The holidays are here and it's time to renew your passport.
No problem, if you live in Stockholm or Östersund.
But in several parts of the country, the first available time to get a new passport is in August.
This spring's transition from a drop-in system to appointment-based passport applications has been problematic. And although the situation has improved, those who want to book an appointment for a new passport can still be forced to wait for over two months.
”"We have some locations that don't have hours until the end of August," says Karl Holm, head of the administrative law unit at the Police Authority's legal department.
He says that the police regions have taken the extensive problems of the spring very seriously by both training staff and ensuring that there are now more hours.
But in some places it has not been enough. For example, if you live in Enköping, Borås, Kungsbacka, Helsingborg, Kristianstad, Trelleborg or Ystad, it may be difficult to get a new passport in time for your summer holiday.
”"I can't answer why there are still such long queues in certain places, I actually can't," says Karl Holm.
What should you do if you need a new passport and there are no available times in your area?
”"If you don't have a passport and you have to make an urgent trip, you can get a provisional passport, which is issued at the airport. Otherwise, my tip is to find an appointment in a nearby town."”
”"It's also important to have a little bit of patience and wait if you don't need a passport until later this year. We all need to help each other."”
Source: TT
