Association of Cities sees frustration due to passport delays

Start of the vacation period - Association of Cities sees frustration due to passport delays

At the beginning of the vacation season, there are larger delays in issuing passports, causing frustration for those affected, according to the German City Council. "In passport and ID offices across the cities," quoted Helmut Dedy, the managing director, in a report by Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland (RND/Sunday).

"It now takes up to eight weeks for passports to be delivered - normally it takes about two weeks," Dedy told RND. Many citizens were caught off guard that their requested passports did not arrive on time for their vacation. The reason for this, according to Dedy, is delivery issues at the Federal Printing Office.

High order volumes as a result of the pandemic

The Federal Ministry of the Interior had stated in response to a dpa inquiry that due to unusually high order volumes, the Federal Printing Office, as a passport and ID issuer, could not complete all document order processing within the usual production time.

The Interior Ministry assumed that for most people, the personal ID card would be sufficient during the Corona pandemic due to travel restrictions. In the first weeks of this year, the application numbers for passports were significantly higher than usual.

According to the RND report, Dedy sees the cities as distribution centers in a difficult situation: "The delivery problem lies with the Federal Printing Office, which receives justified criticism from applicants but the city employees do." When the new passport no longer comes on time, many people decide to make a second application with express processing, said Dedy. Citizens then end up paying double.

1. The German Association of Cities shares in the frustration caused by the delays in passport issuance, as outlined by Helmut Dedy.
2. Dedy expressed his concerns over the issue in an editorial published by the Editorial Network Germany (RND/Sunday).
3. The vacation plans of many citizens have been disrupted due to the delays in passport delivery from the Federal Printing Office.
4. The German City Council, as well as municipalities across the country, are grappling with these challenges, as highlighted by Dedy.
5. Despite the increased demand for passports due to the vacation season, the Federal Printing Office has been unable to meet its usual two-week delivery time.
6. The high order volumes at the Federal Printing Office are a direct result of the ongoing pandemic and its impact on travel restrictions.
7. In response to the pandemic, the Federal Ministry of the Interior suggested that personal ID cards would be sufficient for most people, leading to a surge in passport applications at the beginning of the year.
8. To bypass the delays, some citizens opt for express processing, which ultimately leads to them paying more than once for their passports.

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