers,
Peter.

Europe to NZ 2006-10
Reply With Quote
  #8  
Old 29 May 2011
everywherevirtually's Avatar
Contributing Member
HUBB regular
 
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: Here, there, everywhere
Posts: 55
Hey spooky you need a Bescheinigung to post stuff like that

In all seriousness are they really going to waste valuable police time to see that every foreign bike or car has a license for their radio, smart phone etc? I think not.

I transit Germany a lot as I travel from the UK to Austria and back and I've never had any trouble. I am not sure it is something that the Polizei are even thinking about.

They'd also have to catch me first and after watching "Autobahn Polizei" a few times I now know all of their moves
Reply With Quote
  #9  
Old 29 May 2011
Registered Users
Veteran HUBBer
 
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Köln/Cologne (Germany)
Posts: 222
Quote:
Originally Posted by everywherevirtually View Post
In all seriousness are they really going to waste valuable police time to see that every foreign bike or car has a license for their radio, smart phone etc? I think not.

I transit Germany a lot as I travel from the UK to Austria and back and I've never had any trouble. I am not sure it is something that the Polizei are even thinking about.
Hi Everywherevirtually,

I explained it in my post above: the police will not enforce any GEZ-rule!
IF police might stop you in the context of a general traffic control or why ever, they won´t ask you about the GEZ-thing. It´s not their business!

cheers

Panny
__________________
www.krad-vagabunden.de
Reply With Quote
  #10  
Old 30 May 2011
Gold Member
Veteran HUBBer
 
Join Date: Apr 2000
Location: Samaipata / Bolivia
Posts: 888
Hola Panny

Hola todos,


Panny, I agree with you, this warning from Spooky is not important for any motorcycle traveller visiting Germany. And I thought it is a joke he made here.

But Panny, I disagree with you, about the police not working together with the GEZ.

I left Germany in 1999, but sometimes I read the news, so I cant really tell you if this article is true or not.

GEZ jagt Abtrünnige mit der Polizei

This article says, that the German police is looking for radios in cars and reports it to the GEZ.

Anyway, Spookys warning about GEZ and German police should not be on this forum.

Panny, if you ever come to Salta Argentina, I invite you for a and for sure we dont talk about GEZ and German police.

Saludos
Mika
Reply With Quote
  #11  
Old 30 May 2011
spooky's Avatar
Registered Users
Veteran HUBBer
 
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Utopia/Germany
Posts: 279
I'm afraid... this travel warning I posted is not a joke... but describes a rather bizarrly and ruthless behaver of some institution called the GEZ... or may rather there so called "self employed" members who make money by tricking innocent people to there good... in case some of this guys manage to trick you in to a registration, he will keep 50% of the profit in to his own pocket, the other 50% gets the GEZ.... just to put it simple the GEZ is a modern "robber baron" system.

I agree that this stuff is not important to bike travellers, and I did mention that before, but keep in mind, a "iPhone" or "laptop" used in a public place on your tour trip can get you in to trouble in Germany when you are not registered with the GEZ... (I wouldn't bother).. Well yeah the chance is very slim to get caught... but can happened in a public park, pub, cafe or any other place where you may cross the way of some of this freelance GEZ guys who thinks that you may would make a easy victim.
My advice... pretend not to understand what he is talking about and walk away...
About the Police... well they are not part of this game... an individual GEZ guy may or may not call the Police for assistance to proof your identity to put more pressure on you, but it's definitely not the polices job to be a little GEZ-helper..

see I'm not what you would consider a "patriot" Germany, I'm holding this damn passport which declares and stamps me as a German... "I'm a human" at first than after that "European", in mind and heard... so I enjoy kicking back where ever I can to hurt stupid national habits...
By the way, I managed to be "not" registered with the GEZ for 50 years by now... and know how to avoid being caught by this bastards..

On the other hand... well HUBB members are not that stupid to judge a post like the initial one in the right way... (well I hope so...), rather use this to make there own decisions...
__________________
The trouble is that he was talking in philosophy, but they were listening in gibberish.

