The mayor of Berlin, Kai Wegner (CDU), has promised that citizens' offices (Bürgerämter) in the capital will offer appointment-free days, during which people can drop by without booking a Termin.

Will Berlin Bürgerämter soon offer walk-in appointments?

“The idea is that, once a week, perhaps Wednesdays, Berliners will simply be able to drop by the Bürgeramt, without having booked an appointment in advance,” Mayor Kai Wegner told Berliner Morgenpost on August 2.

Since 2012, it has only been possible to visit the Bürgeramt - where citizens must go to get a registration certificate in the city or change their driving licence - with an appointment. In recent years it has become much more difficult to get an appointment for most services, with some people waiting as long as six months to secure one. Wegner claims the new system will lead to “significant unburdening” for administrative staff.

The capital’s CDU-SPD coalition has already taken other measures to reduce the burden on Bürgeramt employees and appointment-seekers. “We have been able to make great progress in filling positions in Bürgerämter. Since April 30, all recruitment procedures for the 100 additional positions promised by the coalition have been completed,” state secretary Martina Klement said in mid-June 2024.

But other promised plans have gone awry. Elected in April 2023, Wegner promised he would make it possible for people to get an appointment within 14 days, but has not yet delivered on this. Now, he is proposing the new, walk-in policy instead.

Opposing parties warn of further chaos in Berlin Bürgeramter

But not everyone is convinced. “Bürgerämter [initially] swapped to the appointment system to process requests as quickly as possible,” MP Alexander Freier-Winterwerb (SPD) told Tagesspiegel. “If you really want to help the situation, then you shouldn’t shoot the system to pieces, but rather get away from a situation where up to a third of appointments go unused because people cancel or don’t show up."

Instead, Freier-Winterwerb suggests imposing fines on people who fail to show up for an appointment, so that fewer appointments go unused.

The Greens agree that Wegner’s new approach is misguided. “The goal must remain that it is possible to book a Bürgeramt appointment, just as it works in every other municipality,” MP Stefan Ziller said, pointing out that “many people who work, work freelance and have families can’t afford to spend half a Wednesday sitting around with a waiting number.”

The Left Party joined the chorus of criticism, adding that the new system would only lead to further chaos and stress for employees. Instead, the Berlin coalition should work on filling empty positions at the Bürgeramt and optimising the existing appointment system, MP Tobias Schulze argued.

Thumb image credit: Werner Spremberg / Shutterstock.com