Passport Frequently Asked Questions
Passports are currently subject to a processing time of approximately 6 weeks from the date of payment.
There is no fast tracked or priority processing offered outside of Australia.
Please consider this timeframe when planning holidays including trips to Australia.
You need to bring two identical photographs, good quality colour prints on a glossy, heavy-weight paper, less than 6 months old and produced using dye sublimation, not from an inkjet.
Photos must be 35mm to 40mm wide and 45mm to 50mm high.
Dutch standard for passport photos is different to Australia’s requirements.
Refer to photo guidelines for the Australian standards.
We are unable to endorse individual businesses, however we do recommend that you find a local photographer and provide them with the photo guidelines
Each store is different so you will need to talk to your photographer to ensure they can take the type of photo you need.
Do not use the photo booths as they do not meet the standards.
You can either have them sent to you in the Netherlands so that you present them at your interview or have a friend of family member take the originals to the Passport Agent at an Australian Post Office.
No. You must provide the originals of all documents required at your interview.
No. Please make sure your form is fully completed and witnessed before coming to the Passport Office for your interview.
If your passport has been lost or stolen, you must report this to us.
Phone us on 131 232 (in Australia) or the Australian Embassy in the Hague contact us
For more information, visit our lost and stolen passports page.
If you have lost your passport or it has been stolen and you need to travel urgently, please contact us to discuss your situation and to seek further advice.
Business Hours - Australian Embassy in the Hague on +31 (0) 70 310 8200 or [email protected]
After Hours and Weekends - Consular Emergency Centre on +61 (0) 2 6261 3305 from overseas.
Emergency Passports can be issued, processing will take approximately 2 full business days (not including weekend or public holidays), contain 4 visa pages, don't have a chip and have a validity usually limited to a period of seven months.
Because of this, there are restrictions on using them in some countries. Check the visa requirements of any country you plan to enter or transit.
No, we are unable to assist with any enquiries on foreign visas. You must contact the Embassy of the country that issued the visa.
If you need a new passport more than two years before your current passport is due to expire, and if your current passport hasn’t been lost, stolen or suffered major damage, you may be eligible for what we call a ‘replacement’ passport.
Replacement passports generally cost less than normal passports, and in some cases are free, but they aren’t valid for a fixed ten or five-year period.
Instead, a replacement passport is valid only until the expiry date of the passport it replaces.
Some countries won’t let you enter unless you have at least 2 to 4 blank pages in your passport.
Make sure you check how many blank pages you have left and need before you book travel.
Refer to Replacement passport for information on eligibility and process.
Yes, if you can show us that:
- visa waiting times would cause significant travel delays if you only had one passport, or
- a destination country won’t accept a passport showing evidence of travel to a third country, or
- you have another good reason to need an additional passport.
If you have two passports, we call the second one a ‘concurrent’ passport.
Concurrent passports cost the same as standard ten-year passports but are only valid for up to three years.
To apply for a concurrent passport, you need to complete a B15 Concurrent Passport form and lodge it with your passport application.
If a concurrent passport is required for business related travel, you’ll also need to provide a cover letter from your employer and they must complete Section B of your B15 Concurrent Passport form.
If we decide that you don’t qualify for a concurrent passport, your application fee is generally not refundable. A decision not to refund the fee is a reviewable decision.
Your child must hold Australian citizenship to be eligible to apply for an Australian passport.
Not all children automatically become Australian citizens if born to an Australian parent outside of Australia.
You must apply for citizenship through the Department of Home Affairs. Once granted you then able to start the passport application process.
Either parent can lodge the passport application for a child. There is no requirement for the lodging parent to be an Australian citizen.
Children aged 16 and 17 years old must attend the interview with one parent.
Children aged 15 years and younger are not required to attend.
Yes, you can renew your passport at any time.
It depends. Adults may have to complete a full application if their last passport was issued before 2006, or was lost/stolen, or they are changing the details on their passport.
Children complete the same form regardless of whether their passport is expired.
You may need to provide additional documents in order to have a passport in a new name.
Refer to changing your name for information on requirements.
We issue passports to sex and gender diverse customers. This includes those who've changed their sex (transgender) or who don't identify exclusively as either male or female (non-binary/intersex).
Refer to sex and gender diverse passports for information on requirements.