German passport
German passports are issued to nationals of Germany for the purpose of international travel. A German passport is, besides the German ID card, the only other officially recognized document that German (and most other EU) authorities will routinely accept as proof of identity from German citizens. Besides serving as proof of identity and German nationality, they facilitate the process of securing assistance from German consular officials abroad (or other EU-members in the case that a German consular facility is absent). German passports are valid for ten years (for people older than 25) and five years (for people younger than 26) and share the standardised layout and burgundy red design with other EU passports.
Physical appearance
German passports have followed since 1 January 1988 the standard European Union passport design, with burgundy red cover and the German Coat of arms (eagle) emblazoned in the centre of the front cover. The word "Reisepass" (German for passport) is inscribed below the coat of arms, while "Europäische Union" (German for European Union) and "Bundesrepublik Deutschland" (German for Federal Republic of Germany) appear above.
German passports are normally 32 pages long; a 48-page version for frequent travellers can be issued on request.
Identity Information Page
The first two pages of a German passport are security laminated and the second page includes the following data:
- Photo of passport holder
- Type of document (P = passport)
- Code for issuing country (D = Germany)
- Passport number (10 decimal digits)
- Surname (1)
- Given names (2)
- Nationality (3)
- Date of birth (4)
- Sex (5)
- Place of birth (6)
- Date of issue (7)
- Date of expiry (8)
- Authority that issued the passport (9)
- Holder's signature (10)
The page ends with a 2-line machine readable zone, according to ICAO standard 9303.
In November 2001, an "identigram" feature was added to the information page, which copies the photograph and the information from the machine-readable zone into a holographic structure.
Following page
The following page lists:
- Residence
- Height
- Colour of eyes
- Religious name or pseudonym
Passport note
Passports may contain a note from the issuing state that is addressed to the authorities of other states. Such notes are found in European passports on the inside of the back cover page. The note inside German passports reads:
- "Dieser Reisepass ist Eigentum der Bundesrepublik Deutschland
- This passport is the property of the Federal Republic of Germany
- Ce passeport est propriété de la République fédérale d'Allemagne"
Languages
The data page/information page is printed in German, English and French.
RFID chip with biometric certificate
Since 1 November 2005, German passports had a contactless smartcard (proximity card) chip and 13.56 MHz loop antenna embedded into the back cover page, in accordance with ICAO standards. The chip and antenna are not easily visually recognizable, but their presence is indicated using the ICAO biometric passport symbol at the bottom of the front cover. It carries all the data printed in the passport, including a JPEG file of the photo, protected by a digital signature.
From 1 November 2007 on, several change will be made to the passport:
- Applicants will have to provide – in addition to the traditional passport data – also scans of two fingerprints, which will be added to the chip
- The previously 10-digit, all-numeric, sequentially assigned serial number will be replaced with an new alphanumeric pseudorandomly assigned high-entropy serial number, to improve the security of the Basic Access Control mechanism of the RFID chip, which uses this number to form a cryptographic key.
- The validity period of passports issued to holders under the age of 24 increases from five to six years; older applicants receive a 10-year-valid passport.
- The field "Religious name or pseudonym" is no longer included.
Issuing process
German passports are issued, just like German ID cards, by local municipal registration offices. Applicants have to apply for a new passport in person and the data in newly issued passports is essentially an authenticated copy of the personal data found in locally stored registration documents. Passports are then manufactured centrally at Bundesdruckerei GmbH ( the former German government printing office which was privatized into a commercial security-printing business in 2000).
Provisonal passports and passports for children can be issued locally in the municipality without sending them to the Bundesdruckerei GmbH. These passports are accepted worldwide (except to enter the United States of America as they do not contain the electronic chip).
