- State Secretary: Digital registration to come in October
Those moving to Berlin or changing their residence within the city will also be able to digitally register or change their address at the relevant offices in the fall. "I expect that we will be able to launch the electronic registration and change of address process in Berlin in October," said Martina Klement (CSU), State Secretary for Digitalization and Administrative Modernization at the Berlin State Chancellery, to the Tagesspiegel.
The start date has been pushed back. In December, Klement had announced the beginning of this digital administrative step for the first quarter of this year. "We are adopting the digital registration of residence from Hamburg and are therefore dependent on the developments there," emphasized the State Secretary. "Recently, the application had to be taken offline due to technical problems. We want to avoid this in Berlin at all costs." So far, tests in Berlin have shown that the system is running smoothly in the capital.
For many administrative procedures, Berlin residents must appear in person at one of the district offices. However, they often have to wait weeks or even months for an appointment. Klement is therefore aiming for specific days without appointments, when people can also come to the citizen's office without a time slot. "We are currently in the preparations and are clarifying all organizational questions," said Klement. It must be ensured that everything runs smoothly organizationally and that there is no chaos on these days.
Some administrative steps are already possible digitally. This includes the registration of vehicles or the application for a certificate of residence in Berlin. However, these services are currently used only sparingly. "Despite the extensive digital offerings, people continue to go to the offices," said Klement. "We need to change this. Therefore, we are planning a marketing campaign to make our online services better known."
The original plan for the digital registration of addresses in Berlin was scheduled for the first quarter of this year. Due to technical issues experienced in Hamburg, Berlin is adopting a digital approach from there, aiming to prevent any similar problems with their system.
