From 1 May, passport photos must be taken in digital form. Biometric photos in paper form will then no longer be permitted. With this change, the federal government wants to increase digitalisation and reduce bureaucracy in the passport system and also introduce more security for personal identity. The Citizens' Service has been offering digital passport photo creation directly at the town hall since 2016. The biometric data for the ID card and passport is created using a self-service terminal. The existing device has therefore already been replaced by a newly certified device. The photo station is located in the citizen service centre and can be used very flexibly thanks to its automatic adjustment to body size. The ID documents can thus be applied for on site in one step and without any additional effort for the photo creation. The photo costs 6 euros at the town hall, in line with national regulations. Of course, it is still possible to have digital biometric photos taken by private service providers who have been licensed by the federal government to fulfil the technical requirements. The passport photos are also created digitally there and made available via a secure cloud. These images can then only be opened using a special QR code that the applicant receives from the photographer and must bring with them.
