Digitization does not stop at the German authorities. Anyone who wants to apply for a new identity card or passport in the near future should therefore observe the new regulations. TECHBOOK reveals what is changing.
German authorities and digitization – many who hear these words in one sentence throw their hands up in front of their heads as a precaution. For example, the e-perso has so far received little attention. Although digitization can actually speed up and streamline many official processes, there are often problems when it comes to implementation. At the moment, the application for a new ID card or passport is in a transition phase towards a more digital solution. Specifically, it is about the biometric photo, which soon can only be submitted as a digital passport photo.
New passport security law from 2025
The draft of the “Act to Strengthen Security in Passport, ID and Immigration Documents” dates back to 2020. At that time, it made waves, especially among professional photographers. An essential point of the law is a regulation according to which identity cards and passports can soon only be applied for with a digital passport photo. Although this regulation will not come into force until May 1, 2025, some steps still have to be taken to ensure smooth implementation. Specifically, the law states that you can no longer go to the office with a printed passport photo, but must send it electronically in advance. Although this may sound complicated at first, this regulation is intended to simplify the administrative process, which previously looked like this for many people:
First of all, it is important to get an appointment with the responsible office, which is a challenge in itself with completely overburdened authorities like those in Berlin. Then you have to take a biometric passport photo from a photographer, photo service or photo booth, which you then take to the office in printed form. There the photo is scanned and printed out again on the ID card. This process is now to be simplified by sending the digital passport photo directly to the authority via secure electronic means. This procedure is also intended to prevent the loss of quality that occurs when the passport photo is printed and scanned again.
prevent identity forgery
The main reason for the change in the law is the safety aspect. The German passport enjoys great international recognition precisely because of its high security standards. This also means that you can travel to over 170 countries with a German passport – without a visa. However, as long as one can apply for an ID card and passport with a printed photo, the process is susceptible to identity forgery through morphing.
With this technique, software merges multiple facial images into a single photo. This makes it relatively easy for fraudsters to manipulate ID documents, which, for example, enables unauthorized border crossings. Such manipulations should be prevented by sending the passport photo to the office immediately after it has been taken by the photographer or the authority. However, should the authorities discover an attempt at fraud, they can trace the origin of the fake digital passport photo more easily.
Where can I take digital passport photos?
At the moment the transition phase is still running, in which the authorities accept both printed and digital passport photos. From May 1, 2025, however, only the media-break-free path will be allowed. What does that mean in practice? Shortly before the appointment with the authorities, taking a quick passport photo at the photo booth in the subway station is likely to be difficult. Even low-cost passport photo photo services like Dm’s will either have to adapt or discontinue their services.
Theoretically, you can also take a digital passport photo directly at the office and simply send it electronically to the relevant clerk. Because: “The aim of the draft law is first and foremost to make the application for passports and ID cards as unbureaucratic and citizen-friendly as possible by only requiring one way (to the citizens’ registration office) for the application,” it says in the FAQ of the Federal Ministry of the Interior. However, this purpose is only fulfilled if the passport photos can be created really quickly and reliably in the authority. This means that each office must be equipped with sufficient and functioning “camera systems and/or self-service terminals”. Whether that is always the case in practice is another question. Anyone who creates a digital passport photo in the authority will probably have to pay 6 euros for it, which should still be cheaper than the photographer.
Because even professional photographers and photo studios can still take biometric passport photos. You will then receive a QR code from them instead of or in addition to the printed photos. The clerks from the office can then use this to download the digital passport photo from the authorized security cloud. In theory, the photo studios are prepared for the new law. However, you should clarify before the photo session whether this service is really offered.