Your Child's ID Documents Are a Bürgeramt Errand in Berlin, Not an LEA One, and the Rules Are Genuinely Different

The Official Rule

Assuming your child’s passport or ID card appointment runs through the same office and process as your own residence permit business is a genuinely easy, understandable mistake, and one worth correcting before you show up at the wrong place.

A child’s German passport or ID card is handled specifically at a Berlin Bürgeramt, a completely separate office from the Landesamt für Einwanderung (LEA) that deals with residence permits. Berlin’s own official Reisepass service page and Personalausweis service page confirm this is its own distinct process, an appointment is required, and every family member needing new identity documents, your child included, has to appear in person for the application, there’s no exception carved out for young children.

Only someone with actual custody rights can apply on a child’s behalf. Berlin’s standard approach, consistent with national guidance, is that where both parents share custody, it’s generally sufficient for one parent to apply alone, bringing a signed consent declaration from the other parent along with a copy of that parent’s ID, this holds whether or not the parents live at the same address. Confirm the specific documentation your Bürgeramt expects if your family’s custody situation is more complex than this.

A genuinely important, easy-to-miss change: the Kinderreisepass no longer exists as an option at all. The Auswärtiges Amt’s own guidance for under-18s confirms the Kinderreisepass, the simplified children’s travel pass that used to be a cheaper, easier alternative to a full passport, was abolished nationwide as of January 1, 2024. Since then, no new ones can be issued, existing ones can’t be renewed, and they can’t be updated with new information either, your child needs a full Reisepass for travel outside the EU and Schengen area, a genuinely permanent shift from how this worked before that date. For travel within the EU and Schengen area, though, a Personalausweis, available for children from birth, is usually sufficient and meaningfully cheaper than a passport.

A second, more recent process change is worth confirming before your specific appointment. Since May 2025, applications require a certified digital passport photo rather than a traditional printed one. Verbraucherzentrale’s official consumer guidance confirms this is a nationwide rule, not specific to Berlin, photos are created at approved photo studios or drugstore chains and transmitted digitally to the authority, worth checking directly with your specific Bürgeramt or photo provider on the actual mechanics before you arrive.

What Real People Say

Families navigating this for the first time consistently describe the same initial assumption, that a child’s ID documents would somehow be folded into whichever office handles the family’s broader immigration or residence business, only to discover Berlin’s Bürgeramt system runs an entirely separate booking system and process from the LEA.

Separated or divorced parents specifically describe genuine relief at learning Berlin’s joint-custody approach is fairly straightforward, one parent applying with the other’s written consent and ID copy, several mention initially bracing for a more complicated authorization process, only to find the actual requirement more manageable than expected, though they still recommend confirming your specific situation with your Bürgeramt ahead of time.

Step by Step

1. Book your child’s passport or ID appointment through a Berlin Bürgeramt specifically, not through LEA’s residence-permit booking system, these are genuinely separate processes.
2. Confirm which documentation your specific custody situation requires, joint custody generally means one parent plus the other’s written consent and ID copy.
3. Bring your child to the appointment in person, there’s no exception for young children.
4. Don’t request a Kinderreisepass, this option was abolished nationwide on 1 January 2024, request a full Reisepass for non-EU/Schengen travel, or consider a Personalausweis for EU/Schengen travel.
5. Confirm the current digital photo requirement with your Bürgeramt or a photo provider before your appointment, this changed nationwide as of May 2025.

Compliance Note

This page explains the general process for obtaining a child’s German passport or ID card in Berlin, current as of mid-2026. It is not legal advice, and specific requirements, custody rules, and processes can vary by individual family situation. Confirm your specific situation directly with your Berlin Bürgeramt.