Passport

When travelling abroad, you and your children generally need a passport. In many European countries, however, the federal identity card is recognised as a substitute for a passport.
Passports must be applied for in person. When applying for documents for children, the children must also be present in person. Representation is not possible as you must sign the application and your fingerprints must be recorded. The issuing of a passport currently takes 3-6 weeks.

If you need a passport in advance, you can order an express passport within 72 hours. This does not apply on weekends. Note: The application must be made before 11.30 am.

From May 2025, passport photos mayonly be taken digitally. From May 2025, digital passport photos can be taken directly by a professional photographer or in the citizens' offices. Printed passport photos will no longer be accepted from 1 May 2025. The Federal Ministry of the Interior wants to prevent manipulation in this way.

If your old passport has been stolen or lost, report the loss to the Citizens' Office or the police as soon as possible. When using identity documents that were once reported as lost or stolen, the Foreign Office would like to point out that even if the identity documents have since been reported as "found" again, this does not automatically lead to the deletion of the loss entry in the Interpol file. It therefore happens time and again that the foreign border police confiscate such identity documents. In such cases, it is recommended to apply for a new passport.

The consent of both parents or legal guardians is required for applications from young people under the age of 18 (see downloads). At least one parent or guardian must be present when the application is made. Representation is not possible.

Status enquiry

You can also check the status of your passport under Online status enquiry. If your document is not yet ready for collection, you can enter an e-mail address. This information will enable us to contact you as soon as the document can be collected.

Personal documents for marriage:

If you change your name on the occasion of your marriage, it is possible to order new identity documents in good time before the date of the ceremony.
When applying for the new documents, please bring a certificate from the registry office confirming your future name. You can apply for a passport with the certificate of future name use at the earliest 8 weeks before the date of the marriage.