Berlin Berlin

Estonian passports and ID cards

As an Estonian citizen residing in Germany there are three ways to apply for a new ID-card and/or passport:

  • at the Estonian Police and Border Guard Board (EPBGB) online self-service portal
  • by post
  • at the Estonian Embassy in Berlin

Please note that the state fee varies dependent on how the application is submitted and on the pick-up location. You will find the state fees here. You fill find the application form here. It is possible to issue all personal documents either at the Estonian Embassy in Berlin or in the bureaus of the Estonian Honorary Consuls.

On limited occasions it is possible to send the passport with the Express delivery service. Please note that this is only possible when the application was submitted a) at the Estonian Embassy in Berlin b) at an EPBGB service office in Estonia or c) at the online self-service portal of EPBGB. Any passport and ID-card applications submitted by post cannot be sent using the Express delivery service!

Person aged over 15 can apply for the document themselves, and a parent can apply for it for a child under the age of 18. Person aged at least 15 must claim the passport/ID-card themselves, unless they have authorized someone else to claim their document submitting the application in person at the embassy, in the honorary consul bureau or at an EPBGB service office in Estonia.

Applying at the self-service portal

The most convenient and favourable way to apply for new documents is at the EPBGB online self-service portal. To use the self-service portal, you need a valid ID-card, your fingerprints (taken less than 6 years ago) and an ID-card reader. It is possible to apply for both a new ID-card and/or passport. If when logging into the self-service portal the following notice appears: “applicant must have his/her fingerprints taken”, then the only possibility to do this is to undertake the procedure free of charge at the Estonian Embassy in Berlin. Please note that is not possible to have your fingerprints taken at the Honorary Consul’s bureau.

Please note that it is possible to have your fingerprints taken during the opening hours of the Consular Department of the Embassy: Mondays – Thursdays 10am – 1pm. (The appointment must be made beforehand) When the fingerprints have been taken, it is possible to apply for a new passport/ID-card at the self-service portal. Fingerprints do not need to be provided, if less than 6 years have passed since you last had your fingerprints taken. You can check the validity of your fingerprints on the website of EPBGB.

Applying per post

When it is not possible to apply for a document at the self-service portal the application for a new passport/ID card can be submitted by post. Since August 2021 it is only possible to apply for new documents by post if the Estonian citizen has given her/his fingerprints less than 6 years ago.

Please send the correct application and add a confirmation of payment for the state fee (transfer name is the Ministry of Finance) by regular post to Estonia:

APPLICATION
Politsei- ja Piirivalveamet / Police and Border Guard Board
Pärnu mnt 139
Tallinn 15060
Estonia

You can find the list of state fees here.

In addition to the application a digital document photo is required. Please send the passport/ID-card photo in digital form to the EPBGB e-mail address: [email protected]. Please note in the e-mail the applicant’s full name, personal code (isikukood) or date of birth.

Before submitting the application, please review information regarding the application form and the guidelines and requirements for the document photo.

Applying for documents at the Estonian Embassy in Berlin

You must come to the embassy in person when

  • it is not possible to submit the document application either at the Estonian Police and Border Guard Board (EPBGB) online self-service portal or by post
  • you want to receive the passport by post
  • you are applying for the identity documents of Estonian citizen for the first time. Please contact the Consular Departement before your appointment either via e-mail: [email protected] or by phone: +49 30 254 606 11!
  • you wish to authorise a third party to claim your document. This must be requested together with the application as it is not possible to authorise someone else after the document application has been submitted.
  • a child aged 12 or older who needs a new passport (please note: fingerprints are required)
  • you had your fingerprints taken longer than 6 years ago/or you need to have your fingerprints taken

To apply for a new ID-card/passport at the embassy please book an appointment in advance by phone +49 30 254 606 11 (Monday – Thursday 10am – 4 pm), via e-mail [email protected] or in e-calendar.

The application can be filled in at the embassy on the spot. If you prefer, you can fill in the application form at home, print it out, sign it and bring it with you to the appointment.

Please note that it is only possible to pay by card at the embassy. If the state fee has been transferred beforehand to the bank account of Ministry of Finance, please bring with you a confirmation of payment for the state fee. Only in case of an emergency it is possible to pay in cash!

Digital passport/ID-card photo must be sent directly to the EPBGB e-mail address [email protected]. NB! It is not possible to have your document photo taken at the embassy. Upon request we can recommend photographers in Berlin who are informed of document photo requirements and can help with the submission.

