Passport FAQs

You should allow at least 6 weeks to receive your new passport. If you have an urgent need to travel, please see our Urgent Travel page. 

Adults using the one-page PC7 Australian Passport Renewal Application form can apply by mail or in person. 

Most renewals for children 15 years and younger can be lodged by mail.

All other applications must be lodged in person. This includes all first-time applications, all applications for 16- and 17-year children, and all applications for adults who must use the 5-page PC8 Application for an Australian Passport Overseas form.  

Please visit our How to Apply page for further instructions.

You can monitor our where to apply page for announcements of any plans for outreach interview locations in other states.

Only if you are already eligible to lodge an application by mail.  Please visit our How to Apply page for further information.

Yes. Please check the Office locations page for details.

No, the lodging parent does not have to be Australian. One or both parents can lodge their child's passport application. 

Yes, if the child is 16 or 17 years old, they must attend an interview with one parent.  

No, if the child is15 years or younger they do not have to attend the interview.  If this is a first-time application for a child, at least one parent must attend an interview. Note that most child renewals do not require an interview and can be lodged by mail.

Adult interviews usually take 10-20 minutes.  Child interviews usually take 15-30 minutes. 

If documents are missing or photos do not meet requirements, you may need to return at another time. 

No. You must first apply for Australian citizenship by descent through the Australian Department of Home Affairs. Passports cannot be issued until the child has acquired Australian citizenship. 

Yes, you can renew your passport at any time.

No, your new passport will have a new number.

No. If you run out of visa pages you can apply for a new passport, or you may apply for a replacement passport that will be valid up to the same expiry date as your existing passport.

Australia does not require you to renew your passport before it expires. However, Australians need a valid Australian passport to travel to Australia.

Also, you cannot leave the United States without a valid passport so if you have international travel planned, or need a valid Australian passport for another reason, we encourage you to apply before your current passport expires.

Please apply for an emergency passport as soon as possible.  We can generally issue an emergency passport in about 2 business days. If you urgently need to travel, please call your lodging office to discuss your situation. 

No.  Having an expired passport does not affect your Australian citizenship. 

It depends. Adults have to complete a longer form if their last passport was issued before 2006, or if their last passport has been lost or stolen, or if they are changing the details, such as their name due to marriage or divorce.  

Child applications must use the longer application form regardless of whether their passport has expired or not. 

Your current passport may still be valid when you apply for a new one, but it will be cancelled on the date your new one is issued.  Once you’ve applied for a new passport, the Australian Passport Office recommends you don’t travel because your current passport may be cancelled while you are travelling.

You should be aware that when you are issued a new passport, not all countries will allow you to enter if you have a valid visa, but it was issued in your old, expired passport. Check with the embassy of the country that issued your visa for specific advice. 

No.  You must contact the embassy of the country that issued the visa.

For US visas, consult your visa sponsor and/or immigration lawyer or contact U.S. authorities:

• U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS): https://www.uscis.gov or tel.: +1 800 375 5283.
• U.S. Department of State, Visa Services: https://travel.state.gov

We do not cancel US visas. You should contact US immigration to discuss your particular situation especially if your passport is damaged. You should not assume that a visa in a badly damaged passport is valid.

All citizenship enquiries should be directed to the Department of Home Affairs in Australia on 011 612 6196 0196. You may be eligible to become an Australian citizen again if you lost your citizenship because of acquiring the citizenship of another country, or renounced or gave up your Australian citizenship.

Details of photographers in the US that have recently been used by clients with good results are on our Map of photographers.

If you do not live near these photographers, there are many places capable of producing acceptable photos for Australian passports. You may wish to find a local specialist photographer and provide them with the Australian passport photo guidelines. Each location is different so you will need to talk to your photographer to make sure they can take the type of photo you need using studio lighting so that there are no shadows and no flash reflection on your face. 

We do not guarantee the work of any individual photographer or store, so it is important that you check the photographs yourself to make sure they meet all requirements.

This problem is usually caused when the photos are printed on an inkjet printer.  Please ensure your photographer uses a dye sublimation printer. 

The best way to check if your photo is high resolution is to use a magnifying glass.  If you see stripes, grains, pixels or distortions, then the photo is not high resolution and will be rejected.

Please refer to the Australian Passport Office's How to get a good passport photo guidelines

No.  You must remove them for your passport photo.   

The 'crown of head' is where the top of your skull would be if it were visible under your hair. It is not the top of your hair or the start of your hairline.  Picture yourself bald and measure your skull from the top of your skull to the tip of your chin.

Only if the image inside meets the size and quality photo requirements.

No. We will do that for you.

