Indian Man In Germany Praises India’s Passport Process After Tough Experience With Berlin Paperwork

An Indian entrepreneur and researcher based in Germany has sparked widespread discussion online after contrasting bureaucratic processes in India and Germany, particularly highlighting his experience with passport renewal and residence permit procedures.Sharing his experience on X, Mayukh Panja wrote that renewing his Indian passport alongside his German residence permit made him appreciate the efficiency of large-scale systems in India. “There is something deeply impressive about how India handles logistics at scale,” he wrote.Panja said he had to wait around 30 days to get an appointment at the Indian Embassy in Berlin. After completing the documentation process, he received his renewed passport in approximately six weeks.He explained that the process involved

coordination between the passport office in Kolkata, police verification at his permanent address, and the printing of passports in India before they were dispatched to embassies abroad. “Passports are not printed at the Embassy. They are printed in India and then flown to embassies around the world. This entire international affair with cross border movement of physical documents was done in 6 weeks,” he wrote.In contrast, he noted that securing an appointment at Berlin’s Foreigner’s Office took him about six weeks, while the issuance of a new residence card was expected to take another eight weeks.“I know a lot of stuff doesn’t work, but sometimes I cannot help but be amazed at how vast and sprawling our democracy, both literally and metaphorically, is and it is somehow still not falling apart,” he added.In a follow-up post, Panja also addressed reactions to his views on India. “I sometimes express cautious optimism about India. Cautious because I know many things are not okay. Optimistic because I have seen a lot of positive change in my lifetime,” he wrote. “but simply being cautiously optimistic about india tends to rub a lot of people the wrong way, especially english speaking urban indians,” he added.

The post triggered a range of responses from users, including Capitalmind CEO Deepak Shenoy, who also shared his experience with passport renewal. “6 weeks! I got my passport renewed in 4 days, living in India, without Tatkal. Also very impressive for this scale,” Shenoy commented.Panja responded, “Indeed, but we don’t have the Tatkal option here.”Several users also weighed in by comparing bureaucratic efficiency across countries. “Same in Portugal, could not get appointment for 6 months and had to go to India to get the passport and complete all the process in 5 days flat. It is amazing how a country that prides in technology applications in government is so far behind on these in many countries,” one user wrote.“If it is domestic, passports are issued or renewed in 3 to 5 days . This is under normal processing . In tatkal , you may get it next day I guess. This process has become so efficient that the only glitch now is the ₹500 bribe that needs to be paid to the policeman visit,” commented another.