Notreiseausweis für Ausländer Ausstellung an der Grenze

If you are a foreign national and discover shortly before you intend to leave Germany that your passport or passport replacement has expired, you can apply for an emergency travel document under certain conditions.

In acute emergencies, you can apply for an emergency travel document at the border so that you can leave and, if necessary, re-enter Germany. Acute emergencies exist if undue or unreasonable hardship is to be avoided or if there is a particular public interest.

You can only enter another country with the emergency travel document if that country recognizes the document. There is no obligation for other countries to recognize it. Airlines are also not obliged to take you on board with an emergency travel document.

The emergency travel document can be applied for by:

• Nationals of a member state of the European Union, the Agreement on the European Economic Area or Switzerland and their family members entitled to freedom of movement,
• nationals of a country listed in Annex II to the EU Visa Regulation,
• third-country nationals who are entitled to return to the above-mentioned countries, i.e. holders of a residence permit (category C Schengen visas are excluded) or a long-stay visa for residence in Germany,
• civilian ship personnel of a ship operating on the sea or coastal waterways or on the Rhine for shore leave or
• civilian flight personnel for a stay on the airport premises, in the airport community or for a transfer to another airport in order to take off from there.

There is no legal entitlement to the issue of an emergency travel document. Whether the emergency document is issued to you is at the discretion of the competent border authority. The authority may refuse to issue it, for example, if you wish to travel to a country that is known not to recognize the emergency travel document or if you can apply for a passport or passport replacement from your consulate or the immigration authority.

If you are a minor, your legal guardian or an authorized person can apply for an emergency travel document.

The emergency travel document is issued by a border authority, for example the Federal Police at the airport. Border authorities are the Federal Police and other state and federal authorities responsible for policing cross-border traffic.

The emergency travel document is only valid for the duration of the respective journey, but for a maximum of one month. It is not a full replacement for a passport.

• Proof of your identity and that of your nationality, for example by:
  • expired passport or expired temporary passport
  • expired identity card from another EU, EEA or Swiss member state
  • For minors:
    • expired children's passport or
    • birth certificate
• Proof of entitlement to long-term residence, for example through
  • German residence permit in check card format or
  • Residence permit of another Schengen state in check card format
• current, biometric photo

• You can prove your identity.
• It is no longer possible to obtain a regular passport or passport replacement from your own diplomatic mission abroad or the foreigners authority before the start of your trip or it is not expected to be issued in time.
• No interests of the Federal Republic of Germany are affected.
• There are no security concerns.
• The purpose pursued by a possible wanted notice is not impaired.
• There is no evidence that the destination state does not recognize the emergency travel document as a border crossing document.
• You can apply for an emergency travel document if you
  • are a national of a member state of the European Union, the Agreement on the European Economic Area or Switzerland and their family members entitled to freedom of movement or
  • are a national of a country listed in Annex II to the EU Visa Regulation and are therefore permitted to enter the country without a visa or
  • hold a residence permit (Schengen visas of category C are excluded) or a visa for long-term residence in Germany or
  • are going ashore as civilian ship personnel on a ship operating on the sea or coastal waterways or on the Rhine, or
  • are staying as civilian flight personnel on the airport premises, in the airport community or for a transfer to another airport in order to take off from there.
• The following applies to underage children:
  • In the case of minors, the consent of all legal representatives must always be obtained for the journey.
  • If the parents are permanently separated, only the parent with whom the child usually resides may apply for the passport. The parents must provide credible evidence of permanent separation. This also applies if one of the parents with custody is permanently unavailable, e.g. has moved to an unknown address.
  • In the case of school trips, the consent of the custodial parent can also be substantiated by the accompanying teacher in exceptional cases.
• For a person for whom a guardian has been officially appointed, the officially appointed guardian can apply for the travel document as a passport replacement. In addition to the identity of the person for whom you are making the application, the officially appointed guardian must also be able to prove their official appointment.

Notes:

• Please note that card payment is not possible everywhere. Carry sufficient cash with you.
• The fee for the emergency travel document will not be refunded if
  • you withdraw your application after processing has begun,
  • you are refused the emergency travel document or
  • the transport company refuses to carry you despite having issued you with an emergency travel document.

You can apply for the emergency travel document in person at the border authority, for example at the airport with the Federal Police.

• You will receive an application form which you must complete and sign. Alternatively, you can complete the application online in advance and send it to the border authorities to speed up the process.
• Before you start your journey, you must appear in person at the border authority in order to:
  • Sign the completed application,
  • prove your identity,
  • present a current biometric photo or have it taken by the authority and
  • pay the processing fee.
• You will then receive the emergency travel document directly from the border authority.

The application can only be submitted shortly before the start of the trip, otherwise a travel document can be issued at the diplomatic mission or foreigners authority.

• In the following countries, it is not the federal police but a state or federal authority that is responsible:
  • In the Free State of Bavaria at the airports of Nuremberg and Memmingen as well as the airfields that are authorized as border crossing points, the Bavarian Border Police is responsible.
  • In the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg at the port, the Hamburg Water Police is responsible.
  • In Lower Saxony and Schleswig-Holstein in various ports, the customs authorities are responsible.

• Foreign nationals may only enter and leave Germany with a valid travel document (passport or identity card)
• in exceptional cases, an emergency travel document can be applied for and issued by the border authorities directly before departure if
  • the travel document is no longer valid,
  • the issuance is necessary to avoid undue or unreasonable hardship or for reasons of special public interest and
  • the journey is imminent
• Emergency travel document only valid for the duration of the upcoming trip, max. one month
• Recognition abroad: Entry into another country with an emergency travel document is only possible if that country recognizes the document. Other countries and airlines do not have to recognize the emergency travel document
• You can submit an application:
  • Nationals of a member state of the EU, the Agreement on the European Economic Area or Switzerland and their family members entitled to freedom of movement,
  • nationals of a country listed in Annex II to the EU Visa Regulation,
  • third-country nationals who are entitled to return to the above-mentioned countries, i.e. holders of a residence permit (category C Schengen visas are excluded) or a long-stay visa for residence in Germany,
  • civilian ship personnel of a ship operating in maritime or coastal navigation or in Rhine navigation for shore leave or
  • civilian flight personnel for a stay on the airport premises, in the airport community or for a transfer to another airport in order to take off from there