Thomas Anselmino

Review of German Embassy, London

This feedback is regarding renewing a German passp...

This feedback is regarding renewing a German passport (a simple thing you would assume!). Overall, very friendly staff. Not their fault. The process is stuck in the 1960s. Just as a comparison, my wife, a Canadian citizen, just renewed her passport here in London and she only had to print out an online document and send it by post along with passport pictures and a payment form. About 2-3 weeks later the new passport was there.
Here's what I had to do to get my German passport renewed:
- Book an appointment, the earliest one being available 2 months out
- Print out and fill in an application form
- Bring along my passport + a copy
- Bring a recent utility bill + a copy
- Bring my birth certificate + a copy
- Bring a certificate from the town hall where I last lived in Germany showing that I don't live there anymore, + a copy
- Bring my marriage certificate, + a copy
- A copy of my father's birth certificate (!) - to prove I'm of German descent
- A copy of my father's passport (!) - to prove I'm of German descent
- Go to the embassy for my appointment and spend 1h there

This is absolutely ridiculous - what a waste of time. A shame nobody from the embassy will ever read this, nor will anyone there care... I'm surprised Germany is doing so well economically, given this bureaucracy.