Long waiting times for new passports, drivers licenses, and ID cards

Municipalities are struggling to keep up with their civil affairs services, resulting in citizens often having to wait weeks or even months for a new passport, ID, or driver's license, AD reports.

According to the newspaper, the long waiting times are due to a combination of circumstances - the registration of Ukrainian refugees and helping them get settled, the organization of the municipal elections, and increased demand for documents since the coronavirus pandemic.

There are also more marriages than usual, as people who postponed their weddings in the pandemic are holding them now that they can have guests again. And civil affairs offices are understaffed due to sick leave and staff shortages, AD wrote.

The Hague is struggling with the longest waiting times, where residents sometimes have to wait three months to get a new ID or driver's license. Zoetermeer has a waiting time of seven weeks, Amersfoort six weeks, Amsterdam and Utrecht five weeks, and Rotterdam between three and six weeks. The average waiting time is over a month.