Passport Validity

An ordinary Australian adult passport is valid for a period of ten years. A child’s or senior’s passport is valid for only five years. A lesser fee is charged for these passports. A replacement passport will have the same validity as the passport it is replacing.

Before you book your travel, check whether or not your passport and those of any children who may be travelling with you are still valid. If you are travelling in less than two working days’ time and your passport has expired, you will have to rearrange your flight as the priority processing fee only guarantees issue of a passport within two working days. You may be able to travel on a valid foreign passport if you are a dual national, but you should enter and leave Australia on your Australian passport. For more information on this, see the Smartraveller Travel Tips.

If you have reported your passport lost or stolen and then have recovered it, you must not use the passport. It has been permanently and irrevocably cancelled and use of it is a crime under the Australian Passports Act 2005. Take it to the nearest Australian Passport Office or Australia Post outlet to have it physically cancelled. If you recover and personally return your passport within three months of reporting it as lost or stolen you may qualify for a one-off payment equivalent to the basic lost or stolen passport fee.

Be aware that different countries have different passport validity requirements for permitting entry (e.g. three months beyond period of intended stay). Presentation of a passport with inadequate validity may result in your being refused entry. Before you travel, check the passport validity requirements of the country, or countries, you intend to visit by consulting your travel agent or contacting the appropriate foreign embassy or consulate.

Your passport may still be valid, but if you have run out of pages, you will be required to obtain a new one. New pages cannot be added to a passport. If you intend to do a lot of travelling you might consider getting a 64-page passport. Be aware, also, that many countries do not accept unexpired visas that are in cancelled passports even if you have a new passport; you may have to get a new visa in the new passport. Contact the country concerned prior to travelling.

If your passport has expired within the last twelve months, you can submit a renewal form, rather than a full new application form. This is quicker and easier and does not require you to provide as much documentation.

From 26 October 2004, all travellers entering the US under the visa waiver program must travel with a valid machine-readable passport. Australian passports that do not have a Machine Readable Zone (MRZ - see picture left) at the bottom of the personal particulars page of their passport are not machine-readable. If you have any concerns as to whether your passport is machine-readable, please contact the Australian Passport Information Service on 131 232 (within Australia) or your nearest Australian mission (if overseas).