Apply for an emergency travel document for foreigners

If, as a foreigner, you discover shortly before leaving Germany that your travel documents have expired, you can apply for an emergency travel document under certain conditions.

The emergency travel document is issued by the border authorities. Border authorities are the Federal Police and other state and federal authorities charged with carrying out police control of cross-border traffic.

As a foreign national, you can apply for an emergency travel document, the so-called emergency travel document, in the event of an acute emergency to leave the country.
Acute emergencies exist if undue hardship is to be avoided or if there is a special public interest.
The emergency travel document allows you to leave Germany and then re-enter it. In principle, it is only valid for the duration of the respective trip, but for a maximum of one month. The emergency travel document is not a full substitute for the passport. It will only be issued if you do not have time to go to the passport office before the start of your journey.
You can only enter another country with an emergency travel document if the country recognises your document as a travel document. The other state has no obligation to recognize your emergency travel document. There is also a possibility that airlines will refuse to carry travelers with this travel document.
You have no legal right to be issued with an emergency travel document.

For example, it may be refused if:

• you want to travel to a country that does not recognise the emergency travel document, or
• a temporary identity card or passport can be issued to you on request by the passport authorities.

Please note: In the following countries, it is not the Federal Police but a state or federal authority that is responsible for carrying out police checks on cross-border traffic:

• in the Free State of Bavaria at the airports of Nuremberg and Memmingen as well as the airfields which are licensed as border crossing points, the Bavarian Border Police is responsible,
• in the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg at the port, the Hamburg Water Police is responsible,
• in Lower Saxony, Schleswig-Holstein at various ports and in Baden-Württemberg at Friedrichshafen Airport, the customs administration is responsible.

You can apply for an emergency travel document in person at the border authority, such as the Federal Police at the airport. You can also send the application digitally to the border authority in advance to speed up the process. You still have to appear in person at the border authority before starting your journey.

Please contact the competent local border authority.

Please contact the relevant border authority.

24-hour hotline of the Federal Police:
Telephone: 0800 6 888 000

• Forms: no
• Online procedure possible: yes
• Written form required: yes
• Personal appearance required: yes

Applications for emergency travel documents can be made by:

• Nationals of a member state of the European Union (EU), the Agreement on the European Economic Area (EEA) or Switzerland and their family members entitled to freedom of movement,
• nationals of a state listed in Annex II to the EU Visa Regulation,
• third-country nationals entitled to return to the above-mentioned states, i.e. holders of a residence permit (Schengen visas of category C are excluded) or a long-stay visa for the purpose of staying in Germany,
• civilian ship personnel of a ship operating in maritime or coastal shipping or in Rhine shipping for shore leave, or
• civilian flight personnel for a stay on the airport premises, in the airport community or for a transfer to another airport in order to depart from there.

Other requirements:

• You can prove your identity and belong to the group of those eligible to apply.
• The issuance of a regular passport or passport substitute by your own foreign mission or the aliens' registration office is no longer possible before the start of your journey or cannot be expected in time.
• No interests of the Federal Republic of Germany are affected.
• There are no security concerns.
• The purpose pursued by a possible wanted person alert is not impaired.
• The country of destination recognises the emergency travel document as a border crossing document.
• In the case of minors, the consent of all legal representatives must be obtained as a matter of principle.

Notes:
For children, the emergency travel document can be applied for by the legal guardians or an authorized person. An independent application is only possible from the age of 18. If not both parents are travelling with the child, both custodial parents must agree to the journey. In the case of permanently separated parents who have joint parental custody, the situation is special: only the parent with whom the child usually stays may apply for the passport. The parents must prove that they are permanently separated. This also applies if a custodial parent is permanently prevented from attending, for example if he or she has moved away unknown.

• Bar on site

You can apply for the emergency travel document in person or online at the border authority, for example at the airport at the Federal Police.

Personal application

• You go to the border authority and ask for an application form, which you fill in and sign.
• An identity check is carried out on the spot. You will need to prove your identity and nationality or that of the person for whom you are applying for a passport replacement travel document.
• You will be required to provide a recent biometric photograph or have one taken at the office.
• You must pay the processing fee in cash on the spot.
• The emergency travel document will then be issued to you.

Digital application

• You can also submit the application online and send it to the border authorities for processing to speed up the procedure.
• To do this, complete the application on the federal portal and submit it.
• After submitting the application digitally, you can contact the relevant border authority.
• Before starting your journey, you must appear in person at the border authority to:
  • sign the application
  • run an identity check,
  • submit a recent biometric photograph or have it taken by the authority, and
  • pay the processing fee.
• The emergency travel document will then be issued to you.

On the website of the Federal Police you will find a list of countries that recognize passport replacement documents issued in Germany. Please note, however, that foreign border authorities can change this practice at any time at short notice.