Application for an Australian Passport Overseas: NOTES Who can apply for an Australian passport? All Australian citizens can apply if you have any questions or doubts about your Australian citizenship, visit the Department of Immigration and Citizenship website: www.citizenship.gov.au Who should use this form to apply? Use this form if: you are an Australian citizen who is applying for an Australian passport outside of Australia. Do NOT use this form if: you are applying for your Australian passport whilst in Australia, or you are renewing your adult Australian passport check the requirements on page 2 to see whether you can renew your current passport more quickly using a renewal form. If you are aged 75 years or over: You have the option to use this form to apply for a seniors passport (with 5 years validity) for a lower fee. Processing time for your passport: The Passport Office aims to issue a full validity travel document within ten working days (excluding delivery) if you have met all our requirements and given us all the information we need. If you have an urgent need to travel, consideration will be given to issuing you with a limited validity emergency passport at the mission. This will attract a priority processing fee. Parental consent By law, the written consent of each person or organisation who has a parental responsibility for the child is required before a passport may be issued to a child. For further information, read the notes on page 3 or visit www.passports.gov.au Passport information If you have any questions about this form or about how to get an Australian passport visit our website at: www.passports.gov.au If you wish to comment about our service, offer suggestions for improvement, or register a complaint, contact your nearest Australian overseas mission. Check before travelling Visit the Department s website at www.smartraveller.gov.au to view the latest travel advice. Protect your identity Lost or stolen passports cause inconvenience and may be used by others to assume your identity for illegal activities. Keep your passport safe at all times. Your checklist The following things will help you complete the form correctly, speed up your application and minimise our requests for further information: Completing your form Use BLACK INK and print well within the boxes in B L O C K L E T T E R S Complete the Application Form in English, and include approved translations of any supporting documentation. If you are not required to give information in some parts of the Application Form, leave the boxes blank do not mark or cross them out. Choose an appropriate guarantor to endorse your photograph and complete section 11 of the Application Form. Your guarantor must possess an Australian passport or be an Australian or non-australian currently employed in an approved professional or occupational group. Please ask the Australian overseas mission for a list of approved groups. Lodging your form For adult passport applications: contact the nearest Australian mission for advice on how to lodge. Child passport applications should be lodged at the nearest Australian mission by a parent/person with a parental responsibility for the child. The person lodging the Application Form should also bring proof of their identity. In certain circumstances, as approved by your nearest Australian mission, you may be able to lodge the Application Form by mail. Bring to your passport interview Your completed Application Form (with section 11 completed by your guarantor). The application fee (non-refundable if travel document is not issued), (and priority processing fee and emergency passport fee if applicable). Check with the Australian overseas mission for details of the current fee and acceptable methods and currency of payment. If you are aged under 18: a full original birth certificate showing the names of your parents and your full name at birth. (Birth extracts and commemorative certificates are not acceptable). Documents that prove your Australian citizenship and your identity (see notes on pages 2, 3 and 5). Name change documents (see notes on page 2 3). Two new colour photographs, with one signed as a true photo of you by your guarantor (see notes on page 4). Any current Australian travel document you have. All documents must be originals
2 Notes for completing the form Adults Are you renewing an Australian passport? If you are 18 years of age or over, and have an Australian adult passport that: was valid for at least 2 years, and is current or expired less than 2 years ago, and was issued in your current name, date of birth and sex there is a simpler way to apply for your new passport. Visit the passports website at www.passports.gov.au to complete and print your renewal form. Phone your nearest mission if you need help. NOTE: If your passport has been lost or stolen, you will need to complete this form to replace it. All lost or stolen Australian travel documents must be reported immediately to your nearest Australian mission. What citizenship and identity documents will you need to provide with your application? When you apply for an Australian passport, you must provide original documents (and photocopies) from the list on the right that confirms your Australian citizenship and identity. If you are providing your Australian birth certificate: Birth extracts and commemorative certificates are not acceptable. If you were born on or after 20 August 1986, your proof of citizenship must also include evidence that one parent was either an Australian citizen or permanent resident of Australia at the time of your birth (see the notes on the right). If you are providing your Australian citizenship certificate: If your Australian citizenship certificate does not show sex or place and country of birth, you must also present documentation that confirms these details (see the notes on the right). If you are unable to provide the required documents from the right that confirms your Australian citizenship and identity contact an Australian mission overseas for advice. AND also If you are aged 18 or over (or have been married) You must also provide one of the following three combinations of original documents to support your identity: Combination 1 two documents One document from category A, and One document from category B Note: if neither of these documents shows your current address, you will also need one document from category C that shows your current address. If neither of these documents includes your photograph, you will also need one official document that includes your photograph. Combination 2 (if you cannot provide combination 1) Two documents from category B, and One official document that includes your photograph Note: if none of these documents shows your current address, you will also need one document from category C that shows your current address. Combination 3 (if you cannot meet combination 1 or combination 