Important: The implementation of the digital photo affects applications for ID cards, passports, travel documents for foreigners, refugees and stateless persons, electronic residence permits and other documents.
Important 2: In future, photographs must be sent to the BürgerCenter and the Foreigners' Registration Office exclusively in digital form via secure electronic transmission channels.
This measure is intended to further digitalize the passport and ID card system and make processes more efficient. The photos can either be taken directly in the city of Salzgitter (Rathaus Lebenstedt, Joachim-Campe-Straße 6-8 and Salzgitter-Bad branch office, Marktplatz 11) or at a certified photo studio.
- The registered service providers - such as photo studios - can be accessed via the following link: https://alfo-passbild.com/fotograf-in-der-naehe/ (opens in a new tab)
- Certain dm stores also offer this service: https://www.dm.de/services/services-im-markt/fotoservice/passbild-service-51462 (opens in a new tab)
Important3: The digital passport photos are transmitted directly and securely by the provider to the city of Salzgitter by uploading the photo taken to a secure cloud. The customer then receives a printout of a data matrix code (similar to a QR code), which the BürgerCenter or foreigners authority can use to find and download the photo in the cloud. The costs charged by the provider must be enquired about directly.
Anyone who has their passport photo taken directly at the city administration in Lebenstedt or at the Salzgitter-Bad branch office must pay a nationwide fee of six euros in addition to the basic fee for the respective document. The fee of six euros is charged because the City of Salzgitter has the photographs produced using a PointID® system from Bundesdruckerei.
If the identity card and passport are applied for together, the fee for citizens is only charged once, i.e. per photo and not per document (also for electronic residence permits and travel documents). The fee also applies to the creation of photographs for temporary documents.
Important 4: It is not yet clear when the devices for the city of Salzgitter can be delivered by Bundesdruckerei. For various reasons (including delivery problems), the rollout of the PointID® systems is not yet at the point where it should have been. Against this background, the Federal Ministry of the Interior and Home Affairs has decided to continue to allow the acceptance of paper-based photo IDs beyond May 1, 2025 in exceptional cases and initially until July 31, 2025. The city administration assumes that the delivery will take place in the next two months.
Citizens will be informed in good time about the installation of the PointID® systems and the switch to digital photographs.
During this transition phase, paper-based passport photos can still be presented.