Visa-free access
188 countries and territories grant German passport holders visa-free or visa-upon-arrival access, of which 151 are accessible without any visa at all.[[1]]
Africa
Botswana 90 days
British Indian Ocean
Territory
Comoros (visa issued upon arrival)
Republic of the Congo 15 days
(visa issued upon arrival)
Djibouti 1 month (visa issued upon arrival)
Egypt 1 month (visa issued upon arrival)
Ethiopia 3 months (visa issued upon arrival)
Gambia 90 days
Kenya 3 months (visa issued upon arrival)
Lesotho 14 days
Madagascar 90 days (visa issued upon arrival)
Malawi 90 days
Mauritius 6 months
Mayotte 90 days
Morocco 3 months
Mozambique 30 days (visa issued upon arrival)
Namibia 3 months- Réunion 90 days
Rwanda 3 months
Saint Helena 90 days
São Tomé and Príncipe 1 month (visa
issued upon arrival)
Senegal 3 months
Seychelles 1 month
South Africa 90 days
Swaziland 2 months
Tanzania (visa issued upon arrival)
Togo 7
days (visa issued upon arrival)
Tunisia 4 months
Uganda (visa issued upon arrival)
Zambia (visa issued upon arrival)
Zimbabwe 3 months (visa issued upon arrival)
America
Anguilla 3 months
Antigua and Barbuda 1 month
Argentina 3 months
Aruba 90 days
Bahamas 3 months
Barbados 6 months
Belize 1 month
Bermuda 6 months
Bolivia 90 days
Brazil 90 days
Canada 6 months
Cayman Islands 30 days
Chile 90 days
Colombia 90 days
Costa Rica 90 days
Dominica 6 months
Dominican Republic 30 days (a US$10
tourist card is needed)
Ecuador 90 days
El Salvador 3 months
Falkland Islands 30 days- French Guiana 90 days
Greenland 90 days
Grenada 3 months- Guadeloupe 90 days
Guatemala 3 months
Guyana 3 months
Haiti 3 months
Honduras 3 months
Jamaica 90 days- Martinique 90 days
Mexico 180 days
Montserrat 3 months
Netherlands Antilles 90 days
Nicaragua 3 months
Panama 90 days
Paraguay 90 days
Peru
90 days
Puerto Rico 90 days
Saint Kitts and Nevis 3 months
Saint Lucia 28 days- Saint Pierre and Miquelon 90
days
Saint Vincent and the
Grenadines 1 month
South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands
Trinidad and Tobago
Turks and Caicos Islands 30
days
United States 90 days
Uruguay 3 months
Venezuela 90 days
British Virgin Islands 30
days
United States Virgin
Islands 90 days
Asia
Armenia 21 days (visa issued upon arrival)
Azerbaijan 30 days (visa issued upon arrival)
Bahrain 14 days (visa issued upon arrival)
Bangladesh 15 days (visa issued upon arrival)
Brunei 30 days
Cambodia 1 month (visa issued upon arrival)
Republic of China (Taiwan) 30 days
Georgia 90 days
Hong Kong 3 month
Indonesia 30 days (visa issued upon arrival)
Iran 7
days (visa issued upon arrival)
Israel 3 months
Japan 90 days (extendable up to 180 days)
Jordan (visa issued upon arrival)
South Korea 3 months
Kuwait 3 months (visa issued upon arrival)
Kyrgyzstan 1 month (visa issued upon arrival)
Laos
15 days (visa issued upon arrival
Lebanon 1 month
Macau 90 days
Malaysia 3 months
Maldives 30 days
Nepal 60 days (visa issued upon arrival)
Oman 1
month (visa issued upon arrival)
Philippines 21 days
Qatar 21 days (visa issued upon arrival)
Singapore 30 days
Sri Lanka 30 days
Thailand 30 days
Timor-Leste 30 days (visa issued upon arrival)
Turkey 3 months
United Arab Emirates 90 days
Yemen 3 months (visa issued upon arrival)
Europe
European Union unlimited access
Iceland unlimited access
Liechtenstein unlimited access
Norway unlimited access
Switzerland unlimited access
Albania 1 month
Andorra
Bosnia and Herzegovina 90 days
Croatia 90 days
Faroe Islands 90 days
Gibraltar
Guernsey
Isle of Man
Jersey
Republic of Macedonia 90 days
Moldova 90 days
Monaco 90 days
Montenegro 90 days
San Marino 90 days
Serbia 90 days- Svalbard and Jan Mayen 90 days
Ukraine 90 days
Vatican City 90 days
Oceania
American Samoa 30 days
Australia Electronic Travel Authority
Norfolk Island Electronic Travel Authority
Fiji 4
months
French Polynesia 90 days- French
Southern and Antarctic Lands 90 days
Guam
15 days
Marshall Islands 30 days (visa issued upon
arrival)
Federated States of
Micronesia 30 days- New Caledonia 90 days
New Zealand 3 months
Northern Mariana Islands 30
days
Cook Islands 31 days
Niue
30 days- Tokelau same as New Zealand
Palau 30 days (visa issued upon arrival)
Papua New Guinea 90 days (visa issued upon
arrival)
Pitcairn Islands
Samoa 60 days
Solomon Islands 3 months
Tonga 31 days
Tuvalu 1 month (visa issued upon arrival)
Vanuatu 30 days- Wallis and Futuna 90 days
External Links
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