Applying for an Estonian passport and/or ID-card for a child

It is possible to order an Estonian passport and/or ID-card for a child in Germany at the EPBGB self-service portal (provided the birth has been registered in the Estonian Population Register, see family procedures), by post or at an embassy. Children under 12 years of age do not need to come in person to the embassy to order a passport as their fingerprints are not required for the application process.

Citizens aged 15 years or older are issued a passport and/or ID-card in person when applying for a document at an embassy or EPBGB service office, or to an authorised representative. For children up to 14 years of age, the document is issued to the custodial parent.

When applying for initial documents for a child by post, following information needs to be provided:

  • filled in application form in estonian, in russian or in english
  • supplementary form
  • copy of the Estonian passport or ID-card of the parent
  • when the other caretaker isn’t an Estonian citizen, his/her written consent (in free form) stating the approval of submitting the passport/ID-card application and a copy of his/her passport or ID-card
  • a confirmation of payment for the state fee (transfer name: the Ministry of Finance)
  • child’s international birth certificate (multilingual CIEC form), either the original or a certified copy. The certified copy must be made from the original document and marked in the right-hand corner ‘Copy correct, NAME OF CERTIFIER, DATE’. It is not necessary to send a birth certificate if the birth of the child has already been registered in the Estonian population register.

The application, together with supplementary documents, must be sent by post to Estonia to the following address:

AVALDUS
Politsei- ja Piirivalveamet
Pärnu mnt 139
Tallinn 15060
Estonia

In addition to the application, a digital passport/ID-card photo of the child must be sent by e-mail to [email protected], see document photo requirements.

In case of questions, you can consult with the Consular Services of the Embassy in Berlin on the following number: + 49 30 254 606 11.

Document pick-up locations in Germany

In addition to the embassy in Berlin, some Estonian honorary consuls in Germany can issue identity documents as well. Honorary consular offices, where documents can be picked-up, are located in: Kiel, Schwerin, Frankfurt am Main, Leipzig, Bonn, Bremen and Heidelberg.

NB! The Office of the Honorary Consul in Munich does not issue documents at the moment.

Sending authorized representative to pick up the passport or ID card

The document will be issued to your representative only if the application was submitted in one of the offices of the Estonian Police and Border Guard Board, through the self-service portal or at the Estonian Embassy in Berlin and the authorization was submitted already upon submission of the application for the document. Only Estonian citizens can be authorized. If you have authorized someone else to pick-up your Passport or ID card, the person must present his/her own valid Estonian identity document and your old Passport/ID card.

Receive your passport by courier

If in a foreign country, you can receive your passport by courier. You can choose the courier option when applying for a passport, and if a positive decision is made on the issue of your passport, you will recieve an e-mail with detailed instructions on how to proceed with the courier service. In the “pick-up location” field, it is necessary to write the following as the place of receipt: “DHL; country of destination; zip code”. It is a paid service and the fee is due when the courier service is formalized.

The recipient of the document must be able to present his or her valid identity document to the courier for personal identification. The courier issues a passport to a person only in person, and authorization to another person is not possible.

The prices for sending a passport abroad by courier are divided by zones. Germany belongs to the zone 2. More information can be found on the website of EPBGB.

Fuel surcharge, document insurance, personal signing fee and VAT for zones 1–4 will be added to the cost.

For your information

  • All ID-card/passport applications are processed by the EPBGB. The application status can be checked on the website of EPBGB.
  • New documents will arrive at the embassy in about 5-7 weeks. If you wish to pick up the document at one of the offices of the Estonian Honorary Consuls in Germany, the waiting time will be ca one week longer.
  • The Embassy will notify the citizen by e-mail as soon as the documents reach the embassy.
  • Abroad it is not possible to submit an expedited ID-card or passport application. This can only be done at the EPBGB online self-service portal or at client service office in Estonia. Documents applied for under expedited procedure can be claimed only at the client service office located in Tallinn.
  • It is not possible to apply for an Alien’s passport at Estonian foreign representations.

As of 1.01.2021, the court may revoke and, if necessary, prohibit the issuing of passports to fugitives and persons subject to a detention order in the framework of criminal proceedings (including maintenance debtors subject to prohibition on leaving their domicile). The ID-card will not be sent to a foreign country to be issued to the person; the person must go to the EPBGB service office in Estonia to claim it. If a wanted person or a maintenance debtor has applied for a new document and the place of issue is abroad, the EPBGB officer will immediately inform the person by e-mail of the court order applicable to the person. In the case of e.g. a maintenance debtor, once the debts have been paid, the documents (passport and/or ID card) will be sent to the requested location. However, the only possibility for wanted person to return to Estonia is to apply for a return certificate or permit. (For further information, please read the Identity Documents Act § 12