2) At least three documents from category C that show your name and current address, and One official document that includes your photograph and signature NOTE: These documents must be no more than 12 months old. If you choose this combination to confirm your identity, your application may take longer to process. One official document must include your photograph and signature. Original documents (and photocopies) to confirm your Australian citizenship and identity A full Australian birth certificate, and If you were born on or after 20 August 1986, you must also provide one parent s full Australian birth certificate, Australian passport, Australian citizenship certificate or Australian permanent resident status that was valid at the time of your birth. OR Australian citizenship certificate (or an extract from the register of citizenship by descent, an extract from the register of Australian births abroad, or a letter from the Department of Immigration and Citizenship stating that your birth abroad has been registered), and If your Australian citizenship document does not show sex or place and country of birth you must also present your foreign birth certificate (with an official English translation where necessary). If this is not possible you must present your foreign passport (and photocopy of the page confirming your personal details). Category A Current driving licence NOTE: International driving licences are not acceptable forms of identity. A driver s licence issued by a government driving/ traffic/motor vehicle licensing authority is the only acceptable form of licence Australian birth card Issued by the Registrar of Births Deaths and Marriages (this is not a birth certificate) Foreign residency ID card Category B Health card Issued by a government authority Social Security card Issued by a government authority Department of Veterans Affairs card or equivalent issued by a government authority Credit card or bank account card National Insurance card Issued by a government authority Foreign passport Category C Motor vehicle registration or insurance papers Property rates notice or property lease agreement Home insurance papers Utilities bills e.g. telephone, electricity or gas bill showing your residential address Bank or credit card statements showing your residential address If you have changed your name since birth or obtaining Australian citizenship You must bring originals of documents that explain all name changes (including any Anglicisation) you have had since birth (or obtaining Australian citizen ship). Passports are issued in your birth (or citizenship) name, unless you have formally registered another name with the Australian Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages (RBDM) in the Australian state or territory of birth, or, if born overseas and not normally resident in Australia, the local equivalent authority in your country of residence, and can provide an original of your change of name certificate (or local equivalent), revised birth certificate or marriage certificate. If there is no local system for registering a name change in your country of residence, contact your nearest overseas mission. If you have changed your name more than once, please provide details of your most recent name change on the form and provide documents for each name change. Marriage certificates issued by marriage celebrants in Australia are not acceptable for change of name. You must register the marriage with the Australian RBDM in the state or territory where the marriage occurred and show that certificate. If you were married overseas, and born or normally resident in Australia, you must provide your original marriage certificate and a RBDM name change certificate in the married name. If you are applying for a new passport as a result of marriage, divorce or death of your spouse and your passport was valid when the event leading to the change occurred, your replacement passport, with the same expiry date as the one being replaced, may be issued free of charge if your application is lodged within 12 months of the event (a priority processing fee may still apply). Omline Form PC8_0810
Notes for completing the form Children (under 18 years and never married) 3 What will you need to provide with your application? Note: you must provide original documents (and photocopies) ALL APPLICANTS When you apply for a child s Australian passport, you must provide the child s FULL birth certificate as well as any previous Australian passport that they have had. Please note that birth extracts and commemorative certificates are not acceptable. A full birth certificate showing the names of both parents A previous Australian passport (if the child has had one) You must bring any previous passport the child has had with you to the interview where it will be cancelled. This passport will no longer be valid. If the passport contains valid visas that the child wishes to continue using, contact the appropriate embassy/ consulate APPLICANTS BORN IN AUSTRALIA If the child was born in Australia, you will need to provide an original document that confirms one parent s Australian citizenship or permanent residency at the time of the child s birth. APPLICANTS BORN OVERSEAS If the child does not have an Australian birth certificate, you will need to provide the child s full overseas birth certificate (with an official English translation if in a foreign language) and proof of the child s Australian citizenship. Please note that commemorative certificates are not acceptable. Proof of one parent s Australian citizenship or permanent residency at the time of the child s birth One parent s full Australian birth certificate (which shows the parent was born before 20/08/86) One parent s Australian passport (issued on/after 20/08/86, but before the child s birth and valid for a minimum of two years) One parent s citizenship certificate One parent s permanent residency status An Australian citizenship certificate OR Extract from the register of citizenship by descent OR Extract from the register of Australian births abroad Parental consent Please show us the child s original full birth certificate that shows the names of his or her parents, and make sure that both parents complete sections 12 15 of this form. If you cannot show us the full birth certificate, contact your nearest Australian mission for advice. If the current names of either parent are different to those on the birth certificate, please show us documents that explain the change of name (i.e. a certificate of name change from the Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages or a marriage certificate issued by a celebrant or RBDM). If court orders concerning the child are in force, please show us those orders. If either parent has died, please show us evidence of death (e.g. a death certificate). If you cannot get consent from both parents (e.g. you don t know the