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Customs Information
Germany
CUSTOMER MUST BE PRESENT FOR CUSTOMS CLEARANCE (IF ALL DOCUMENTS ARE NOT IN ORDER)
- Used household goods are duty-free if Customer has resided at least one year abroad, if the goods were owned by Customer over six months and will not be sold for a minimum of one year.
- Goods should be imported within one year of Customer taking up residence; if not, reasons needed for delay - maximum limit three years.
- Inheritance Items
- Death Certificate
- "Erbschein" or an official document which certifies the customer has inherited the items from the deceased and states the relation ship between them.
- Wedding Trousseaux
- Marriage Certificate
- If household goods are imported before the marriage, proof must be furnished the marriage will take place within two months.
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Transportation
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Germany |
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Railways:
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Total: 46,039 km (20,100 km electrified)
standard gauge: 45,801 km 1.435-m gauge (20,084 km electrified)
narrow gauge: 214 km 1.000-m gauge (16 km electrified); 24 km 0.750-m gauge (2003)
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Highways:
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total: 230,735 km
paved: 230,735 km (including 11,515 km of expressways)
unpaved: 0 km (1999)
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Waterways:
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7,300 km
note: Rhine River carries most goods; Main-Danube Canal links North Sea and Black Sea (2004)
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Pipelines:
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Condensate 325 km; gas 25,293 km; oil 3,540 km; refined products 3,827 km (2004)
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Ports and Harbors:
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Berlin, Bonn, Brake, Bremen, Bremerhaven, Cologne, Dresden, Duisburg, Emden, Hamburg, Karlsruhe, Kiel, Luebeck, Magdeburg, Mannheim, Rostock, Stuttgart.
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Merchant Marine:
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Total: 332 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 5,721,495 GRT/6,810,631 DWT
by type: cargo 69, chemical tanker 13, container 208, liquefied gas 3, passenger 7, passenger/cargo 25, petroleum tanker 3, roll on/roll off 4
foreign-owned: 5 (Finland 2, Netherlands 1, Switzerland 1, UAE 1)
registered in other countries: 2,289 (2005)
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Airports:
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550 (2004 est.)
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Airports -
with paved runways:
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Total: 331
over 3,047 m: 13
2,438 to 3,047 m: 51
1,524 to 2,437 m: 62
914 to 1,523 m: 71
under 914 m: 134 (2004 est.)
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Airports -
with unpaved runways:
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Total: 219
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2
914 to 1,523 m: 31
under 914 m: 185 (2004 est.)
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Heliports:
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34 (2004 est.)
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Geography
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Germany
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Location:
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Central Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea and the North Sea, between the Netherlands and Poland, south of Denmark.
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Geographic Coordinates:
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51 00 N, 9 00 E
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Map References:
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Europe
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Area:
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Total: 357,021 sq km
Land: 349,223 sq km
Water: 7,798 sq km
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Area Comparative:
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Slightly smaller than Montana
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Land Boundaries:
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Total: 3,621 km
Border Countries: Austria 784 km, Belgium 167 km, Czech Republic 646 km, Denmark 68 km, France 451 km, Luxembourg 138 km, Netherlands 577 km, Poland 456 km, Switzerland 334 km
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Coastline:
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2,389 km
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Maritime Claims:
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Territorial Sea: 12 nm
Exclusive Economic zone: 200 nm
Continental Shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
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Climate:
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Temperate and marine; cool, cloudy, wet winters and summers; occasional warm mountain (foehn) wind.
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Terrain:
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Lowlands in north, uplands in center, Bavarian Alps in south.
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Elevation Extremes:
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Iowest point: Neuendorf bei Wilster -3.54 m
Highest point: Zugspitze 2,963 m
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Natural Resources:
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Coal, lignite, natural gas, iron ore, copper, nickel, uranium, potash, salt, construction materials, timber, arable land.
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Land Use:
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Arable land: 33.85%
Permanent crops: 0.59%
Other: 65.56% (2001)
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Irrigated Land:
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4,850 sq km (1998 est.)
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Natural Hazards:
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Flooding
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Environment - current issues:
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emissions from coal-burning utilities and industries contribute to air pollution; acid rain, resulting from sulfur dioxide emissions, is damaging forests; pollution in the Baltic Sea from raw sewage and industrial effluents from rivers in eastern Germany; hazardous waste disposal; government established a mechanism for ending the use of nuclear power over the next 15 years; government working to meet EU commitment to identify nature preservation areas in line with the EU's Flora, Fauna, and Habitat directive.
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Environment - international agreements:
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Party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulfur 85, Air Pollution-Sulfur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
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Geography - Note: |
strategic location on North European Plain and along the entrance to the Baltic Sea.
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