Germany is doing away with children’s paper passports in favor of biometric documents with embedded electronic chips beginning next year.
The children’s passports had to be renewed annually and cost a one-time fee of €13 (approximately US$14.13) with €6 annual renewals. The electronic passport will cost €37.50 ($40.77), but it is valid for up to six years for Germans up to 25 years old, according to Google’s machine translation of reporting by the news publication Focus Online.
The children’s passports did not include the security chips or fingerprint biometrics required for acceptance in the U.S., Australia, and some African countries, and the photo could be updated, unlike a biometric passport.
Parents can request an ID card for children up to 11 years old. This car can be used for travel within the European Union, the Schengen area and Switzerland.