German passport

German passports are issued to nationals of Germany for the purpose of international travel. A German passport is, besides the German Personalausweis, the only other officially recognized document that German (and most other EU) authorities will routinely accept as proof of identity from German citizens. Besides serving as proof of identity and presumption of German nationality, they facilitate the process of securing assistance from German consular officials abroad (or other EU-members in the case that a German consular facility is absent). German passports are valid for ten years (for people older than 25) and five years (for people younger than 26) and share the standardised layout and burgundy red design with other EU passports.

Physical appearance

German passports have followed since 1 January 1988 the standard European Union passport design, with burgundy red cover and the German Coat of arms (eagle) emblazoned in the centre of the front cover. The word "Reisepass" (German for "passport") is inscribed below the coat of arms, while "Europäische Union" (German for "European Union") and "Bundesrepublik Deutschland" (German for "Federal Republic of Germany") appear above.

German passports are normally 32 pages long; a 48-page version for frequent travellers can be issued on request.

Identity Information Page

The first two pages of a German passport are security laminated and the second page includes the following data:

* Photo of passport holder
* Type of document (P = passport)
* Code for issuing country (D = Germany)
* Passport number (10 decimal digits)
* Surname (1)
* Given names (2)
* Nationality (3)
* Date of birth (4)
* Sex (5)
* Place of birth (6)
* Date of issue (7)
* Date of expiry (8)
* Authority that issued the passport (9)
* Holder's signature (10)

The page ends with a 2-line machine readable zone, according to ICAO standard 9303.

In November 2001, an "identigram" feature was added to the information page, which copies the photograph and the information from the machine-readable zone into a holographic structure.

Following page

The following page lists:

* Residence
* Height
* Colour of eyes
* Religious name or pseudonym (till end of 2007 issued passports)

Passport note

Passports may contain a note from the issuing state that is addressed to the authorities of other states. Such notes are found in European passports on the inside of the back cover page. The note inside German passports reads:

:"Dieser Reisepass ist Eigentum der Bundesrepublik Deutschland:This passport is the property of the Federal Republic of Germany:Ce passeport est propriété de la République fédérale d'Allemagne"

Languages

The data page/information page is printed in German, English and French.

RFID chip with biometric certificate

Since 1 November 2005, German passports had a contactless smartcard (proximity card) chip and 13.56 MHz loop antenna embedded into the back cover page, in accordance with ICAO standards. The chip and antenna are not easily visually recognizable, but their presence is indicated using the ICAO biometric passport symbol at the bottom of the front cover. It carries all the data printed in the passport, including a JPEG file of the photo, protected by a digital signature.

On 1 November 2007, several changes were made to the passport:

* Applicants also have to provide – in addition to the traditional passport data – scans of two fingerprints, which are added to the chip.
* The previously 10-digit, all-numeric, sequentially assigned serial number was replaced with a new alphanumeric pseudorandomly assigned higher-entropy serial number, to increase the entropy of the serial number from the previous 35 digits to 45 bits. [Dennis Kügler, BSI, talk at CeBIT 2008. [http://www.heise.de/newsticker/meldung/104708] ] This improves the cryptographic key strength of the Basic Access Control mechanism of the RFID chip by 10 bits, which makes a brute force attack approximately 1000 times more expensive.
* The validity period of passports issued to holders under the age of 24 increases from five to six years; older applicants receive a passport valid for ten years.
* The field "Religious name or pseudonym" is no longer included.

Issuing process

German passports are issued, just like German ID cards, by local municipal registration offices. Applicants have to apply for a new passport in person and the data in newly issued passports is essentially an authenticated copy of the personal data found in locally stored registration documents. Passports are then manufactured centrally at "Bundesdruckerei GmbH" ( the former German government printing office which was privatized into a commercial security-printing business in 2000).

Provisional passports and passports for children can be issued locally in the municipality without sending them to the "Bundesdruckerei GmbH". These passports are accepted worldwide (except to enter the United States of America as they do not contain the electronic chip).

If the necessity can be proven, more than one passport can be issued with overlapping validity (e.g. when travelling to Arab countries with an Israeli stamp in the passport, or when needed for professional reasons). In theory, up to ten passports can be issued simultaneously. The additional passports have six instead of ten years validity.

Visa-free access & Visa-on-arrival

According to a study done by Henley & Partners, Germany has a Henley Visa Restrictions Index of 129, which means that German citizens enjoy visa-free access to 129 countries and territories for short-term tourism visits. Germany is ranked 2nd in the study in terms of international travel freedom.

