German Passport and ID Card Application for Adults Abroad (Antrag Reisepass / Personalausweis)

What is Passport / ID card application, adults (Antrag Reisepass / Personalausweis)?

If you are a German citizen living outside Germany, you apply for a new German passport (Reisepass) or identity card (Personalausweis) at the German mission responsible for where you live: the embassy or a consulate-general. The mission asks you to bring this application, titled "Antrag für volljährige Antragstellerinnen und Antragsteller bzw. für Personalausweisbewerber/innen über 16 Jahre", filled in, to your appointment. It is printed in German and English side by side, and it covers adults over 18, and identity card applicants over 16. The copy FileIt uses is the one published by the German missions in Australia. No edition date is printed on the form.

The form asks for your names, personal details and address, your last address in Germany, how you became German, any other citizenships, and the German documents you hold or held before. Part 15, on other citizenships, has to be answered in every application, and the mission checks every answer against your documents.

FileIt walks you through every question in English with the German term alongside, and prints your answers into the mission's own PDF. It works out which parts you need, for example the citizenship-acquisition part only for a first German document, and it can pre-fill your name, date of birth and email from the People records in your vault. The filled PDF is saved to your FileIt vault. FileIt does not send anything to the mission. You print the form, bring it to your appointment and sign it there by hand.

Who needs to fill out Passport / ID card application, adults (Antrag Reisepass / Personalausweis)?

• German citizens aged 18 or over who live abroad and need a new passport, whether it's a renewal, a replacement for a lost document, or their first German passport.
• Germans aged 16 or over living abroad who want a German identity card, if the mission issues them to residents of its district.
• Dual citizens, for example German-Australians or German-Americans, who must travel to and from Germany on a German passport.
• People applying for a German document for the first time, such as children of German parents born abroad who are now adults, or naturalised Germans, who also fill in part 14.
• Anyone the mission tells to apply for a temporary passport (vorläufiger Reisepass) or a travel document in place of a passport.
• Not for children under 18 applying for a passport. They use the mission's separate form for minors, signed by the parents.

When to use Passport / ID card application, adults (Antrag Reisepass / Personalausweis)

• Well before your passport or ID card expires. Production takes place in Germany, so allow for the mission's stated processing time.
• After a change of name, for example through marriage, because the old document no longer matches your civil-status records.
• When your document is lost or stolen (report the loss as the mission instructs as well).
• When your current German document still shows an address in Germany although you have moved abroad (part 13).
• Before you book an appointment, so the form is ready. Missions accept only complete applications, and missing papers can mean a second appointment.

What you need before you start

• An appointment at your German mission. Passports and ID cards can only be applied for in person.
• Two current biometric passport photos that meet the German photo rules.
• Your last German passport or identity card (not needed if it's your first) and a legible copy of its photo page.
• Proof of your current address abroad, such as a driver licence, utility bill or lease. The mission asks for originals plus a copy of everything.
• Your birth certificate showing your parents (with a German or English translation if it's in another language) and, if your name changed, the marriage certificate or name declaration.
• For a first German document: proof of how you became German, for example a German parent's documents or your naturalisation certificate.
• Details of any other citizenship: which one, when and how you acquired it, and any retention permit (Beibehaltungsgenehmigung) with its date and authority.
• Your deregistration certificate (Abmeldebescheinigung) if your current document still shows an address in Germany.
• The number, issuing authority and dates of your previous document and of any other valid German document.

What’s on Passport / ID card application, adults (Antrag Reisepass / Personalausweis)

The 2026 edition has 5 pages. FileIt asks for it in 10 parts:

1. Documents applied for (Reisepass / Personalausweis)Applicant (antragsteller/in)
2. 1–11 About you (Angaben zur Person)Applicant (antragsteller/in)
3. 12 Current address and contact (Aktuelle Wohnanschrift)Applicant (antragsteller/in)
4. 13 Last address in Germany (Letzte Wohnanschrift in Deutschland)Applicant (antragsteller/in)
5. 14 How you acquired German citizenship (Erwerb der deutschen Staatsangehörigkeit)Applicant (antragsteller/in)
6. 15 Other citizenships (Angaben zu weiteren Staatsangehörigkeiten)Applicant (antragsteller/in)
7. 16 Foreign armed forces (Streitkräfte eines ausländischen Staates)Applicant (antragsteller/in)
8. 17 Your current or expired German document (aktuelles bzw. abgelaufenes Ausweisdokument)Applicant (antragsteller/in)
9. 18 Other valid German documents (weitere gültige deutsche Dokumente)Applicant (antragsteller/in)
10. Declaration and signature (Ort, Datum / Eigenhändige Unterschrift)Applicant (antragsteller/in)

How to fill out Passport / ID card application, adults (Antrag Reisepass / Personalausweis), step by step

1 Documents applied for (Reisepass, Personalausweis, Passersatz, vorläufiger Reisepass)

At the top, tick every document you want. You can apply for a passport and an identity card at the same appointment. For a passport you can also ask for 48 pages instead of the standard size (useful if you travel a lot) and for express processing. Both cost extra. Tick the travel document in place of a passport, or the temporary passport, only if the mission says it applies to you.

