UK and Australian Passports
Australian Passports
UK passport, renewals and enquiries
UK passport renewals in Australia
From 2nd June 2009… All British Passport renewals in Australia will be done at a Post Office.
The British High Commission in Canberra will only accept direct postal applications until 15th June 2009. After that date any applications will be returned to sender, unopened.
Australia Post will charge a $50 fee for their service.
Telephone Help lines are available at a cost of between 0.69 + International call fee, and $3.52 per minute.
Australia Post staff will check your passport application with you face-to-face before forwarding on for processing at the Regional Passport Processing Centre in New Zealand.
- Changes to British Passport renewals in Australia
- Current British Passport fees at April 2009
- Post Office Payment Lodgement Form
Adult Passport. 32 page standard size is shown as $279.00 at April 2009, for either a Renewal or a new application.
Red Passports
Renewal of a “Red Passport” requires the following
- Form C1 or C2,
- your existing passport,
- 2 passport photos and
- the application Fee.
Application costs as at 5th April 2009
- Adult passport (32 page standard size) $279 : The comparison UK price by post is 72
- Adult passport (48 page jumbo size) $338
- Childs passport (under 16 years of age) $178
Costs are subject to changes.
Please check for any changes at the British High Commission website.
Passport Fees at:
The application will need to be sent to the Passport Office in Canberra, or submitted at selected Australia Post Offices from 2nd June 2009.
Full details are at:
Renewing an expired British passport
- If your British passport expired more than ten years ago, or yours is an older style blue/black British passport, you will need to submit your original birth certificate, and more identification than when renewing a passport that expired less than 10 years ago.
Old Black Passports
- Any application being submitted with an old style black passport, as evidence of British nationality, will now be treated as a ‘First Time Application’ and must be supported by full documentation (ie full birth certificate and marriage certificate) or registration documents if applicable.
Forum Discussion Topics
Discuss and ask questions about specific topics at these Forum Pages
UK Passport FAQ’s
- Adding pages to a passport - If your passport is full but it is still valid you cannot have pages added to it.
- Additional passport - Second passports will only be issued where there is an ongoing and compelling need for frequent travel.
- Agents - If you choose to use an agent you do so at your own risk.
- Amendments to Passports - If a passport holder wishes to change any aspect of his or her passport, a new passport must be applied for and the appropriate passport fee paid in full.
- Application forms - Please ensure your form is filled out completely and all relevant documents and the fee are enclosed.
- Applying for a passport - If you do not live in the UK you have two options. If you live in the UK you MUST apply through the Identity and Passport Service
- Biodata page of a Passport - The bio-data page is printed on the last page of the current style of British passport.
- Biometric passports - Biometric details are those which are unique to you
- Birth certificates - There are two types of birth certificate issued in the UK
- BN(O) passport (applicants with a Hong Kong connection) - All BN (O) registrations had to be completed prior to 1 July 1997.
- British citizenship - Applicants must provide evidence of their claim to British Nationality if they are a first time applicant for a UK passport.
- British nationals - Categories of people defined as British nationals under British Nationality Law
- British passports - Definition of a British passport
- Careline service - At certain Embassies, High Commissions and Consulates, our passport enquiries are only handled by our passport information helpline
- Cash (Paying passport fees by cash) - Do not send cash in the post with your application.
- Change of appearance - If you can still be identified from the photo in your current passport, you don’t need to apply for a new one.
- Cheque (Paying passport fees by personal cheque) - Please make sure you refer to this as payment methods differ between the Passport Processing Centres and will change periodically.
- Child applications - Since March 1998 children cannot be added to a parents or a guardians passport.
- Collection of passport by third party - The person collecting the passport must also provide our consular staff at the reception his or her own identification, and if possible, the original receipt.
- Countersignatures - Advice on countersignatures can be found in the notes accompanying passport application forms which applicants should read carefully.
- Damaged passports - You must provide the damaged passport when submitting your passport application.
- Deceased persons - We request that the passport of a British national who has died is forwarded to the nearest Embassy, High Commission or Consulate.
