Passports FAQ
Q1 – How can I make an appointment to lodge my passport application?
The Geneva office operates an appointment only system for the personal lodgment of passport applications.
Applicants should call reception on 022 799 9100 to make an appointment.
 Passport interviews take place between 09:00-11:30 and 14:00-15:30, Monday to Friday.
 Please note it is not possible to make appointments online.
 All applicants (or one parent for child applicants) must attend an interview to lodge their application.
Q2 - Can I apply for my passport by post?
No, all passport application must be lodged in person.
The only exception – Minors do not need to attend the lodgement interview, however at least one person
with parental responsibility for the minor must lodge the application in person.
Q3 – Do I have to lodge my passport application in person?
Adult applicants using the PC8 form must attend an interview to lodge their application.
Child applications must be lodge in person by a parent or legal guardian. The parent or legal guardian does not
need to be Australian and the child is not required to attend the interview.
Q4 - Do I have to provide my child's full length birth certificate?
The child's full length birth certificate, showing the parents' names, must always be provided regardless of
whether the child was born in Australia or overseas, or whether the child has been issued with an Australian
passport previously. Please note that Australian birth extracts & commemorative certificates are not accepted.
All foreign language documents submitted must be the international version otherwise an official certified
English translation is required.
Q5 - Does my Passport have a Machine Readable Zone (MRZ)?
Australian machine readable passports feature a two line machine readable zone (MRZ) at the bottom of the
biographical data page, consistent with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) standards.
Q6 - Will my previous passport and supporting documents be returned to me after applying for a
new passport?
All passport(s) and supporting documents will be returned to you with the new passport by registered mail.
There is a non-refundable charge of CHF 7.00 for postage. The passport(s) and documents can only be mailed
within Switzerland. If you live outside of Switzerland you will be required to collect from our office.
Q7 - Will the visas in my previous passport still be valid after it has been cancelled?
We are unable to provide any information about the status of the visas. You should check the status of the
visas with the authority which issued them.
Australian Consulate-General, Geneva
Chemin des Fins 2, Case Postale 102, 1211 Geneva 19, Switzerland
Tel: +41 22 799 9100 (Reception) Fax: +41 22 799 9178
www.geneva.mission.gov.au
Q8 - I have an Australian passport and a foreign passport; which passport do I use when entering
Australia?
To avoid delays at airline check-in and again at the border entry point, Australian citizens who are dual
nationals are required to depart and enter Australia on their Australian passport. An Australian citizen
cannot be granted a visa for Australia in a foreign passport. This includes children who have obtained
citizenship but not yet been issued with a passport!
When entering Australia, all Australians, including those who hold dual nationality, must be able to prove that
they are an Australian citizen. An Australian passport is conclusive evidence of a person's identity and
citizenship, and provides the holder with unfettered right of entry to Australia.
International airlines have an obligation to ensure that they only carry appropriately documented passengers to
Australia. In the absence of an Australian passport, airlines are unable to assess a person's claim to Australian
citizenship at the time of check-in and may decline to carry the traveler.
Q9 - I am an Australian citizen but as I did not obtain an Australian passport before departing
Australia, I am using my Swiss passport whilst I am overseas. Do I have to apply for an Australian
passport in order to return to Australia?
As noted above, Australian citizens must enter Australia on an Australian passport so you must apply in
person for an Australian passport to enable you to return to Australia.
Q10 - I am an Australian citizen and I've just had a baby. What do I have to do to get Australian
citizenship and an Australian passport for him/her?
Before you can apply for an Australian passport for your child, he/she must first obtain Australian citizenship.
All Citizenship by Descent applications are processed at the Australian High Commission in London.
Information and forms can be found on the website – www.immi.gov.au or by calling +44 20 7420 3690
(Multilanguage service)
Q11 I have recently been married. How do I change my name on my passport?
You will need to apply for a new passport by completing the PC8 form (please note that you do not qualify to
use the PC7 renewal form in these circumstances).
If you change your name due to marriage the requirements are different depending on where you were born
and married:
 Born and Married in Australia - Original marriage certificate issued by the Register of Births Deaths
and Marriages.
 Born Overseas and Married in Australia - Original marriage certificate issued by the Register of
Births Deaths and Marriages.
 Born in Australia and Married Overseas - Original name change certificate or revised birth
certificate issued by the Register of Births Deaths and Marriages and the Original foreign marriage
certificate. The marriage certificate will need to be an International version otherwise an official
certified English translation is required.
 Born and Married Overseas - Original foreign marriage certificate stamped with an Apostille. The
marriage certificate will need to be an International version otherwise an official certified English
translation is required.
A gratis passport will only be issued if you have at least 2 years validity on your current passport at the time
you apply for the name change. The new passport will be valid to the expiry date of the passport which is
being replaced. Please note that deed poll will not be accepted for change of name.
Q12 - I have recently married a foreign national; how can I obtain an Australian passport for my
spouse?
We can only issue an Australian passport to an Australian citizen. When you marry a citizen of another
country, it does not entitle your spouse to hold an Australian passport (unless they also hold Australian
citizenship). If you and your spouse would like to live in Australia you should contact the Department of
Immigration and Boarder Protection to find out how to apply for a spouse visa. Information and forms can be
found on the website – www.immi.gov.au or by calling +44 20 7420 3690 (Multilanguage service).
