Australian Embassy
China

Child passport (under 18 years of age), apply for their first passport or renewals

Step 1- Make an appointment to lodge your passport application.

The Passport Office operates an appointment system. We will not see you without an appointment.

Passports Office location:

21 Dongzhimenwai Street, Chaoyang District, Beijing, 100600.

Appointment Link:

Appointments can be made online via https://embassybeijing.setmore.com/. Applications must be lodged in person at the Australian Embassy Beijing.

An appointment is not required to collect a passport or to lodge an application of emergency passport.

Appointment times are normally booked out up to 8 weeks in advance. Allow a minimum of 6 weeks to receive your new passport. Please keep this in mind when making your travel plans.

 

Step 2 - Fill out your application form (Australian Passport Overseas Application).  Please do not use whiteout on the declaration section. If you make a mistake, you can cross it out and initial next to the change. If you have signed incorrectly, please fill in a new form.

 

Online: Australian Passport Office (passports.gov.au). This link will allow you to confirm that you are eligible to apply for a passport for your child and complete application form online. 

Note: You cannot download blank forms.

OR

In person: You can collect a paper copy of the application from our security guards at the south gate of Australian Embassy Beijing. You will need a guarantor and additional documents, so we suggest that you collect this form before making an appointment to lodge your application.

 

Step 3 - Prove the child’s identity and Australian citizenship

Each child passport application must be supported by the child’s original Australian Citizenship Certificate or original full Australian Birth Certificate to prove Australian citizenship. Extracts, commemorative birth certificate or birth cards cannot be used. 

If your child was born in Australia after 20 August 1986, you must also provide one of the following four documents:

  • The child’s Australian passport issued on/after 1 January 2000 that was valid for 2 years or more; or
  • One parent’s Australian birth certificate; or
  • One parent’s Australian passport, issued after 20/8/1986, that was valid at the time of the applicant’s birth; or
  • One parent’s Australian citizenship certificate, valid at the time of the applicant’s birth.

If you are unable to provide the above documents, you must get a certificate of citizenship. Please refer to Australian Citizenship section under Visas and Citizenship for further information Department of Home Affairs

If the child was born in China or anywhere outside of Australia, you must provide the child’s original birth certificate and the original Australian citizenship certificate. You can apply for citizenship by descent online.  See the Australian Citizenship Section under Visas and Citizenship for further information Department of Home Affairs

  •  If the child has a birth certificate in a language other than English, you must provide an original translation prepared by a registered translation service.

 

Step 4 – Written consent from parents

Written consent must be given by each person who has parental responsibility for the child. Generally, people with parental responsibility are the parents named on the child's full birth certificate.

If parents in different locations want to consent to a child passport, the quickest option is:

  • the parent who will lodge the application generates it online and emails it (in full or just the relevant page) to the other parent. The other parent prints out the form, makes sure that sections 12 to 14 are completed correctly, signs the consent in section 15, and emails a scan of that page to the first parent to submit with the rest of the application.

     

  • If that won’t work for you, then the parent who’s not going to lodge the application can ask for a child passport form at an Australian Passport Office or from an Australian diplomatic or consular mission(link is external) overseas, complete sections 12, 13 and 15, and then submit the consent in person at an Australia Post outlet, a capital city passport office (no appointment necessary) or an Australian diplomatic or consular mission overseas.

If you’re submitting a consent in person, you’ll need to bring ID.

The consent declaration must be read and signed by the parents or persons with parental responsibility for the child.  Section 13 (A) and 14 (A) must be your exact name as shown on your child’s birth certificate.  Section 13 (B) and Section 14 (B) must be your most current name as shown on your ID documents, eg. your Australian Passport or your foreign passport.

The signatures must be witnessed as instructed on the application form. The witness cannot be related to the child and the family by birth or marriage or be in a de facto relationship with either of the child's parents or live at the same address (this includes your domestic helper living in the same address). A different person may witness the signature of each person giving consent. The child's guarantor may witness the consent.

If you are unable to provide evidence of full consent for the child to be issued with a passport, you are required to provide supplementary forms in accordance with special circumstances provisions.

 

Step 5 - Take three passport photos.

Some photo shops may not have the most updated Australian passport photo specifications. Home-printed photos are usually not acceptable as there are strict requirements. Please carefully check on the Passport photo guidelines to avoid rejection via https://www.passports.gov.au/getting-passport-how-it-works/photo-requirements.