- Documents - See the supporting documentation needed for your application.
- Dual citizenship - The UK government has no objection to dual or multiple citizenship or to a person holding passports from more than one country.
- Eligibility for a British passport - Determining whether you are a British national and whether you qualify for British passport facilities is a complex process involving many factors.
- Emergency passports - There are two types of emergency travel documents.
- Emergency travel - Please remember that regardless of the type of document issued we need to make checks before we can issue a passport and this may mean you have to delay your travel plans.
- Errors in passport - You need to return the passports to the passport office where they were issued with a note of explanation for free re-issue of your passport.
- Extending the validity of your passport - Leave plenty of time to apply for a new passport and always regularly check the validity on your passport.
- Extension to your passport - It is no longer possible to obtain a free extension to a passport that was subject to a restricted validity.
- Fast track service -
- Finding your Missing Passport -
- Fingerprints -
- Found Passport -
- Free Passport -
- 48 page (frequent traveller) passport?-
- Interviews - There are some instances were an interview is a requirement.
- Looking after your passport - Considerable inconvenience and disruption to travel plans and expense may result from the theft or loss of your passport.
- Lost or stolen passports overseas - If your passport has been stolen, you will need to get a police report, or demonstrate that you have at least made attempts to do so.
- Machine Readable Passport - A machine-readable passport is a passport with two typeface lines printed at the bottom of the biographical page, which can be read by a machine.
- Mistake in application - Incorrectly completed applications can cause you delays and you may not receive your passport ahead of your intended travel date.
- Obtaining an extract of your original UK birth/marriage certificate - You can apply by post to the General Register Office to obtain your UK birth or marriage certificate.
- Old Blue British passport - If you are applying to renew an old expired blue passport, your application will be treated like a first-time application.
- Old/previous passport - When you apply for a new passport, your old passport will be cancelled and returned to you.
- Opening times - Some Embassies have set opening hours to accept passport applications, and will not accept any applications after this time.
- Out of hours - You should contact your nearest British Embassy, High Commission or Consulate if you require consular assistance out of hours.
- British Overseas Territories citizen - British Overseas Territories Citizens (BOTC) can apply for a passport in the same way as a British Citizen.
- Owning and looking after your passport - Any case of loss or destruction should be reported immediately to the local police.
- Passport fees -
- Passport Information Helpline - Please check your Embassy website for contact details.
- Passport owner - A passport remains the property of Her Majesty’s Government in the UK.
- Passport photographs - All applicants are asked to check the passport photograph requirements before submitting their application.
- Passport application: website services - In some instances applying through such web-based services can ultimately delay your application.
- Photocopies or certified copies of supporting documents - We must see original documentation.
- Photocopy of passport - If you are sending a photocopy of your passport, unless requested in your application your current passport will automatically be cancelled on the issuing of your new passport.
- Posting your passport application - We cannot be held responsible for applications or documents lost in transit.
- Processing time - Customers should not make any travel arrangements until the new passport is received.
- Public holidays - Please check the Embassy, High Commission for details about public holidays.
- Recovered passports - If you find a passport that you had earlier reported lost or stolen, you must not use it.
- Refund of application fees - The passport fee is now charged for administering the application rather than just for issuing a passport.
- Renewal of your passport -
Applicants must be residing (whether on holiday or permanently) in any particular country at the time of application and still be in the country at the time their new passport is issued. - Retention of passport during application process - Any passport retained during the renewal process can only be retained for ID purposes, not for travel.
- Same day service - We do not offer a same day service and advise customers to submit applications well before your intended travel date.
- Second passport - Second passports will only be issued where there is an ongoing and compelling need for frequent travel.
- Short form birth certificate for first time applications - We do not accept short-form birth certificate to support first passport applications.
- Signature - If you are over 12 you are required to sign your passport application
- Special symbols in names - We can put some accents, umlauts and other symbols in names.
- Status of application - We do not currently have an online tracking system to track your passport.
- Submitting your application in person - It is not always necessary to submit your passport application in person.
