By Boris Dombrowski and Julian Loevenich
So much for 14 days – in Berlin it goes on to say: weeks of waiting for an appointment at the Citizens’ Registration Office!
It currently takes an average of between 27 (middle) and 47 days (Reinickendorf) – from the booking to the actual appointment (see list below). In the best case, almost twice as long as the red-green-red promised in the coalition agreement (see below).
This shows the still unpublished response from the Senate (available in BZ) to a request from CDU MP Adrian Grasse (47).
Current waiting time for an appointment at the Citizens Registration Office
District: Days*
Reinickendorf: 47
Steglitz-Zehlendorf: 40
Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf: 38
Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg: 38
Pankow: 33
Tempelhof-Schoeneberg: 33
Lichtenberg: 31
Treptow-Köpenick: 31
Spandau: 30
Marzahn-Hellersdorf: 29
Neukoelln: 29
middle: 27
*average time between booking and appointment
The latest numbers
In 2021, 1,612,357 citizen office appointments were made across Berlin. This year there were already 1,174,132 up to and including July.
If demand continues to be high, by the end of the year there would be a good 2 million appointments with the citizens’ registration office. So a lot to do!
Mario Bergmann (55), showman operator from Wedding: “I wanted to apply for a certificate of good conduct. At the office, they told me I could just drop by at any time.” Photo: Christian Lohse
But although the staff in the citizens’ registration offices in all districts has been increased, they are still understaffed. This is revealed in the reply to Grasse from Secretary of State for the Interior Ralf Kleindiek (57, SPD), who is responsible for modernizing the administration.
►It is worst in Neukölln, where from January to July, 15 of the 66 administrative positions were vacant. Similar situation in Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf (12 out of 61 vacant) as well as in Lichtenberg (9 out of 69) and Pankow (9 out of 79).
Rebekka Göttert (27), student from Moabit: “I moved at the beginning of May and have been waiting for an appointment to re-register ever since. I looked online so many times but nothing was free. A friend then gave me the number 115 as a tip and I spontaneously got an appointment today.” Photo: Christian Lohse
►But it is also a fact: Between 10 percent (Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf) and 33 percent (middle) of the booked appointments at the Citizens’ Registration Office this year were simply not attended by Berliners. The appointments are then given to spontaneous and emergency customers.
Nevertheless: “The Senate is still a long way from its promise of a free appointment at the Citizens’ Registration Office within 14 days,” says the CDU politician Grasse.
Jomi Dadzie (30), IT trainee from Reinickendorf: “I picked up my ID today. I had to wait three to four weeks to request an appointment. Unfortunately I overslept it. After that, I just spontaneously went to the office and it worked out.” Photo: Christian Lohse
The high number of vacancies in some districts and weeks of waiting times for appointments are “completely unacceptable” for him: “SPD, Greens and Left are responsible for the fact that Berliners cannot meet legal deadlines, for example for registration and re-registration.”
Grasse demands: “The Senate must keep its word and finally get rid of the annoying permanent problem!”
The Citizens’ Registration Office promise of red-green-red
An appointment at the Citizens Registration Office for everyone within 14 days? At the end of 2023 at the earliest! Because the road to get there is long…
►December 21, 2021: “The coalition ensures that citizens can get an appointment at the Citizens’ Registration Office within 14 days throughout the year,” promises Red-Green-Red in the current coalition agreement.
►January 8, 2022: “We will make every effort to make it happen. That is one of our top priorities,” Berlin’s governor Franziska Giffey (44, SPD) told the “Tagesspiegel” and added: “I’m optimistic that we almost reached the 14-day target before Corona.”
►July 2, 2022: “My firm goal is for this to be the case by the end of 2023 at the latest,” said the State Secretary responsible for digital and administrative modernization, Ralf Kleindiek (57, SPD).
►August 30, 2022: “We know that 60 percent of citizens have the expectation that they will be able to get to the citizens’ registration office in 14 days,” said governing Giffey on Tuesday in the Senate PK. “That is our target, which we are now working towards.”
It is currently around 40 percent. Giffey: “All the effort is to get to 60 percent first.” After that, those who could make an appointment later should still be given a quick offer.