production overloaded - In Saarland, too, passport deliveries are delayed
In Saarland, there are significant delays in the delivery of passports at present. It currently takes approximately eight weeks for the new passport to arrive, according to a spokesperson from the city of Saarbrucken. Normally, it would take three to four weeks. Nationwide, there are delays in passport delivery due to overloaded production capacities at the Federal Printing Office.
According to the Saarland state capital, the local authorities are also issuing express passports and provisional passes. An express delivery can be obtained within three to five working days if the application is submitted before 12 pm at the Federal Printing Office. This costs an additional fee of 32 Euro on top of the standard fee of 70 Euro for adults aged 24 and above. For travels to most countries, provisional passports can also be issued immediately at the authorities.
As several administrations in neighboring Rhineland-Palatinate reported, the delays could be due to the fact that children under 12 years have had to apply for passports since the beginning of the year.
Overloaded Federal Printing Office
According to the Federal Printing Office, the demand for passports since the beginning of the year has been higher than ever before. The applications reportedly exceed the production capacities of the machines. "Since the beginning of the year, there have been unexpected, regular new records in daily application submissions from the pass offices; a record 700,000 passports were ordered in the entire month of April," the statement read.
If the application numbers were to decrease in the fall, as is often the case after the summer holidays, faster production times could be expected again. At the beginning of the coming year, additional machines are scheduled to increase production capacities.
- Due to the high demand, there have been delays in passport delivery not only in Saarland but also at the Federal Printing House nationwide.
- Instead of the usual three to four weeks, tourists planning a journey might encounter a delay of around eight weeks when obtaining a new passport from the Federal Printing House in Saarbrücken.
- To avoid any inconvenience during their tourism, locals in Saarland Commune can opt for express passports or provisional passes from their authorities, which can be obtained within a shorter timeframe.
- Authorities in Saarbrücken, recognizing the plight of travelers, have implemented measures to expedite passport delivery, including the issuance of express passports and provisional passes from the Federal Printing House, albeit at an additional cost.