We prefer if you could bring in at least three photos (just in case some photos may have ink marks which cannot see from naked eye but can pick up from our scanner), photo guidelines are also available on above mentioned passport website.

If you are in Beijing, you may wish to visit the following Photoshop. (Note: If you do go to this Photoshop, please advise Ms Wang it is for an Australian Passport application).

Name: Jin Yi Photo Studio(金一影印)

Add: No.14 Building, Shunyuanli, Chaoyang district (朝阳区顺源里14号楼)

Tel: 010-6468 6895

Contact: Ms Wang Wei

  • Your Guarantor (see Step 6) must endorse one photo in black pen as follows: “This is a true photo of [the applicant’s full name]”, and then sign it below. Do not use paper clips or staples to attach photos to the form as this may make them unusable.

 

Step 6 – Guarantor

As well as endorsing the child’s photo, ensure Section 11 is completed by a guarantor who meets the following criteria:

  • is 18 years of age or over
  • has known the applicant for at least 12 months
  • is not related to the applicant by birth, marriage, de facto or same sex relationship, or live at the applicant's address
  • holds a current (unexpired) Australian passport that was issued with at least two years validity 

We do prefer an Australian passport holder to be your guarantor, but non-Australian citizen whose occupation is one of the following is also acceptable:

  • Lawyer: Lawyers Qualification, Current Justice Dep’t work licence, Currently practising
  • Doctor: Health Department Licence, Currently practising
  • Teacher: Public Kindergarten/School teachers, at least five years continuous service, Currently teaching classes – Not administration staff
  • Accountant: Qualified CPA, Currently practising
  • Police Officer: Public Security Bureau officer, at least five years continuous service, Currently practising
  • Dentist: Health Department Licence, Currently practising
  • Judge: Official Judge of a People’s Court, Currently practising

 

Step 7 – Additional documents

Check the Australian Passport Office’s Children’s Passport page to see if you need to provide supplementary information.

If yours or the other parent’s current name is different to the name as it appears on the child’s birth certificate, you must provide documents as proof of name change such as a marriage certificate, divorce certificate or name change certificate.

  • The lodging parent is required to provide original copy of an address proof (under lodging parent name).  This can be either utilities bills, bank or credit card statements, or insurance papers, temporary residential registry, Hukou book, Chinese ID or property lease agreement or home insurance papers.

 

Step 8 If you have completed the form online, print it using the "fit to page" setting to ensure no sections are missing and sign and date the application form. Make sure there are no alterations to signatures or dates. 

  • Children aged 10 and over need to sign the application form in the box provided separately from the declaration (which is signed by a parent or a person with parental responsibility).

 

Step 9 – Other documents (for child applicant aged 16 and 17)

Lodging parent must provide the following combinations of original documents (under lodging parent name):

  • One document from category A, and
  • One document from category B
  • If neither of these documents shows your current address, you must also provide one document from category C that shows your current address.

Category A (All Category A documents should be current at the time of application)

  • Current driving licence issued by an Australian/foreign government’s driving/traffic/motor vehicle licensing authority
  • Foreign residency card
  • Australian Proof of Age or Photo Card

Category B (All Category B documents must be current at the time of application, with the exception of the Australian passport)

  • Health card issued by a government authority
  • Credit card or bank account card with current signature on the back
  • Foreign passport
  • Previous Australian Passport (issued on or after 1 July 2000 with more than two years validity that has not been expired for over ten years)

Category C (All Category C documents must be no more than 12 months old at the time of application and show your current residential address)

  • Utilities bills
  • Bank or credit card statements
  • Motor vehicle registration or insurance papers
  • Property rates notice or property lease agreement
  • Home insurance papers

 

Step 10 – Lodge your application and pay your fee.  Applications need to be lodged in person by a parent or the person with parental responsibility. Children aged 16 or 17 must accompany their parent to lodge an application. Children under 16 do not have to do so. You must make an appointment.

 

Things to bring:

  1. The completed and signed Australian Passport Overseas Application form.
  2. The child’s most recent Australian passport, if applicable.
  3. Proof of the child’s citizenship and birth certificate (see Step 3).
  4. Original translation of birth certificate prepared by a registered translation service, if applicable (see Step 3).
  5. Three passport photos (see Step 5).
  6. Lodging parent's address proof and any other additional documents (see Step 7 and Step 9).
  7. Proof of your own identity that has a photo and signature.  If you have an Australian passport, please bring that along. 
  8. Payment can be made by Alipay, WeChat, most of the bank cards and cash.

Note: Officer may require further documents pertaining to your application at lodgement