Just before the holidays
Delayed issuance of passports causes frustration
07.07.2024, 10:20 a.m.
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Anyone who wants to go on holiday often needs a passport. But issuing one is currently taking longer than usual. The German Association of Cities complains that citizens are being asked to pay for the Federal Printing Office’s delivery problems.
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 the Association of Cities’ general manager, Helmut Dedy, to the German editorial network.
“It can now take up to eight weeks for passports to be delivered – normally it is only about two weeks,” said Dedy. Many citizens are caught off guard when their requested passports do not arrive on time before their vacation. The reason for this is delivery problems at the Federal Printing Office.
Back in May, the Federal Ministry of the Interior announced that, due to exceptionally high order volumes, the Federal Printing Office, as a passport and ID card manufacturer, was unable to complete all document orders within the usual production time. The Ministry of the Interior assumed that, in times of the corona pandemic, due to the restrictions on long-distance travel, the identity card was sufficient for most people. In the first few weeks of this year, the number of applications for passports rose exceptionally significantly.
Costs up to 170 euros
According to the RND report, Dedy sees the cities as issuing offices in a difficult situation: “The delivery problem lies with the Federal Printing Office, but the justified criticism from the applicants is directed 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. The citizens are then left with double the costs.
He pointed out that the new passport and express processing together cost more than 100 euros – in addition to the cost of the passport ordered in the first attempt. In total, around 170 euros must then be paid. Citizens are de facto paying for the delivery difficulties of the Federal Printing Office. “This is difficult to explain and certainly not citizen-friendly,” said Dedy.
He called on the responsible Federal Ministry of the Interior to ensure that the costs for the first application are reimbursed. In addition, the Federal Printing Office must ensure that the order for the first passport is cancelled if a second passport is ordered using express processing. This is also in the interest of the Federal Printing Office itself, because cancelled orders would then no longer overload production.