A device for transporting a substrate (5) into a working area (2, 3, 22) which can be temporarily separated in a vacuum-tight manner, and a corresponding method. A transport element (4) transports a substrate (5) in the plane (XY) to a defined working area (2, 3, 22) of a chamber (1). The transport element (4) has a deflectable sealing frame (6) which can be moved in a Z-direction perpendicular with respect to the XY-plane. The sealing frame (6) has two opposing sealing surfaces (10, 11) in the Z-direction. By pressing a closure element (16, 21, 24) against a first sealing surface (10, 11) and thus pressing the second sealing surface (11, 10) against a chamber wall (32, 31), the space of the working area (2, 3, 22) of the chamber (1) can be sealed.