Q13 - My passport is nearly full but is valid for another X years, is it possible to add extra pages?
Unfortunately, it is not possible for pages to be added to Australian passports so you will have to apply for a
new passport by completing a PC7 renewal form.
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Q14 - Can I get my child/children added to my Australian passport?
A child who is an Australian citizen must have their own Australian passport as it is not possible to include a
child on a parent's passport.
Q15 - My child's mother/father is overseas - how do I get consent?
A number of legal requirements must be met before a passport may be issued to a child. Specifically, each
person listed on the child’s full birth certificate or each person who has legal caring responsibility for the child
must supply his/her consent.
If the non-lodging parent is in Australia or overseas, he/she can provide their consent at any Australian
Passport Office in Australia or at the Australian High Commission, Embassy or Consulate in the country in
which they reside.
Q16 - I am unable to obtain the consent of my child's father/mother as I am no longer in contact
with him/her; what can I do?
Every effort should be made to gain the consent prior to lodging an application for your child's passport,
however if you are unable to provide consent from all parties, please contact the Passport Office to discuss the
matter and obtain additional forms for completion. If the consent has not been obtained, the processing of the
application can take from 4-6 weeks and if the application is not approved, you will not be entitled to a refund
of the application fee. You are therefore strongly urged not to book travel until you know the outcome of the
application.
Q17 - I washed/spilled water on my passport; do I have to apply for a replacement passport?
If your passport is badly damaged, you are required to apply for a replacement passport in person by
completing the PC8 form and submitting the relevant original supporting documents.
Q18 - My husband/wife is not an Australian citizen; can he/she lodge our child’s passport
application?
One parent is required to attend an interview to lodge their child’s passport application and the lodging parent
does not need to be an Australian citizen.
Q19 - Do you accept notarized/certified copies of documents for passport applications?
No, you must provide the original of all documents required. There is no exception to this rule.
If you need to obtain original documents for your passport application from another country, we can accept
faxed copies from certain authorized sources, e.g. the Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages in Australia,
an Australian Passport Office in Australia or an overseas Australian diplomatic mission.
Q20 - What is meant by the ‘crown of the head’ which is referred to in the passport photo
requirements?
The ‘crown of the head’ is where the top of your skull would be if it were visible. It is not the top of your hair
or the start of your hairline.
Q21 - Can I travel on my passport if the name differs to the name on my airline ticket?
Any specific questions regarding what an airline will accept as proof of identity should be directed to the
airline.
Q22 - I made a mistake when I was completing the passport application form; should I use white
out/correction fluid/correction tape?
Never use correction fluid or similar products on a passport application form as it will invalidate that section
of the form. You can cross out the mistake by putting a single line through it, make the correction and initial
next to the change or complete another form.
Q23 - I put the wrong date on the declaration on the passport application form; how can I correct
it?
If you completed the application form online, you can amend the form and re-print the relevant page. If you
completed a hard copy form which was sent to you by this office, you can request that a replacement page be
sent to you or you may cross out the incorrect date, complete the correct date and initial next to the change.
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Q24 - I have just completed my passport application online, did you receive it?
All passport applications completed online must be printed by the applicant and lodged at a passport office
together with relevant supporting documents, fee, etc. There is currently no way to lodge an Australian
passport application electronically.
Q25 - Why can’t I use the renewal form?
If you cannot access the online Overseas Passport Renewal form then you may not be eligible to use this form.
You can only use this form if your current Australian passport is an adult passport, issued with a validity of
more than 2 years and is either current or expired less than 24 months ago. Alternatively you may be
answering the security questions incorrectly. The answer to these questions must exactly match what is on
your passport records in order for you to proceed. If you have exhausted all of these possibilities and still
believe you are eligible for a renewal form, please contact the Australian Consulate-General, Geneva by
phoning 022 799 9100.
Q26 - I am completing the form online and whenever I enter my current address (which is an
overseas address) I get a message advising that my address cannot be verified. What do I do?
The Passports Australia website cannot verify overseas addresses. This message is just a warning. As long you
are satisfied that the address you have entered is correct, you can proceed by pressing the next button.
Q27 - I am trying to complete the application form online but I keep going around in circles/getting
error messages. What do I do?
If you are going around in circles, it is likely that you have made an incorrect choice at some stage. The most
common problem is that you are selecting the wrong answers to ‘Are you residing in Australia?’ (the answer
should always be ‘no’ for someone applying outside of Australia) or ‘Do you wish to renew an Australian
passport’ (‘Yes’ if you qualify for a PC7 renewal form and ‘No’ if you have to use an application for an
Australian Passport Overseas PC8 form.
Q28 - Do I have to complete Section 16 of the Application for an Australian Passport Overseas
form?
This section should be left blank if you do NOT have a valid Australian Driver’s License or NSW Birth Card,
or if you are completing the application for a child.
Q29 - Section 3b - Are you presenting a Citizenship Certificate?
If your citizenship certificate has a client number, use the client number for this section. If not continue to use
the certificate number eg. ACC12345678 or ROC0123456.
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