E-AIA (formerly known as G35) is a mandatory occupational health precaution under the German Ordinance on Occupational Health Care (ArbMedVV) for certain work-related stays abroad. This article explains when it applies, who is responsible for what, how long an existing precaution counts, what happens if it is skipped, and where WorkFlex supports you.

E-AIA can be required in particular for:

There is no official country list stating "E-AIA required" or "E-AIA not required". What matters is the specific work location, the activity and the actual risks. In large countries, one region may require E-AIA while another may not.

E-AIA is an employer-managed requirement, not something the traveller is expected to sort out alone.

WorkFlex helps you identify and document a possible E-AIA requirement early in the travel process. Where the travel data indicates that E-AIA may be required, the risk assessment flags it, so you know before the trip starts that a health precaution may need to be arranged.

You can then check:

An existing Vorsorgebescheinigung can be stored in WorkFlex as evidence for the individual case, in the employee's document center.

Where mandatory precaution applies, organising it is the employer's responsibility. You must:

Two further employer obligations in this context have their own legal basis. You carry the cost of the occupational health precaution, because the cost of occupational safety measures may not be passed on to employees (ArbSchG). And you must keep a precaution register, the Vorsorgekartei.

The employee should not have to judge for themselves whether E-AIA is legally required. Legal responsibility for organising the mandatory precaution and complying with it stays with the employer.

Where mandatory precaution applies, the employee must attend the precaution appointment before performing the relevant work. Attending is what is mandatory — individual medical procedures are not automatically mandatory. The employee does not automatically have to accept:

The first precaution has to be arranged within the last three months before the relevant activity starts (AMR 2.1). For mandatory precaution, the employee must also have actually attended before the work starts.

In practice it is therefore worth starting the process several weeks before the planned business trip. That leaves enough time to arrange an appointment and, where relevant, any recommended vaccinations or other preventive measures.

A Vorsorgebescheinigung is the occupational health precaution certificate issued by the doctor after the appointment. It confirms:

It is not a general "fit for travel" or "fit to work abroad" certificate. As the employer, you generally do not receive diagnoses, lab values or other confidential medical results.

As the employer you must keep a Vorsorgekartei, a precaution register. It records that occupational health precaution took place, when it took place, and for what reason.

The Vorsorgekartei is a statutory documentation duty in its own right. If it is not kept, or is kept incorrectly or incompletely, that can be a separate regulatory offence under the ArbMedVV.

Medical findings, diagnoses and test results do not belong in the Vorsorgekartei.

There is no fixed legal validity period such as "valid for 24 months" or "valid for 3 years". Instead, the rules set maximum intervals for the next precaution:

These are maximum intervals, not automatic validity periods. The doctor may set an earlier next-precaution date on the Vorsorgebescheinigung, and that earlier date is the one to follow.

You can generally still rely on an existing precaution if:

Where the risk has materially changed, the risk assessment has to be reviewed and, if necessary, the company or occupational physician involved.

A new check is required in particular if:

Technically, yes — the employee can travel. What matters is performing the work on site: where mandatory precaution applies, the employer may only let the employee perform the relevant work after they have attended it.

A doctor, clinic or medical emergency service at the destination does not replace the mandatory precaution before the work starts.

Where the precaution genuinely cannot be arranged in time, the minimum practical step is to make sure the traveller has access to local medical specialists throughout the trip. This is a mitigation only. It does not replace the mandatory precaution and does not remove the employer's exposure described below.

If the employer does not arrange a required mandatory precaution, or does not arrange it in time, or lets the employee perform the relevant work without having attended it, this can be a regulatory offence under the ArbMedVV. That applies to intentional as well as negligent conduct.

Failing to keep the required Vorsorgekartei, or keeping it incorrectly or incompletely, can be a separate regulatory offence.

A fine of up to EUR 5,000 can in principle be imposed for such breaches. Where these obligations are breached intentionally and an employee's life or health is endangered as a result, criminal consequences can follow in addition.

Where this mandatory precaution was required for the trip, the employer must offer a follow-up precaution (Angebotsvorsorge) once the activity ends. The employee is not obliged to accept that offer.

In addition to the statutory mandatory precaution, it is advisable to:

These measures are good practice, but they do not replace a legally required mandatory precaution.