2024-07-07 16:24:06
The summer vacation is coming up, but the passport is still waiting? According to the German Association of Cities, there is currently a lot of rumbling.
According to the German Association of Cities, there are major delays in issuing passports at the start of the holiday season, which is causing frustration among those affected. “There is a lot of unrest in the passport and ID offices in the cities,” said Helmut Dedy, managing director, of the German editorial network (RND/Sunday).
“It can now take up to eight weeks for passports to be delivered – normally it is only about two weeks,” says Dedy, according to the RND report. Many citizens are caught off guard when their passports do not arrive on time before their vacation. The reason for this is delivery problems at the Federal Printing Office.
In response to a dpa query, the Federal Ministry of the Interior said: “Since March, production times have exceeded the contractual delivery time of 12 working days and have currently reached an average of 21.8 working days.” Since the beginning of 2024, the number of applications, especially for passports, has increased exceptionally significantly, said a ministry spokeswoman. “For the first time in the history of Bundesdruckerei GmbH, well over 600,000 passports were ordered within four weeks, and new daily records for daily orders were set up until May.”
According to the RND report, Dedy sees cities as issuing offices in a difficult position: “The delivery problem lies with the Federal Printing Office, but the justified criticism from applicants is being leveled at the city employees.” If the new passport does not arrive on time, many people opt for a second application with express processing, said Dedy. Citizens are then left with double the costs.
The press spokeswoman for the Federal Ministry of the Interior says that the Federal Printing Office will further increase its production capacity by purchasing new production machines. The procurement measures for this have been initiated. “For express orders, the passport will still be ready for collection at the office after three days.” Citizens can also be issued a temporary passport on an ad hoc basis for trips to most countries so that their trip does not have to be postponed. After returning, the temporary passport will then be returned as soon as the regular passport is available.