188 countries and territories grant German passport holders visa-free or visa-upon-arrival access, of which 151 are accessible without any visa at all. [http://www.continental.com/web/en-US/apps/travel/passport/default.aspx?SID=AF00139455BF42FE9BB3FB40EC6484F6]

Africa

*BWA 90 days
*COM (visa issued upon arrival)
*DJI 1 month (visa issued upon arrival)
*EGY 1 month (visa issued upon arrival)
*ETH 3 months (visa issued upon arrival)
*GMB 90 days
*KEN 3 months (visa issued upon arrival)
*LSO 14 days
*MDG 90 days (visa issued upon arrival)
*MWI 90 days
*MUS 6 months
*MYT 90 days
*MAR 3 months
*MOZ 30 days (visa issued upon arrival)
*NAM 3 months
*REU unlimited access
*RWA 3 months
*SHN 90 days
*SEN 3 months
*SYC 1 month
*ZAF 90 days
*SWZ 2 months
*TZA (visa issued upon arrival)
*TGO 7 days (visa issued upon arrival)
*TUN 4 months
*UGA (visa issued upon arrival)
*ZMB (visa issued upon arrival)
*ZWE 3 months (visa issued upon arrival)

America

*AIA 3 months
*ATG 1 month
*ARG 3 months
*ABW 90 days
*BHS 3 months
*BRB 6 months
*BLZ 1 month
*BMU 6 months
*BOL 90 days
*BRA 90 days
*CAN 6 months
*CYM 30 days
*CHL 90 days
*COL 90 days
*CRI 90 days
*DMA 6 months
*DOM 30 days (a US$10 tourist card is needed)
*ECU 90 days
*SLV 3 months
*FLK 30 days
*GUF unlimited access
*GRL 90 days
*GRD 3 months
*GLP unlimited access
*GTM 3 months
*GUY 3 months
*HTI 3 months
*HND 3 months
*JAM 90 days
*MTQ unlimited access
*MEX 180 days
*MSR 3 months
*ANT 90 days
*NIC 3 months
*PAN 90 days
*PRY 90 days
*PER 90 days
*PRI 90 days
*KNA 3 months
*LCA 28 days
*SPM 90 days
*VCT 1 month
*SGS
*TTO
*TCA 30 days
*USA 90 days
*URY 3 months
*VEN 90 days
*VGB 30 days
*VIR 90 days

Asia

*BHR 14 days (visa issued upon arrival)
*BGD 90 days (visa issued upon arrival)
*BRN 30 days
*KHM 1 month (visa issued upon arrival)
*flagicon|ROC Republic of China (Taiwan) 30 days
*HKG 3 months
*IDN 30 days (visa issued upon arrival)
*IRN 15 days (visa issued upon arrival - International airports only)
*IRQ visa on arrival (only Iraqi Kurdistan)
*ISR 3 months
*JPN 90 days (extendable up to 180 days)
*JOR (visa issued upon arrival)
*KOR 3 months
*KWT 3 months (visa issued upon arrival)
*KGZ 1 month (visa issued upon arrival)
*LAO 30 days (visa issued upon arrival)
*LBN 1 month
*MAC 90 days
*MYS 3 months
*MDV 30 days
*NPL 60 days (visa issued upon arrival)
*OMN 1 month (visa issued upon arrival)
*PHL 21 days
*QAT 21 days (visa issued upon arrival)
*SGP 30 days
*LKA 30 days
*THA 30 days
*TLS 30 days (visa issued upon arrival)
*ARE 90 days
*YEM 3 months (visa issued upon arrival)

Europe

*flag|European Union unlimited access
*ALB 1 month
*AND
*ARM 21 days (visa issued upon arrival)
*AZE 30 days (visa issued upon arrival)
*BIH 90 days
*HRV 90 days
*FRO 90 days
*GEO 90 days
*GIB
*flag|Guernsey
*ISL unlimited access
*flag|Isle of Man
*flag|Jersey
*LIE unlimited access
*MKD 90 days
*MDA 90 days
*MCO 90 days
*MNE 90 days
*NOR unlimited access
*SMR 90 days
*SRB 90 days
*CHE unlimited access
*TUR 3 months
*UKR 90 days
*VAT 90 days

Oceania

*ASM 30 days
*AUS Electronic Travel Authority
*NFK Electronic Travel Authority
*FJI 4 months
*PYF 90 days
*GUM 90 days
*KIR 28 days
*MHL 30 days (visa issued upon arrival)
*FSM 30 days
*NCL 90 days
*NZL 3 months
*MNP 30 days
*COK 31 days
*NIU 30 days
*TKL same as New Zealand
*PLW 30 days (visa issued upon arrival)
*PNG 90 days (visa issued upon arrival)
*WSM 60 days
*SLB 3 months
*TON 31 days
*TUV 1 month (visa issued upon arrival)
*VUT 30 days
*WLF 90 days

References

External links

* http://www.epass.de/
* http://www.bundesdruckerei.de/en/index.html