This is evident from a tour of the AD along the largest municipalities in the Netherlands. For example, applying for a new ID card takes several weeks in most places.
Wait up to twelve weeks
In The Hague, residents wait twelve weeks, in Zoetermeer seven weeks, Amersfoort six weeks and in Amsterdam and Utrecht it takes five weeks. According to the newspaper, the average waiting time is one month.
Making an appointment for a passport application also takes almost eleven weeks in The Hague. It then takes a few more days for the document to be ready.
A spokesperson for the municipality of The Hague tells the newspaper that from next week ten new employees will start to shorten the waiting time.
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The municipalities are currently busy registering refugees from Ukraine† The aftermath of the corona crisis and the recent municipal elections are also causing delays. According to the AD, counters in many municipalities are unmanned due to sick reports and staff shortages.
‘New tasks, no extra staff’
The spokesperson for the municipality of Amersfoort (where applying for a passport takes six weeks) tells the newspaper that ‘the municipality has been given many new tasks in recent years, but no manpower’.
The spokesperson cites the elections as an example. “Where previously it was only possible to vote on Wednesdays, there is now an election period that spreads over the entire week. There is the possibility of early voting on Mondays and Tuesdays, on Wednesday the regular election day.”
The employees who help with this ‘cannot issue passports or driving licenses in the meantime’. The spokesman speaks of ‘a difficult position’.
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