So far this year, the number of applications has followed the same trend as before the pandemic, ie increased in the spring before the holiday season.
The difference now is that the applications are significantly more.
In May, 410,000 travel documents were applied for by the police, twice as many compared to 210,000 applications in the same month in 2019.
If the trend continues to follow, it would mean that the peak will be reached at the turn of the month June-July.
However, this does not have to mean that waiting times increase again, according to Magnus Roglert at the police.
- We hope that they do not do it but we parry for this by adding additional staff.
More than 17 weeks waiting time
Last week, the average waiting time to apply for a passport and national ID card was 17.6 weeks.
At the beginning of May, the waiting time was 28 weeks.
The police have recently extended the opening hours for passport and ID card applications, recruited staff and reorganized staff in an attempt to handle the high demand.
Does more need to be done?
- We are far from finished, but we work with this continuously, says Magnus Roglert.
Continued lag
The delivery times for passports after an approved application have also been long.
Among other things, since a machine that prints Swedish passports broke down in May, it is now repaired.
The average delivery time is now five to six weeks.
What it looks like in the future depends on how many people apply for a passport.
- If the applications continue to be equally high, we will constantly lag behind and the delivery time will continue to be long.
This is one of the reasons why we try to encourage citizens traveling to Europe to apply for a national ID card because it is a different production line, says Magnus Roglert.