If you want to enter Germany for a longer stay, you have to apply for a national visa.

In many countries outside the European Union (EU), you need a passport to enter the country. If you have German citizenship, you can apply for a German passport.

The delivery time for a passport is usually at least 2 weeks. If you need a passport at short notice, you can apply for the passport in an express procedure.

If you have lost your passport abroad or it has been stolen and you wish to travel home or onwards, you must have replacement travel documents issued abroad. You can apply for these at the German diplomatic mission in the country you are traveling to.

In principle, no one may hold more than one passport. However, if you can prove a legitimate interest, you may be issued with a second passport.

Nationals who require a visa for a short stay in Germany or in the Schengen area must apply for one at one of the missions of the Federal Republic of Germany in good time before entering the country.

If, as a foreigner, you discover that your travel documents have expired shortly before you leave Germany, you can apply for an emergency travel document under certain conditions.

If you perform official duties for the Federal Republic of Germany abroad, you may be issued an official passport by the Federal Foreign Office under certain conditions. Depending on the activity, you may receive a diplomatic passport or a service passport.

If a German or a German without a permanent residence in Germany dies abroad, you can have the death subsequently notarized at the responsible German registry office.  

You can apply for the subsequent certification of a death on a foreign seagoing vessel in a German death register at the responsible German registry office.

If you live abroad, you can apply for your German passport at a German diplomatic representation abroad.

If you wish to participate in a European Voluntary Service under EU Directive 2016/801, you can apply for a temporary residence permit

In the event of an emergency, you can be issued with an emergency travel document by the border authorities (Federal Police) before you travel, provided that you are a national of Germany or another EU Member State or have a secure residence status.

If you have applied for a children's passport, you can always obtain information about the processing status.

Germans who find themselves in an emergency situation during their stay abroad can contact the nearest German diplomatic mission abroad.

Germans who are abroad can register on the Foreign Office's crisis precaution list. This enables the responsible mission abroad to contact them quickly in an emergency.

If you wish to take prescribed narcotics with you on a trip abroad, you will need a notarized medical certificate. As a doctor, you will need your doctor's ID card and, if necessary, a permit from the country you are traveling to.

In the event of changes such as a change of name due to marriage, registered civil partnership, divorce, dissolution of a civil partnership or other data, the passport must be amended or reissued.

You can apply for the issuance of a German death certificate for a death occurring abroad at the responsible German registry office.

Would you like to pick up your passport? Find out more here.

Travel and safety information for your destination can be found on the website of the German Foreign Office.