Frequently Asked Questions
Q1: How do I get a new Indian visa?
Once the passport is issued, the High Commission or Consulate-General will provide you with an official letter to inform the local Foreigner’s Regional Registration Office (FRRO) of your new passport details. You should take this letter, your new passport and all the supporting documents (such as two photographs, police report) to the local FRRO where you live to apply for a replacement visa into your new passport as soon as possible.
The FRRO in Delhi is located at:
Foreigners Regional Registration Office
Block 8, Sector 1
R.K. Puram (Behind Hyatt Regency Hotel)
New Delhi – 110 022
Ph. 91-11-2671 1443
The FRRO in Mumbai is located at:
Foreigners Regional Registration Office
Annexe 2, CID, IIIrd Floor,
Badruddin Tayeb Ji Marg (near Crawford Market)
Mumbai 400 001
Ph. : 91-22-2262 1169
The FRRO in Chennai is located at:
Foreigners Regional Registration Office ,
Shastri Bhawan Annexe
Haddows Road, Chennai
Direct: +91-44-2824 0338
Ph. : 91-44-2827 8210
Fax : 91-44-2824 0338
The FRRO in Kolkata is located at:
Foreigners Regional Registration Office
237 Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose Road
Kolkata-700 020
Tel: +91 33 2283 7035
Fax : 91-44-2824 0338
Q2: Will my previous passport be returned to me after applying for a new passport?
Your previous passport will be cancelled and returned to you.
Q3: Will the visas in my previous passport still be valid after it has been cancelled?
Only your previous passport will be cancelled and not the visas, they remain valid. If you wish to replace or transfer any visas into your new Australian passport, you will need to contact the visa issuing authority.
Q4: I am a dual citizen, 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 advised to leave and return to Australia on their Australian passport. An Australian citizen cannot be granted a visa for Australia.
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 an Australian citizen’s claimed citizenship at the time of check-in and may decline to carry the traveller.
Q5: I’m 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?
You first need to obtain Australian citizenship for the child. Please check out the requirements at Citizenship by Descent webpage
Applications for citizenship by descent need to be lodged through:
Citizenship Section
Department of Immigration and Citizenship.
Australian High Commission
1/50G, Shantipath, Chanakyapuri, New Delhi 110021
When the child has obtained Australian citizenship, a parent can apply for a passport in the normal way using the Application for an Australian Passport Overseas form.
Q6: I have recently been married. How do I change my name in my passport?
You will need to apply for a new passport.
If you were married in Australia, you must provide a marriage certificate issued by a department of Births, Deaths and Marriages (BDM). A marriage certificate issued by a celebrant or religious leader is not acceptable for passport purposes.
If you were born in Australia but married overseas, you will need to register a change of name at the Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages in the state or territory of your birth before you can lodge a new passport application with your new married name.
You will be required to lodge a new passport application and can not use the PC7 renewal form.
Your previous passport will be cancelled and returned to you. You should check the status of the visas with the authority which issued them, i.e. the relevant Embassy or the FRRO / Ministry of Home Affairs for Indian visas. You will need to contact the issuing authority to replace or transfer any visas into your new Australian passport.
A gratis passport will only be issued if you apply for your new passport within 12 months of your marriage and have at least 2 years validity on your current passport. In these circumstances, the new passport would only be issued up to the date of validity of the current passport. In all other circumstances, the full fee will have to be paid for a new passport.
Q7: 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 your non-Australian spouse would like to live in Australia you should contact the Department of Immigration and Border Protection (DIBP) (http://www.border.gov.au/).
Q8: My passport is becoming full and is valid for another x years. Is it possible for extra pages to be added?
Unfortunately, it is not possible for pages to be added to Australian passports. You need to apply for a new passport in the normal way.
Q9 Can I get my children added to my passport?
A child who is an Australian citizen may apply for the issue of his or her own Australian passport. It is not possible to include a child on a parent’s passport. Australian Citizens must enter Australia on their own Australian passport.
Q10 Does my child need to be present at the interview for their first passport?
No, a child’s application may be submitted on behalf of the child by a parent or legal guardian and must be lodged in person for the first passport.
Please note: The child’s full length birth certificate, showing the parents’ names, must always be submitted regardless of whether the child was born in Australia or overseas, or whether the child has been issued with an Australian passport previously.
Any foreign language documentation must be accompanied by an official English translation.
Q11 Who can be a Guarantor?
The Section 12 B requires that the Guarantor you choose fulfils all of the requirements as mentioned in the form before they sign your photograph. Your guarantor should be currently employed & contactable and is in one of the following approved professional or occupational groups:
1. Chartered Accountants
2. Bank Managers
3. Legal practitioners
4. Chartered professional engineers
5. Dentists
6. Registered medical practitioners
7. Holders of statutory offices for which an annual salary is payable
8. Judges
9. Police officers
10. Postal managers
11. Public Servants – current full-time employees of state or local governments or Statutory authorities
12. Teachers – full time
13. Registered veterinary surgeons.
* Please remember to SIGN within the signature label (bottom right corner) on page 9 of the PC8 form, this signature tab will be scanned in the passport.
Q12 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 who has a caring responsibility for the child must supply his or her Consent.
If the non-lodging parent is based overseas – they can provide their consent at an Australian Passport Office in Australia or at an Australian High Commission or Embassy in the country they reside.
Q13 How can I obtain consent when I am no longer in contact with the child’s Mother/Father?
Every effort should be made to gain consent prior to lodging an application form. However, the application may need to be referred to Australia for review, if no consent has been obtained.
Additional forms may need to be lodged with your application, enquiries should be made at an Australian Passport Office in Australia or at an Australian High Commission or Embassy in the country you reside.
Q14 My child’s passport is full, can I get more pages added to it?
Unfortunately, it is not possible for pages to be added to Australian passports. You need to renew the passport in the normal way.