This is a warning message because the Australian website cannot verify overseas addresses. If you are sure that the US address is correct you can press the 'next' button to proceed.  You should use your current US address unless you are a tourist.

You can print your application on US letter size paper. When printing, shrink the page images to fit onto US letter size paper.  Make sure you've printed complete pages with the top and bottom of each page printed as per the screen images.  We cannot accept forms with page tops or bottoms missing. 

No. Only completed applications can be printed from the website. If you need a blank application form, contact the office where you will be lodging your application and an original blank form will be mailed to you. 

Yes. You can print your form in either black and white or colour.

Section 16 of the adult application is optional and can be left blank if you do not have an Australian driving licence.

You have two options.  You can either have the original documents sent to you in the United States so that you present them at your interview, or you follow these instructions and have a friend or relative present the original documents on your behalf.

No.  All sections of the form should be signed before you attend your interview.  We cannot witness your consent or act as a guarantor.

No.  Your form must be fully completed and witnessed before coming to the Passport Office. 

No. Originals of all documents must be presented when lodging an application. 

However, if you do not have all your original documents in the United States, they can be presented by a third party at any Australian passport office worldwide. 

No.  You can't apply for your passport electronically. If you prepared an online application, you must print it and follow the instructions on our website at How to Apply. 

No.

Your guarantor does not have to be Australian if they are currently employed in one of these occupation groups

You can use a guarantor from your previous country of residence. You can send them the guarantor page from your application form and one of your photos. When they have completed the guarantor requirements outlined on the application form, they must return the completed guarantor page and endorsed photo to you so that you can submit them with your application. 

If you need to travel in the next few weeks, we recommend that you use a courier service to send and receive the guarantor page and photo so that you receive them in time to lodge your application.  

No.  It does not matter if there is less than two years validity remaining on their passport now. However, their passport must have had at least two years validity when it was issued (i.e. it cannot be a temporary passport that was issued for under two years).

If you are using the one-page Australian Passport Renewal Application (PC7) form, you do not need a guarantor. 

If you are using the five-page Application for an Australian Passport Overseas (PC8) form, then you must provide a guarantor.

No. The guarantor and witness can be different people.

Yes.  Australian citizens must travel to Australia on an Australian passport. 

For more information visit the Australian Border Force website or call the Department of Home Affairs in Australia on 011 61 2 6196 0196.

Generally, passengers travelling to/from the USA must have a passport that matches the name on their airline ticket. If you are concerned, you should contact your airline and the immigration department of all countries to which you are travelling to ensure you will be able to fulfil their immigration/customs requirements.

To enter Australia, your Australian passport must be valid (not expired) on the day you arrive in Australia. Therefore, your Australian passport does not need 6 months validity if you are travelling directly from the US to Australia.

However, if you are travelling indirectly to Australia via another country, you should check that countries entry/exit and passport validity requirements on Australia's Smartraveller site or contact the embassy of that country for specific advice. 

Our website has useful information on scams and how to protect your identity. 

If you think your identity has been compromised, please contact iDcare – a free government-funded service which will work with you to develop a specific response plan and support you through the process.  

The Australian Passport Office cannot control how third-party scammers may use passport information once it has been obtained.  

If you believe that your passport credentials were compromised as a result of a scam or data breach, you may choose to cancel your passport and apply for a renewal at any time. You will need to pay the current fee for a new passport.  

The Australian Government places the greatest importance on the integrity of the passport system. There are a range of robust controls in place to ensure that Australian travel documents are only issued to individuals with an entitlement. Australia is leading the way in combating passport fraud and identity theft by producing one of the most technically advanced and secure passports in the world and which complies with International Civil Aviation Organization standards. This means that if someone accessed the image of your passport biodata page, that would not be sufficient to obtain another passport in that identity.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) is aware of a cyber incident impacting Latitude Financial Services.  

A significant number of customer records, including copies of identity documents, have been stolen from Latitude Financial Services. This includes Australian and foreign passports.   

Latitude Financial Services is contacting impacted customers directly and continues to investigate the matter to determine the full extent of the cyber-attack.  

Impacted Australian passports are still safe to use for international travel. Your Australian passport number cannot be used to obtain a new passport. Robust controls are used to protect passports from identity takeover, including sophisticated facial recognition technology.  

For further information and answers to Frequently Asked Questions, please visit our Latitude Financial Services breach page at www.passports.gov.au. 

For US passport holders who wish to cancel their US passport, please contact US Passports.  If you are overseas, please contact your nearest US embassy or consulate. 

If you have a foreign passport issued by another country, please contact the diplomatic or consular mission of the country that issued that passport.