Passport photos for ID card soon also possible digitally

If you have to apply for a new ID card, you can’t avoid having a paper passport photo. This is set to change from May 2025. It will then also be possible to submit the photo digitally.

Paper form no longer mandatory for ID card

Next year will most likely see an amendment to the passport administration regulation and the identity card administration regulation. The new regulation adopted today by the federal government must now pass the Bundesrat before it comes into force in May 2025. The most significant change has already been made public. In future, it will be possible to take photos digitally at the photo stations in the authorities and save them for later passport creation.

Paper forms will probably no longer be necessary. However, this will not only be possible at public authorities. Photos from other service providers will also be accepted. An entire industry should breathe a sigh of relief. What the photographers can’t offer, however, is the option of capturing signatures and fingerprints directly. The self-service stations in public authorities, on the other hand, should be able to do this from next year.

Bureaucracy is being streamlined

The new regulations also provide for further simplifications in the area of ID cards. From May 2025, it will even be possible to have documents such as passports or ID cards sent to your home. Furthermore, the aim is to help citizens avoid having invalid documents. To ensure this, there will be reminder emails from the relevant authorities. These will point out that a document will soon lose its validity and remind people to apply for a new one. According to Federal Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser, the main aim of the new regulations is to “make life easier and more digital”.

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A pleasant side effect is also likely to be the reduced workload for the authorities. After all, the digital approach ensures that employees are relieved. It is clear that this is a step in the right direction. It is now important that a corresponding security concept is developed to protect the digital services with reliable protection against identity theft or other cybercrime.