;Resize=(1200,627)&impolicy=perceptual&quality=mediumHigh&hash=cf9585088326b5e9f8bab060dfbe1f797578301065912de79ca2b7b8fa39fb02 "The children’s passport will be abolished in 2024 – parents need to know that now")
Previously, parents could apply for a children’s passport for their children under the age of 12. The document was valid for 12 months and had to be renewed once a year. The federal government will now abolish this document from next year. Families who then want to travel abroad with their children need a different document.
From 2024 there will only be one electronic passport with a longer period of validity for children up to the age of 12. Parents with children should then be able to travel worldwide with this document. Parents can already apply for electronic passports for children.
Children’s passports were previously valid in most countries, but not in the USA, Australia and some African countries. In addition, some countries required an additional visa for the children. The reason was missing security chips and fingerprints.
This is how the children’s passport is replaced
Instead of a children’s passport, which is only valid for one year and is not valid for all countries in the world, an electronic alternative is to apply from 2024. When traveling with their offspring, parents must then apply for the electronic document from the responsible authorities.
For travel within the European Union, Switzerland and the Schengen area, an identity card, which is issued to children under the age of 12 at the request of their parents, is still sufficient.
Electronic alternative is more expensive – and longer valid
While the initial registration of the child’s passport used to cost 13 euros and each extension 6 euros, parents now have to pay 37.50 euros for their children’s electronic passports. The alternative is valid (as of July 2023) for people under the age of 25 for a maximum of six years.
The exhibition costs 37.50 euros.
Is it still worth issuing a children’s passport now?
FOCUS online advises: As a rule, it is no longer worthwhile to apply for a new children’s passport. Within the European Union, parents can apply for an identity card for their children.
If a holiday in another EU country is planned, the electronic alternative is worthwhile. On the one hand, this passport is valid without restrictions worldwide thanks to the biometric data, on the other hand, parents and their children can travel much longer with it.