Last edited by spooky; 30 May 2011 at 08:39.
Reply With Quote
  #12  
Old 13 Sep 2011
Registered Users
HUBB regular
 
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: Dalian
Posts: 67
Talking

spooky by name
spooky by posts!
too much bavarian I fink!
Reply With Quote
Reply


Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 Registered Users and/or Members and 1 guests)
 
Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are On
Pingbacks are On
Refbacks are On


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
N Mexico travel warning beddhist Travellers' Advisories, Safety and Security on the Road 0 23 Nov 2010 00:32
border czeck republic - germany for a french national with a czek bike chez_vince Trip Paperwork 3 15 Sep 2006 14:43
Travel Warning from German FCO Chris Scott North Africa 1 20 Jan 2004 16:03
new US travel warning- Mali junglegeorge North Africa 1 18 Jul 2001 03:44

 
 

Announcements

Thinking about traveling? Not sure about the whole thing? Watch the HU Achievable Dream Video Trailers and then get ALL the information you need to get inspired and learn how to travel anywhere in the world!

Have YOU ever wondered who has ridden around the world? We did too - and now here's the list of Circumnavigators!
Check it out now
, and add your information if we didn't find you.

Next HU Eventscalendar

HU Event and other updates on the HUBB Forum "Traveller's Advisories" thread.
ALL Dates subject to change.

2024:

Add yourself to the Updates List for each event!

Questions about an event? Ask here

HUBBUK: info

See all event details

 
World's most listened to Adventure Motorbike Show!
Check the RAW segments; Grant, your HU host is on every month!
Episodes below to listen to while you, err, pretend to do something or other...

2020 Edition of Chris Scott's Adventure Motorcycling Handbook.

2020 Edition of Chris Scott's Adventure Motorcycling Handbook.

"Ultimate global guide for red-blooded bikers planning overseas exploration. Covers choice & preparation of best bike, shipping overseas, baggage design, riding techniques, travel health, visas, documentation, safety and useful addresses." Recommended. (Grant)



Ripcord Rescue Travel Insurance.

Ripcord Rescue Travel Insurance™ combines into a single integrated program the best evacuation and rescue with the premier travel insurance coverages designed for adventurers.

Led by special operations veterans, Stanford Medicine affiliated physicians, paramedics and other travel experts, Ripcord is perfect for adventure seekers, climbers, skiers, sports enthusiasts, hunters, international travelers, humanitarian efforts, expeditions and more.

Ripcord travel protection is now available for ALL nationalities, and travel is covered on motorcycles of all sizes!


 

What others say about HU...

"This site is the BIBLE for international bike travelers." Greg, Australia

"Thank you! The web site, The travels, The insight, The inspiration, Everything, just thanks." Colin, UK

"My friend and I are planning a trip from Singapore to England... We found (the HU) site invaluable as an aid to planning and have based a lot of our purchases (bikes, riding gear, etc.) on what we have learned from this site." Phil, Australia

"I for one always had an adventurous spirit, but you and Susan lit the fire for my trip and I'll be forever grateful for what you two do to inspire others to just do it." Brent, USA

"Your website is a mecca of valuable information and the (video) series is informative, entertaining, and inspiring!" Jennifer, Canada

"Your worldwide organisation and events are the Go To places to for all serious touring and aspiring touring bikers." Trevor, South Africa

"This is the answer to all my questions." Haydn, Australia

"Keep going the excellent work you are doing for Horizons Unlimited - I love it!" Thomas, Germany

Lots more comments here!



Five books by Graham Field!

Diaries of a compulsive traveller
by Graham Field
Book, eBook, Audiobook

"A compelling, honest, inspiring and entertaining writing style with a built-in feel-good factor" Get them NOW from the authors' website and Amazon.com, Amazon.ca, Amazon.co.uk.



Back Road Map Books and Backroad GPS Maps for all of Canada - a must have!

New to Horizons Unlimited?

New to motorcycle travelling? New to the HU site? Confused? Too many options? It's really very simple - just 4 easy steps!

Horizons Unlimited was founded in 1997 by Grant and Susan Johnson following their journey around the world on a BMW R80G/S.

Susan and Grant Johnson Read more about Grant & Susan's story

Membership - help keep us going!

Horizons Unlimited is not a big multi-national company, just two people who love motorcycle travel and have grown what started as a hobby in 1997 into a full time job (usually 8-10 hours per day and 7 days a week) and a labour of love. To keep it going and a roof over our heads, we run events all over the world with the help of volunteers; we sell inspirational and informative DVDs; we have a few selected advertisers; and we make a small amount from memberships.

You don't have to be a Member to come to an HU meeting, access the website, or ask questions on the HUBB. What you get for your membership contribution is our sincere gratitude, good karma and knowing that you're helping to keep the motorcycle travel dream alive. Contributing Members and Gold Members do get additional features on the HUBB. Here's a list of all the Member benefits on the HUBB.




All times are GMT +1. The time now is 10:19.