Christmas and the weeks leading up to the festive season, are a busy period for the Passport section. When submitting an application for passport services, please allow for any delays. It is recommended that you apply earlier than normal, to allow the section to help meet any travel dates you may have. 

We are based in the British Consulate-General in Düsseldorf, Germany. With effect from 1 October 2009 our office will provide passport services for all customers in Germany, Austria, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Denmark (Faroe Islands & Greenland), Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Kosovo , Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia , Montenegro, Norway, Serbia, Slovak Republic, Slovenia and Sweden .

Please note that our Embassies (or Consulates) in the above countries will continue to provide full consular assistance in their districts, including the provision of single-journey passports needed in genuine emergencies.

The merger of passport operations from the countries listed above has been carefully planned, and is being managed to meet our applicants' needs. We aim to provide a fast and efficient service, and process all correctly submitted applications within 10 working days of receipt. However you should allow up to four weeks to cover all eventualities. Please do not book any travel without being in possession of a valid passport.  If you are travelling urgently, you may wish to be aware of the following hints and tips:

• Instead of mailing your application to us, a courier company is almost always a quicker option. It can more than halve delivery times in certain cases. The following pages will tell you more, but this new service is designed to speed up delivery and improve security. Further information is available on our frequently asked questions pages.
• The front page of the passport application form (C1 for adults, C2 for children) invites you to enter your date of travel. Please do this if you are travelling urgently; we will aim to meet your deadline. Please note that Passport Application Forms and Guidance Notes are available in the Adobe Acrobat PDF format. To read PDF documents you will need to download and install the free Adobe Acrobat Reader .
• We want to process your application as quickly as possible. To avoid unnecessary delay and inconvenience, please follow the advice on this website carefully.  In brief that means; make sure you complete your application form fully, you pay the correct fee, you provide all necessary supporting documents, the photographs meet the required biometric standards and that you allow enough time for us to process and return your application before your planned date of travel.
• Finally, our system allows you to apply up to nine months before your current passport expires without losing any validity. So take advantage of this and don't leave it until the last minute to apply.

Adam Radcliffe
HM Consul
British Consulate-General
Yorck Strasse 19
40476 Düsseldorf
Germany

Important passport information

Processing Time

For customers who wish to renew their British passport, the current processing time is 10 working days from receipt of a complete application and fee. However you should allow up to four weeks to cover all eventualities. These processing times do not include the time it takes to post or courier the passport to and from the Passport section. If your previous passport has been lost or stolen, it may also take longer to process. PLEASE NOTE Incomplete/incorrectly submitted applications may be returned with an explanatory letter listing what is required.

If you need to travel urgently you may be eligible for an Emergency Travel Document. An Emergency Travel Document is a one-page document valid for one journey only to the UK or elsewhere in the EU. It is issued to British Nationals previously issued with a British Passport, (i.e. they cannot be issued to anyone applying for the first time), in emergency and compassionate situations. Please click on Lost and Stolen Passports and follow the advice given.

Photographs required for biometric passports

The photograph standards required for biometric passports are higher than those needed for earlier types of passports. If the photograph you send with your passport application does not meet the standards required you will be asked to send photographs that do. This could cause a long delay in processing your application. Please ensure that your photographs meet the required standard, by checking the latest information on the DirectGov website

To avoid any inconvenience we recommend that you print the guidance and give it to your photographer.

Contacting Passport Information Helpline

British passport telephone enquiries are handled by Careline Services. If applicants from these countries are unable to obtain the information they require from this website they should call Careline Services.

Applicants from Austria

For applicants in Austria, please call +44 208 082 4724 between the hours of 9:00 AM Monday and 6:00 PM local time Friday (24 hour service).

Calls will be handled by Careline Services. Calls will be charged at GBP 0.69 per minute + VAT for the duration of the call. (Telephone service providers will also charge for the cost of the international call)

• Please ensure you have your credit card details ready before calling.
• For customers with hearing difficulties, a Textphone service is available by contacting +44 1750 725368. This is a credit card payment service, charged at the same rates as above.
  

Applicants from Germany, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway and Sweden  

For applicants in Germany, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway and Sweden, please call +44 208 082 4723 between the hours of 9:00AM Monday and 6:00 PM local time Friday (24 hour service).

Calls will be handled by Careline Services. Calls will be charged at GBP 0.69 per minute + VAT for the duration of the call. (Telephone service providers will also charge for the cost of the international call)

• Please ensure you have your credit card details ready before calling.
• For customers with hearing difficulties, a Textphone service is available by contacting +44 1750 725368. This is a credit card payment service, charged at the same rates as above. 

Premium Rate Number: Alternately, applicants can contact the Passport Information Helpline via a premium-rate telephone number.

Please note this number is for Germany customers only. If you call this number outside Germany, additional charges may apply or the line may not work.

• Please call 090 011 18008 between the hours of 9:00 AM Monday and 6:00 PM local time Friday (24 hour service).
• Calls will be handled by Careline Services. Calls will be charged at 1.75 Euros per minute for the duration of the call. Calls made on a mobile-phone may be subject to additional charges, please check with your mobile-phone provider

Applicants from Bosnia-Bulgaria-Croatia-Kosovo-Macedonia-Montenegro-Serbia-Slovakia-Slovenia

For applicants in: Bosnia-Bulgaria-Croatia-Kosovo-Macedonia-Montenegro-Serbia-Slovakia-Slovenia, please call +44 208 082 4740 between the hours of 9:00 AM Monday and 6:00 PM local time Friday (24 hour service).

Calls will be handled by Careline Services. Calls will be charged at GBP 0.69 per minute + VAT for the duration of the call. (Telephone service providers will also charge for the cost of the international call)

• Please ensure you have your credit card details ready before calling.
• For customers with hearing difficulties, a Textphone service is available by contacting +44 1750 725368. This is a credit card payment service, charged at the same rates as above. 

Premium Rate Number: Alternately, applicants can contact the Passport Information Helpline via a premium-rate telephone number.

• Please call 090 011 18008 between the hours of 9:00AM Monday and 6:00PM Friday, local time (24 hour service).
• Calls will be handled by Careline Services. Calls will be charged at 1.75 Euros per minute for the duration of the call. Calls made on a mobile-phone may be subject to additional charges, please check with your mobile-phone provider

Complaints/Feedback

• If you feel that your experience with Careline Services was below the high standards the Foreign and Commonwealth Office aim to provide, please email Careline Services directly at: ukpassportserviceNorthAndCentralEurope@careline- services.co.uk
  
• All complaints will be acknowledged within 1 working day.