By Pauline von Pezold
As part of the pilot project “Bürgeramt der Zukunft” (Citizens’ Registration Office of the Future), new technologies are to be developed over the next few years to simplify and speed up the processes in the Citizens’ Registration Office. In addition to more efficient processes, citizens are offered a lot more: for example, passport photos should be able to be taken on site free of charge.
In the training citizenship office – all employees are in training – it is to be tested for four years how Berlin’s citizenship offices could look in the future. There are eight changes that should make dealing with authorities more pleasant:
► A “self-check-in”, as known from airports, should enable registration at the Citizens’ Registration Office without the need for staff. This should save so much time that up to ten percent more appointments can be processed per day – a lot given the 700 to 800 appointments per day.
► A modern wayfinding system should guide visitors efficiently through the Citizens’ Registration Office without the need for printed plans.
► At a “self-service terminal” it should be possible to apply for certificates of good conduct, confirmation of registration and other services without staff. These can then be done independently and without an appointment on site. Although this has been online for a long time, it is used far too little. In this way, visitors should also be introduced to the online services.
► W-LAN in the building, mobile phone charging stations and vending machines should make the waiting time easier for visitors.
► Photo stations at the processing stations save visitors time and money. It should be possible to create digital biometric passport photos on site free of charge.
View of a hallway in the Citizens Registration Office in Wilmersdorf Town Hall Photo: picture alliance / picture agency-o
► In the future, a digitized waiting management system will provide visitors with additional information via monitors in the waiting area. In addition, it should also be possible to wait outside the Citizens’ Registration Office, where visitors are informed via cell phone when it is their turn.
► A document delivery box at the entrance to the Citizens’ Registration Office should also enable customers to pick up their documents outside of opening hours – this saves shipping costs and reduces the number of appointments at the Citizens’ Registration Office.
► The furniture in the Citizens’ Registration Office should also be changed and the workplace designed in a modern way.
The costs for the planned changes are around 500,000 euros. The photo stations and the W-LAN are to be implemented this year, other points are not expected to be available until 2025. Initially, older citizens should be provided with staff to help them find their way around the new technology.
If the test phase proves its worth, these changes should also be implemented in other citizen registration offices. However, if the “Citizens’ Registration Office of the Future” in Kreuzberg is not fully implemented until 2025, it may still take years in the other Citizens’ Registration Offices.