Germany Does Not Accept Indonesian passports without Signature Column

Such a decision has been confirmed through a statement published in the German Embassy in Jakarta, AtoZSerwisPlus.com reports.

According to a local media report, at present, there are circulating two Indian passports; the first by signature and the second without a signature, which were issued before the spread of the pandemic in 2019.

In this regard, the Directorate General of Immigration, through a statement, stressed that there are two types of passports that were only limited to differences in design while they were equally valid.

“From now on, Indonesian passports without a signature column cannot be processed. This matter is being investigated in collaboration between the competent German and Indonesian government agencies,” the statement published on August 12, 2022, noted.

Besides, the German Embassy stressed that it is not eligible to accept passports without a signature filed for processing visa applications.

“Additional signatures in the ‘Endorsements’ column cannot be recognized as a substitute for the signature column in the Indonesian passport, which results in your passport being unable to be processed,” the statement reads.

According to a report published by Indonesia Posts regarding the issue, a Twitter user on Thursday addressed this problem to the Directorate General of Immigration under the Ministry of Law and Human Rights.

“Hello, @ditjen_imigration, I want to ask, why can immigration issue a passport that can’t be valid at the German Embassy? They said that Indonesian passports do not comply with international rules. We were rejected on the grounds that there was no signature column on the last sheet,” Twitter used pointed out in this regard.

Besides citizens of Indonesia, citizens from Vietnam who hold the country’s new passport are also subject to significant difficulties when planning to travel to Germany. Recently, the Embassy of Germany in Vietnam announced that it is not approving visas for holders of Vietnamese passports.

The Embassy stressed that holders of Vietnam’s passports with a dark blue cover would not be eligible to apply for a C or D visa in order to enter Germany.

The Embassy clarified that the new changes would be kept in place until further notice.

Regarding the issue, a representative at the Immigration Department of the Ministry of Public Security said that it is working with the Foreign Affairs Ministry to solve the problem.