2 1–4 Names (Familienname, Geburtsname, Vorname(n), Namensänderung)

Give your surname, your surname at birth and all of your first names exactly as they appear in your German civil-status records. Question 4 asks whether your name has changed since your last German passport or ID card. If it has, say how, for example by marriage, a name declaration or adoption, and bring the certificate.

3 5–11 Personal details (Geburtsdatum, Geburtsort, Größe, Augenfarbe, Geschlecht, Doktorgrad, Ordens-/Künstlername)

Enter your date and place of birth, your height in centimetres, your eye colour and your gender (male, female or undefined, as recorded). A doctoral title is entered only if you want it to appear in the document and can prove it. A religious or stage name (Ordens- oder Künstlername) is optional and needs evidence.

4 12 Current address and contact details (Aktuelle Wohnanschrift)

Your current home address abroad: street, house number, postcode and town. It must match the proof of address you bring. Email and phone are voluntary. If you leave them out, the mission may send any questions by post.

5 13 Last address in Germany (Letzte Wohnanschrift in Deutschland)

Fill this in only if your current German document still lists a place of residence in Germany. Give that last German address and the date you deregistered (Abmeldung). The form asks whether the deregistration certificate is enclosed and warns that without it a higher fee applies.

6 14 Acquisition of German citizenship (Erwerb der deutschen Staatsangehörigkeit)

Only for your first German passport or identity card. Tick how you became German. The options are by birth or adoption as the child of a German parent, by birth in Germany to foreign parents (with a follow-up about the option under section 29 of the Nationality Act), through naturalisation, by declaration, as a repatriate or late repatriate, or "other". Bring the documents that prove it.

7 15 Other citizenships (weitere Staatsangehörigkeiten)

This part must be answered in every application. If you have acquired or applied for a foreign citizenship, name it, and if you have acquired it, say when and how: by birth, automatically (for example through marriage) or on application. If you acquired it on application, give your place of residence at the time, and say whether you had permission to retain German citizenship beforehand, with its date and the issuing authority.

If you have only applied for another citizenship so far, tick the final box confirming you have been told about the possible consequences for your German citizenship. The rules on keeping German citizenship have changed over the years, and your answers let the mission assess your case, so answer carefully and bring your naturalisation papers.

8 16 Foreign armed forces (Streitkräfte eines ausländischen Staates)

State whether you have voluntarily joined the armed forces, or a comparable armed group, of a foreign country whose citizenship you also hold. If yes, say whether you had the approval of the German recruiting authorities or an entitlement under an international agreement.

9 17–18 Previous and other German documents (Ausweisdokumente)

Part 17 records your current or expired German passport, identity card, children's passport or other document: its type, number, issuing authority, issue date and expiry date. Part 18 lists any other German document you hold that is still valid, for example your identity card when you are applying for a passport. Leave part 18 empty if there is none.

10 Declaration and signature (Ort, Datum, eigenhändige Unterschrift)

By signing you confirm that the information is true and complete, and that you will prove every detail with documents (section 6 of the Passports Act, section 9 of the Identity Cards Act). The signature must be your own handwritten one, so sign on paper at the mission or as it instructs. Place and date can be filled in by FileIt or written in on the day.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Using this form for a child under 18 who needs a passport. Minors have a separate form that the parents sign.
• Leaving part 15 blank. It must be answered in every application, even if the answer is simply "No".
• Writing names differently from your birth or marriage certificate, for example missing a middle name or spelling a surname differently.
• Forgetting copies. Missions ask for the original of every document plus a copy, including your last passport and your proof of address.
• Filling in part 14 on a renewal. It is only for your first German document.
• Not bringing the deregistration certificate when your old document shows a German address, which the form warns means a higher fee.
• Arriving without an appointment, or with photos that don't meet the biometric rules.

After you fill it out

Print the completed form and take it to your appointment at the German embassy or consulate with your photos, documents and copies. The application can only be made in person. Your fingerprints are taken for the passport or ID card, and you sign the form by hand. Pay the fee in the way the mission explains.

The document is produced in Germany and sent to the mission, which tells you when and how to collect it. According to the German missions in Australia, if you need to travel and your old document is still valid, you can usually keep it while the new one is being made. Keep the filled PDF and scans of your supporting papers in your FileIt vault, together with the new passport's expiry date, so you are reminded well before it runs out.

Each new passport or identity card is a fresh application, because documents can't be extended. The form is reusable, though: next time, start from your saved answers and update only what has changed.

Passport / ID card application, adults (Antrag Reisepass / Personalausweis): frequently asked questions

Official sources

• Blank form (PDF), published by Auswärtiges Amt (Federal Foreign Office, AA) — German missions abroad: https://australien.diplo.de/resource/blob/2415828/2c175e7f78f38348c8357b60d097972e/antrag-pass-erwachsene-deutsch-englisch-data.pdf
• Official instructions and guidance: https://australien.diplo.de/au-de/service/reisepaesse/pass-ueber-18-jahre-2067552
• Edition shown on this page: Antrag Pass Erwachsene deutsch-englisch (no edition printed; PDF dated July 2020) (checked 2026-09-26).

FileIt is not affiliated with or endorsed by Auswärtiges Amt (Federal Foreign Office, AA) — German missions abroad or any government. This page explains the form in general terms and is not legal, tax or immigration advice. Always read the official instructions, and check that you are using the edition the recipient accepts. Page last reviewed 2026-09-26.

Related forms

All Germany forms · Every form FileIt can fill