whereabouts of one parent) contact your nearest Australian mission. Parental consent is valid for 6 months from the date the parent signs at section 15; after that period, consent must be re-confirmed before processing can continue. Throughout this form, the term parent(s) means the child s mother, father or other person with a parental responsibility for the child (see definition below). It is a requirement of the Australian Passports Act 2005 that written consent to the issue of an Australian passport to an unmarried person under 18 years of age, must be provided by each person who has a parental respon sibility for the Applicant. Con sent may not be conditional and is required for the full validity of the passport. A person has a parental responsibility for a child if, and only if: the person: is the child s parent (including a person who is presumed to be the child s parent because of a presumption (other than in section 69Q) in Sub-division D of Division 12 of Part VII of the Family Law Act 1975); and has not ceased to have parental responsibility for the child because of an order made under the Family Law Act 1975; or the person has a residence order or a contact order in relation to the child; or the person has a specific issues order in relation to the child under which the person is responsible for the minor s long-term or day-to-day care, welfare and development; or the person is entitled to guardianship or custody of, or access to, the child under a law of the Commonwealth, or of a state or a territory. If the child s name has changed since birth or obtaining Australian citizenship You must bring originals of documents that explain all name changes the child has had since birth (or obtaining Australian citizen ship). Passports are issued in the child s birth (or citizenship) name, unless another name has been formally registered with the Australian Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages (RBDM), or the local equivalent authority in the child s country of permanent residency (if the child was born overseas), and you can provide the original of the change of name certificate (or local equivalent) or revised birth certificate. Anglicised names are not acceptable without a formal name change certificate. If there is no local system for registering a name change in your country of residence, contact your nearest overseas mission. If the child s name has changed more than once, please provide details of the most recent name change on the form and provide documents for each name change. If the child s parents current names are different to those shown on the child s birth certificate, you must provide documents that explain the difference. Signing the form The declaration at section 17 must be signed by a parent. If the child is between 10 and 18 years of age, we expect them to sign the form at section 18, under the parent s declaration (unless they are unable to sign for themselves). This signature will appear in the passport. If the child is under 10 years of age, they are not required to sign. Aim to keep your signature within the white box, although it may extend into the pale tinted area around the white box. Practice signature box Sign DECLARATION within this box
4 Notes for completing the form Providing two identical photographs of yourself 35mm 45mm Acceptable Too far away Not square on Too dark Too light to the camera You must provide two recent colour photographs of yourself with your application form. The photographs must be clear, and of the appropriate size. Photographs must be signed by a guarantor as a true photo of you. The two identical photographs must: be no more than six months old be between 35mm and 40mm in width, and between 45mm and 50mm in height have a plain, light-coloured background be of good quality colour and on high quality paper, with no ink or marks on the image have appropriate brightness and contrast and show your skin tones naturally be taken with uniform lighting (no shadows across the face) be in sharp focus and clear. The photograph must: be of your head and top of your shoulders show your shoulders square on (not portrait style with you looking over one shoulder) show your face square on (both edges of the face should be visible) show you looking straight at the camera, and your head not tilted be taken with a neutral expression (not laughing or frowning) with your mouth closed be close up, so that the head takes up between 32mm and 36mm of the photo (see diagram below) show your eyes open and clearly visible, and no hair in your eyes show your eyes clearly through glasses if you wear them with no flash reflection off the glasses, and no tinted lenses (if possible, avoid heavy glasses frames wear lighter framed glasses if you have them) show you without any hat or other head covering (if you wear a head covering for religious reasons, we will accept a photograph of you wearing it, but your facial features from bottom of chin to top of forehead and both edges of your face must be clearly shown). NOTE: Due to security printing requirements, images reproduced in passports will not be photographic quality and will appear different from the photographs supplied. Digital photographs: Photographs taken with digital cameras must be high quality colour and printed on photo-quality paper, otherwise the photograph will be rejected. See www.passports.gov.au for more information about passport photograph guidelines. You will need a guarantor to endorse your photograph and complete part of the form Your guarantor must: not be related to you by birth or marriage not be in a de facto relationship with you (this includes a same sex relationship) not live at your address, and if you are a child applicant not reside with either of your parents have known you for at least 12 months or for children under 1 year, since birth be able to endorse the back of one photograph in English by writing this is a true photo of [your full name] and signing their name be 18 years of age or over possess a current (unexpired) Australian passport that was issued with at least two year s validity, or be an Australian or non- Australian currently employed in one of the approved occupational or professional groups listed with the Australian overseas mission. Please check that the guarantor you choose can fulfil all of the above requirements before they sign your photograph. If the person you chose does not fulfil all the requirements you will have to supply new photographs and information from another guarantor. Endorsing the photograph This diagram shows the area the face should take up and how the guarantor should endorse the back of one photograph. 45mm PHOTO FACE UP Min 32mm Max 36mm SIZE 35mm PHOTO FACE DOWN Guarantor must endorse photo: This is a true photo of JOHN CITIZEN (full name of applicant) P Smith (signature of guarantor) Photographs should be attached to section 17 of the Application Form.