- Submitting your passport application without including your passport -
- Supporting documents from another country - You should have the document translated (if necessary) and then authenticated by the authorities in the country that issued them.
- Temporary Passports - The temporary passport is being phased out in 2009/10.
- Tracking progress of your passport - Please note that these are approximate timings and may be subject to delivery time delays.
- Unable to write - If applicants are unable to write, they can use their thumbprint instead to sign the passport application form.
- United States of America - You can use your non-biometric British passport to travel to the USA.
- Validity of passport - Ask your travel agent, or contact the authorities of the country/territory you propose to visit about passport requirements.
- Veteran Passports (Free passports) - All free passports are issued in the United Kingdom and take a minimum of 10 weeks to be processed.
- Visas in passport- Applicants are responsible for checking the immigration and visa requirements for the country to which they will be travelling.
- Without a passport (travel abroad without a passport) - You must have a valid travel document to enter or leave the UK.
One of the most common question we get in the UK is whether an Apostille is needed on a UK birth certificate when (re-)applying for a British Passport. For clarification, an Apostille is only needed if a document is being presented to a non-UK authority, so an Apostille is not needed. For any further clarification, we can be contacted in the UK on +44 845 838 8433.
If you need a replacement quickly, by courier, you can order a british birth certificate online.
I am travelling on 3 April to the US - I am still waiting for my birth cert. to arrive before I can apply for the passport - can I get a passport any faster than 10 weeks?
Information from the relevant official websites:
Normal Passport times:
We aim to process the new passport within four weeks from the date the fee is taken and the application contains all of the information we need. Failure to provide all of the required documentation will result in your application being delayed or returned.
If it is a first time application, or you are replacing a lost or stolen passport, you should allow at least six weeks.
http://ukinnewzealand.fco.gov.uk/en/help-for-british-nationals/passports/how-to-apply/australia#timing
Emergency Travel Document
From July 2009 the United Kingdom will start to introduce a new emergency passport.
The new document reflects the increased focus on security and the need to continue to enhance the integrity of UK travel documentation.
The new passports are digitally imaged, machine readable and compliant with ICAO 9303. They feature the latest thin film laminate technology.
They will be issued for emergency purposes to UK citizens overseas in circumstances where their full validity passport is not available e.g. where it has been lost or stolen.
They can also be issued to unrepresented EU or Commonwealth citizens with the permission of their national governments.
This is an emergency travel document which will be valid for less than one year, does not contain a chip
and has a limited number of pages for visas.
We expect the document to be widely used by mid-2010.
Within Australia, please call your nearest Consular Section in Brisbane, Sydney, Canberra, Melbourne or Perth.
http://ukinaustralia.fco.gov.uk/en/help-for-british-nationals/passports/
If your British passport expired more than ten years ago, or yours is an older style blue/black British passport, you will need to submit your original birth certificate, and more identification than when renewing a passport that expired less than 10 years ago.
does this mean we still fill in section 4 on the c1 application with the old passport number, and include the old style blue/black passport with the app…..or say no to previous passport…..???
What documentation would i need to include here..?
Thanks
I have a British passport, I have been liing in Australia since I was 3 in 1962, I have overseas 4 times, Is there a limit of how often I can return to Australia? Am I able to still get a re-entry visa for here? Thanks Anne Young
A British passport holder that migrated before 1973 is treated differently to one who arrived before.
From personal knowledge you are able to travel, as often as you like, without applying for a resident return visa, or at least were able to until a few years ago. I don’t think this has changed, but it may be worthwhile just checking. This information is based on personal knowledge of a family member who arrived in 1975, and travelled many times without an RRV. I assume she had an ATR or an RE.
If you migrated to Australia before 1987 or travelled overseas between 1 March 1976 and 31 December 1986, you may have been issued with an Authority to Return (ATR) or a Return Endorsement (RE)
See the information here: http://www.immi.gov.au/migrants/residents/atr-re.htm
Another difference that may have affected you is:
Until 1984, people born in the United Kingdom could enrol to vote without being Australian citizens. This has caused many long term permanent residents to believe that they are Australian citizens based on their ability to vote.