The Honorary Consuls in Aberdeen (for Edinburgh), Barrow upon Humber, Belfast, Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Leeds, Liverpool, Newcastle upon Tyne (for Edinburgh), Plymouth and Southampton also accept passport applications. To find your nearest Honorary Consul, please click here.

General information

All applicants must attend in person (for identification and fingerprints).

An appointment must be booked in advance for each applicant, i.e. for two applicants you will need two appointments, etc.

You can apply for more than one document for one person at one appointment (e.g. passport and ID card for the same person).

Your identity documents will be sent to you by post when they are ready, so please bring with you a Special Delivery envelope (self-addressed and prepaid up to 500g).

ID cards can be applied for without parents’ consent from the age of 16 onwards.

Processing time

Biometric passports and ID cards are printed centrally by the Federal Printing Office in Berlin. Anticipated, non-binding processing times are as follows:

These are the processing times from the date the Embassy orders the documents from the Federal Printing Office. If there are any delays in the application process (e.g. due to missing documents), this will increase the processing time.

With the express service, the Federal Printing Office prints the passport and sends it for dispatch in a shorter time.

The express surcharge covers only the accelerated priority processing at the Federal Printing Office. Paying the express surcharge does not speed up the delivery of the document to the German mission abroad.

Passports are delivered by an external courier service. Unfortunately, delivery times are outside the control of the Federal Printing Office and the German missions abroad. Given that there are often delays in international air transport, we are unable to guarantee that the passport will be delivered by a specific date. Any information we provide regarding expected delivery times is non-binding.

Length of validity of identity documents

Biometric passports and ID cards are valid as follows (starting from the date of application)

What happens to your old identity document?

You have the following options:

Your passport/ID card has already expired

• Document is cancelled at your appointment and returned to you

Your current passport/ID card is still valid at the time of application

• With your consent, document is cancelled at your appointment and returned to you.
• Document stays at the Embassy, and is cancelled and sent to you with your new identity document.
• You take the document away with you again after filing your application (e.g. for forthcoming journey) and must then send it to the Embassy to be cancelled (even if it has expired in the meantime).

Documents required

• Application form (in the download centre)
• Current German identity document
• Birth certificate (Certificate must include parents’ details. Short Form Birth Certificates or Abridged Birth Certificates are not accepted)
• German naturalisation certificate or certificate of acquisition of German citizenship by declaration (if applicable)
• Marriage certificate (if applicable)
• Confirmation of name change (if applicable)
• Evidence of other nationalities held (if applicable, e.g. UK naturalisation certificate)
• Other identity documents (e.g. British passport)
• PhD certificate (if applicable and you want your academic title included)
• De-registration form from Germany (only required if your last identity document still shows a German place of residence)
• Proof of address (e.g. utility bill, council tax bill, bank statement, etc.)
• 1 recent biometric passport photo for each document applied for (no more than three months old). Information on facial biometrics requirements can be found here
• Special Delivery envelope (self-addressed and prepaid up to 500g) for each document applied for

Changes since last application

If, since your last application, there have been significant changes in your circumstances that are relevant to your application, you should check whether any further action needs to be taken before you submit your passport application.

Example 1:

You have got married and would like to take your spouse’s surname. à In this case you need to make a name declaration before submitting your application.

Example 2:

You want to be or have been naturalised in the United Kingdom. Make sure you receive(d) a retention permit beforehand. Otherwise you risk losing your German citizenship.

Here you can find further guidance on Naming law and civil status certificates and Citizenship law.

If there have been no changes since your last application in London or through one of our Honorary Consuls, then you only need to present the following documents (original and photocopy of each)

• Application form
• Current German identity document
• Proof of address (e.g. utility bill, council tax bill, etc.)
• 1 recent biometric passport photo for each document applied for (no more than three months old). Information on facial biometrics requirements can be found here
• Special Delivery envelope (self-addressed and prepaid up to 500g)

This does not apply to passport applications filed with the Consulate General in Edinburgh or the Honorary Consuls in Aberdeen and Newcastle upon Tyne.

Fees

Fee information can be found here

We accept card payments only. Only Visa and MasterCard are accepted. The card must be physically present. Unfortunately, contactless and wallet payments (e.g. Google Pay or Apple Pay) are not possible. Cardholder signature required.