ePassport - The most important information about the biometric passport

The biometric passport or electronic passport, ePassport for short, contains a chip on which the passport holder's biometric data is stored. The ePassport was introduced in Germany at the beginning of November 2005. All German passports issued since November 1, 2005 are therefore automatically ePassports. The following data of the holder is stored in it:

• Passport number
• Issuing state
• Document type
• Validity date
• Passport photo
• Nationality
• First name
• Surname
• Gender
• Date of birth
• Fingerprints

In Germany, ePassports are issued by the Bundesdruckerei. Applications for biometric passports are made at the relevant citizens' office.

The costs for a passport currently amount to:

• 60.00 Euro for adults
• 37.50 euros for persons under 24 years of age

As the fingerprints are taken by the authorities when applying for a passport, it is essential to appear in person. Among other things, the inclusion of fingerprints in the passport is intended to provide more security at border controls in that the passport holder can still be clearly identified despite any external changes.

Applications for children will only be accepted if the birth certificate is available as well as proof of custody and, if applicable, a declaration of consent from the parent who is not present.

Express passport, temporary passport and children's passport

In addition to the regular application, those who are in a particular hurry can apply for an express passport or a temporary passport. Please note that both a temporary passport and a children's passport can only be used for international travel to a limited extent.

The application procedure is the same in all cases. This means that, as described above, you must go to the local citizens' office. The passports only differ in terms of processing time and validity:

Application period

Regular ePassport: 3-4 weeks
Express passport: 5-7 working days
Temporary passport: Issued on the day of application (can be taken away immediately)
Children's passport: Issued on the day of application (can be taken away immediately)

Validity

Regular ePassport: 10 years from 24 years | 6 years to 24 years
Temporary passport: maximum 1 year
Children's passport: 6 years, but at most until the age of 12

Costs

Regular ePassport: 60 Euro from 24 years | 37.50 Euro up to 24 years
Express passport:92 Euro from 24 years | 69.50 to 24 years
Temporary passport: 26 Euro
Children's passport: 13 Euro

Special features

Temporary passport: Will only be issued if neither a regular ePassport nor an Express Passport can be completed by the start of the trip. Not recognized as a travel document in every country
Children's passport: Does not contain a data chip (unlike the ePassport) | Not recognized as a travel document in every country (e.g. USA)

If you are a German citizen who has been living in the USA for some time and would like to apply for a new passport, there are two options. Which passport authority is responsible for issuing the new passport depends on where you are registered.

1. If you have been living in the United States for a longer period of time but are still officially registered in Germany, you can apply for a new passport from the responsible office (e.g. Bürgeramt) if you are a German citizen staying in Germany.
2. If you are already deregistered - which is often the case for people who have been in the USA for a long time - you can only apply for a passport in the district of your current place of residence in the USA where you are staying permanently. The German diplomatic missions abroad, i.e. embassies and consulates, are responsible for German citizens in the USA. When applying for a new passport, you will usually have to submit a certificate of deregistration from your last German municipality of residence.
   You can find out which of the nine German diplomatic missions in the USA is responsible for you on the website of the Federal Foreign Office.

In general, the passport must be valid for six months after the planned departure.
For example, if you would like to enter the USA on July 1, 2018 with a visa for six months, the general rule is that your passport must be valid until July 1, 2019.

Special rule for "Six-Month Club" members

There is a special regulation for persons who belong to countries of the so-called "Six-Month Clubs" belong. The passport of a person with nationality of a country that is a member of the "Six-Month Club" only needs to be valid until the end of the planned departure. In the above example, if you enter the country on July 1, 2018, your passport would only have to be valid for 6 months until January 1, 2019.

Fortunately, Germany, Austria and Switzerland are on the list of members and are therefore among the countries of the "Six-Month Clubs".

Your US visa is generally valid until the expiration date - even after your passport has expired. This means that the visa remains valid even if your passport expires. Accordingly, when entering the USA, you have the option of presenting your US visa in your old (expired) passport together with your new passport at the border. These are the requirements:

• It is important that your US visa was not damaged when the expired passport was invalidated by the Citizens' Office. Only then is the visa valid until the expiration date.
• You should also make sure that your visa has not been removed from your old passport and therefore also loses its validity.
• Another requirement is that the nationality in both passports must be identical. In the event that you have adopted a new nationality or your biometric data has changed, you must apply for a new US visa.
• In this context, it is also important that your US visa still corresponds to the main purpose of your trip. For example, if you are in possession of a E-visas you can enter the USA with this visa and work for a company within a certain period of time.

If your name has changed (e.g. due to marriage or divorce), you do not necessarily need a new US visa. If you change your name, you can normally travel with your old, still valid US visa, but you should carry the relevant proof (e.g. marriage certificate) and both passports with you when you enter the country.