Instead of a child’s passport, which is only valid for one year, you can also request a regular passport or a children’s identity card with a validity of six years. This can lead to time and cost savings.
If you want to travel abroad with your children, you also need an identity card or passport for the offspring. In 2021, the passport law was aligned with EU standards and the validity of children’s passports was limited to one year. The state capital is now informing affected families with 8,000 informational letters that a regular passport or identity card valid for six years may also be required in place of the children’s passport, combined with the corresponding cost savings.
In 2006, the child’s identity card was replaced by the child’s passport. Until the end of 2020, this was valid for up to six years or up to a maximum of 12 years of age. With the alignment of the passport law with EU standards on 1 January 2021, the validity of children’s passports was limited to one year.
This legal change leads to an increase in the expenditure of time and money for parents, as a personal visit with the child and a new photo is required for the annual renewal of the children’s passports. In addition, it also creates a greater deadline load in citizens’ offices, because the annual extension of the children’s passport has already caused a 45% increase in applications this year alone.
In the pandemic years 2020 and 2021, significantly fewer passports and children’s passports were required everywhere. With the loosening of the crown rules, however, the effects of the legal change are now clearly being felt. Around 10,000 additional applications are expected to be registered in the Düsseldorf citizens’ offices in 2022.
Many parents are not even aware that regular travel and identity documents valid for six years may be required for children of all ages in lieu of a child’s passport.
“We would like to inform families about the options for issuing documents for children and make their application as simple and cheap as possible,” explains Britta Zur, deputy for city service. “Therefore, in the coming weeks we will be writing to around 8,000 families with children whose passports will expire by the middle of next year.”
Commissions and Savings
A fee of EUR 13 is charged for issuing a child passport valid for one year. For each extension, a new personal visit with the child is required, a fee of 6 euros is paid and a photo in progress must be presented.
The identity card for children is valid for six years and can be requested at a cost of 22.80 euros. It is recognized as a travel document within the Schengen countries and in some other countries.
A children’s passport valid for six years can also be requested. A fee of EUR 37.50 will be charged for this. German passports are recognized for visa-free entry for tourism purposes in around 160 countries around the world. Furthermore, entry into some countries such as the United States is only possible with a passport.
If your child regularly needs a passport or ID card, there will be significant savings after a few years, consisting of the tax saved and the cost of passport photos. In addition, there is the time saved for visiting the Citizens Advice Bureau.
The fewer appointments required are also an advantage for city offices, which can thus reserve more free time for other work.
“Use the next autumn and winter period to apply for a document valid for a longer period of time for your children and save time and money,” says the vice president to request regular documents for the offspring as well.