Lost and stolen passports 5 Lost or stolen travel documents provide criminals with the opportunity to assume another identity, to carry out criminal activity in another name, and to travel illegally. The Australian Passports Act 2005 contains measures to encourage Australians to better protect their travel document. A passport is only officially considered lost or stolen after the loss or theft has been reported to a Passport Office. Where the Application Form is being used to obtain a replacement travel document for one that has been lost or stolen, you will need to pay an additional fee on top of the normal lodgement fee. The amount will depend on the number of travel documents you have lost or had stolen over the past five years from date of lodgement of the Application Form. Report the number of travel documents you have lost or had stolen in the past five years at section 10 of the Application Form. This information cannot be provided at interview and you must complete section 10 before you lodge the Application Form. For information on the additional fee you will be required to pay, go to www.passports.gov.au or call the nearest Australian mission. Any lost and stolen fee must be paid on lodgement. If the loss or theft of the document falls within certain limited compassionate circumstances, a refund of the fee may be applicable. Australian travel documents reported lost or stolen are permanently cancelled and will no longer be valid for further travel. Where a document is recovered and returned, by the holder, to a passport office in Australia or an Australian mission overseas within three months of it having been recorded as lost or stolen, a refund of the basic lost and stolen fee may be made. WARNING It is a criminal offence under the Australian Passports Act 2005 to make false or misleading statements. (There are penalties of up to 10 years imprisonment or a fine of $110 000, or both.) The Act applies outside Australia to all persons, irrespective of their nationality or citizenship. The Australian Passports Act 2005 also provides penalties for Australians who do not report the loss or theft of their Australian travel document to an Australian passport office (call 131 232), or an Australian mission overseas, or to www.passports.gov.au as soon as is practicable. Australian citizenship To obtain an Australian passport you must declare that you are an Australian citizen (i.e. by birth in Australia, registration by descent or grant of citizenship). You could have lost your Australian citizenship if you gained the citizenship of another country prior to 4 April 2002. Contact the Department of Immigration and Citizenship for further information. Australian citizenship and citizenship of other countries Adults Before 22 November 1984 an adult Australian citizen who, while outside Australia, gained the citizenship of another country by some voluntary or formal act other than marriage, automatically lost their Australian citizenship on the date on which they gained the citizenship of that country. From 22 November 1984 until 3 April 2002, an adult Australian citizen over 18 automatically lost Australian citizenship if they became a citizen of another country by doing something (such as making an application for that other citizenship) with the sole or dominant purpose of gaining that other citizenship. This would have occurred regardless of whether the person was in Australia or overseas at the time of gaining the other citizenship. From 4 April 2002 an Australian citizen no longer loses their Australian citizenship simply by taking on the citizenship of another country. However, a person will still lose Australian citizenship if they formally renounce Australian citizenship, are deprived of Australian citizenship or serve in the armed forces of a country at war with Australia. Children: Prior to 4 April 2002, a child under 18 years (under 21 prior to December 1973) may have lost Australian citizenship if the responsible parent of the child ceased to be an Australian. The child will not have ceased to be an Australian citizen if: this would have resulted in the child having no citizenship, or the other responsible parent was an Australian citizen. Proof of Australian citizenship If you require proof of your Australian citizenship, the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) can provide you with documentary evidence that you are an Australian citizen. A fee will be charged for this service. If you need further information and assistance, please contact any office of DIAC in Australia, or any Australian mission overseas, or visit the website: www.citizenship.gov.au. Refund of application fee The application fee is only refundable in extenuating or unusual circumstances. A decision not to issue a passport or travel-related document is generally not considered to be an extenuating or unusual circumstance. A decision not to refund an application fee is a reviewable decision under section 48(j) of the Australian Passports Act 2005. For further information on how to apply for a refund or seek a review of a decision, please contact the Australian Passport Information Service on 13 232 or visit the passports website at www.passports.gov.au