Germany extends border controls with Switzerland until March 2027

The German government has announced it is extending additional controls at all nine of its land borders, including Switzerland, until early 2027, despite questions of legality.

What the extended German border checks mean for Switzerland

German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt (CSU) has announced that the federal republic will extend additional border checks until March 2027. Anyone driving to or from Switzerland via Germany, such as cross-border commuters, residents looking for cheaper shopping or anyone going on holiday, should be prepared for potential delays. 

Borders such as Basel, Schaffhausen or Konstanz may be particularly busy during periods such as school holidays. Anyone travelling further, for example to the Netherlands, taking routes via Germany could also face border checks.

The Swiss government has previously called on Germany to bring an end to the border checks.

Border checks extended for the fourth time

The German government first introduced additional border controls in the Schengen Area in September 2024, and the policy has now been extended for the fourth time. The latest extension was due to expire in September but has now been pushed to 2027.

The Federal Interior Ministry said it has notified the European Commission of the latest extension. EU member states in the Schengen Area may implement their own border controls, but only when public order or internal security is under threat.

As such, external concern has grown that the German government’s additional controls breach EU Schengen laws. In early May, a Koblenz court ruled that additional checks conducted on the Germany-Luxembourg border between March and September 2025 could not be justified on the basis of a threat to public order or internal security.

Living in the Netherlands as an expat? 🌷 Get English-only public health insurance with zero deductible. All public hospitals & GPs covered. Join 21,000+ expats already covered. From €166.8/month -> https://www.gliderinsurance.nl/?utm_source=AIMiles

A law professor, Dominik Brodowski, brought the case forward after driving from Luxembourg to Germany in June 2025. Border police verified Brodowski’s identity at the border before he entered Germany. 

"This should really give politicians food for thought and not be dismissed as a one-off decision,” the professor at Saarland University told the dpa following the ruling, which he called a "strong signal for European integration, for European unification and also for Schengen law."

EU calls on Germany to phase out checks

Dobrindt’s decision comes despite the EU itself recently calling on German authorities to suspend all additional border checks.

In July, Commissioner for Internal Affairs and Migration Magnus Brunner (Austrian ÖVP) told German news outlet dpa that falling migration figures and new EU asylum rules meant Germany should begin phasing out the extra checks.

According to the EU border control agency, Frontex, “irregular” migration fell by around a third in the first half of 2026. The asylum rule Brunner refers to is the New Pact on Migration and Asylum (or GEAS in German), which took full effect on June 12, 2026.

The GEAS makes it easier for EU member states to deny people the right to apply for asylum. Human Rights Watch says the reform will “take a sledgehammer” to asylum rights “at a time when the world needs Europe more than ever to champion human rights”. 

Former President of the European Parliament Martin Schulz (SPD) supported Brunner’s appeal, saying the additional controls “brought nothing” and broke basic European laws.

This article originally appeared on IamExpat Germany.