The Honorary Consuls in Aberdeen (for Edinburgh), Barrow upon Humber, Belfast, 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

When applying for identity documents for children, the children (including newborns/ toddlers) and their parents or guardians must all be present in person (for identification and, in some cases, fingerprints). Further information concerning parents and guardians can be found below.

An appointment must be booked in advance for each applicant, i.e. for two children 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-address 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 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. 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.

Applications for persons under the age of 18

Applicants under the age of 18 cannot apply for a passport without the consent of their legal representatives. It is therefore essential that the child and all individuals holding parental responsibility are present for the filing of the application, in other words the appointment at the Embassy.

If one parent is unable to attend the application appointment (usually a parent who lives elsewhere or is unable to attend due to work commitments), a certified declaration of consent is required. A declaration of consent form can be found in our download centre. A German local authority such as the Bürgeramt, a German mission abroad or a British or German notary public must have certified the absent parent’s signature on the consent form. We cannot accept the consent form if the parent’s signature has been certified by any other person/ institution including a solicitor, attorney, police officer, the post office or a justice of the peace.

If only one parent or a third person has sole custody of the child, proof will need to be provided, e.g. by producing the court order in which custody is transferred to one parent (e.g. British Child Arrangement Order or German custody order).

If only one parent attends the appointment without a certified declaration of consent from the absent parent or proof of sole custody, we will not be able to process the application, and you will have to make a new appointment, regardless of the length and cost of the journey to the mission.

These rules are designed to protect children.

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

Length of validity of identity documents

Biometric passports and ID cards for children (applicants under the age of 24 at the time of the appolication) are valid for six years.

Children’s passports issued now are only valid for one year.

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 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
• Parents’ identity documents
• 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)
• Parents’ marriage certificate (if applicable)
• Confirmation of name change (if applicable)
• Evidence of other nationalities held (if applicable)
• Naturalisation certificates (e.g. UK naturalisation certificate)
• Other identity documents (e.g. British passport)
• 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. Proof in the parents’ name is sufficient)
• 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:

A baby’s parents are married but do not have the same surname. à In this case a name declaration must be filed before applying for a passport or ID card.

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
• Parents’ identity documents
• Proof of address (e.g. utility bill, council tax bill, etc. Proof in the parents’ name is sufficient)
• 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.