Applying by post – Application for an Australian Passport Overseas form (child renewals)

We are now accepting child renewal applications by mail. Please check the requirements below for whether you are eligible to apply by mail. 

If you have already booked an appointment to lodge a child renewal but wish to post it in instead, please remember to cancel your appointment so someone else may book the slot. You can do so by clicking the 'Cancel' button in your confirmation email. 

Passports are currently subject to approximately six weeks processing time from the payment stage, including for mailed-in applications. Please be aware that we may need to speak to consenting parents by phone to confirm consent as part of the mailed-in process.

We thank you for your patience and understanding.

Please refer to the Emergency Passport section HERE should you have urgent travel booked in the next three weeks.

 

Eligibility

Child passport renewal applications can be mailed-in provided that the applicant:

• is aged under 16 years old

• AND has previously held an Australian passport

If you don't meet the above criteria, then you’ll need to book an appointment HERE to lodge your application in person.

 

Required documents

Please click HERE for a checklist outlining the requirements:

 

1. Application form. To generate your Overseas Passport Application form, please visit our website HERE. You will need to create an account and print out the form. 

2. A completed payment authorisation form HERE, you can review our passport fees list HERE.

3. Two Australian standard passport photos (refer to the photo guidelines). Please do NOT attach them to the application form - leave them loose in the envelope.

4. Copies of both parents' valid ID - including photo ID, signature, and proof of address. These do not need to be certified.

5. If the current name of either parent is different to how they appear on the child's birth certificate, please include certified copies (as per UK guidelines HERE) of evidence of name change (such as marriage or name change certificate).

 

Application form hints and tips

Printing your form - you may need to adjust your printer settings so that the top and bottom of the pages are not cut off.

Ensure that you complete sections 13B and 14B of page four. Although the online form does not insist you complete this area, we must know what the parents' current names are, even if they are unchanged since the birth of the child. Please hand write the names in if you print the form and these areas are blank.

We do not need any original documents of any kind (including your passport, which will remain valid while your new passport is processed. It will be cancelled electronically 30 days after your new passport has been despatched). If we require any original documents, we will request them from you after lodgement. 

Do not affix the photographs to the form in any way e.g. staples, blue tac, glue. Do not use anything such as paperclips that can damage the form and photos. 

 

Signatures

Make sure pages three, four and five are correctly signed and dated using black ink.  If they are not, we cannot process your form and your application will be delayed. 

Children 10 years and older must provide a signature on page five unless there is a medical reason or disability that prevents them from signing. This signature must stay within the white box.

Do not alter any signature or date, or use white-out over the declaration areas of the form. If you make a mistake, please reprint the page.

All signatures must have been signed within the past six months.

 

Processing

It takes approximately 6 weeks to process your application. Incomplete applications cannot be processed and will be delayed until they are complete.

Your payment will be processed when your application is complete.  Once payment is taken you will receive an itemised receipt via email. Please note that for mailed in applications, payment will be taken in Australian Dollars (AUD) (subject to exchange rates and any overseas transaction fees).

Once you have lodged a child's application, please be aware that we may call consenting parents to verbally confirm consent. If we cannot get through by phone, we may leave a voice message, send a text message or email. The application will not proceed until we have confirmed consent.

If we require any further documents from you, we will be in touch.

 

Urgent travel

If you need your passport in less than six weeks, you may be eligible for an Emergency Passport. Evidence of urgency (e.g. travel itinerary, visa appointment confirmation or letter for your employer) is required. For further information click HERE.

 

Submission

When you have completed your application, place it in an A4 envelope, and write "PC8" on the front. Post by Royal Mail Tracked to:

Passport Office

Australian High Commission

Strand

LONDON  WC2B 4LA

It is important that you:

• Do NOT send your application by courier service
• Do NOT hand-deliver your application to the High Commission
• Mark your envelope with ‘URGENT PASSPORT’ if you are seeking an Emergency Passport
• Do NOT fold your application - please use an A4 envelope
• Do NOT use staples, paper clips or anything else that may damage your photos.