Australian Consulate-General
Shanghai, China

Passport Services

 

Passport Application Types and Application Requirements

 

Appointments

Appointments are required for all passport services, except passport collection and emergency consular/passport services. Clients without an appointment will only be seen in exceptional circumstances.

Appointments are available Monday to Friday and must be booked via acgsh.setmore.com. Appointments will only be kept for 15 minutes. If you are not able to arrive in time, please make new bookings.

Each applicant requires a separate appointment. Families are required to book the ‘Group/Family Passports’ appointment.

Children aged 16 & 17 are required to attend the appointment along with a guardian.

We recommend you book your appointment as early as possible. Take care to make correct selection as this may affect our ability to complete your application during the appointed time.  

 

Processing Time

The Australian Passport Office (APO) is currently seeing strong demand for passports. For this reason, it is advising its customers to apply for or renew your passport well ahead of your planned travel dates. For more information, please click here.  

An application is not finalised until the Consulate has received everything we need from you. Further delays will occur if we cannot contact your guarantors, or if we cannot contact both parents (for child applications).

You should also ask the Chinese Entry and Exit Administration Bureau (EEAB) about visa requirements in your new passport.

You will receive a generic email when your passport is ready for collection at the Consulate.

Passports applied for within Australia can be picked up in two business days if you pay the priority service fee and meet the conditions.

 

Proof of Address

If you are lodging an application for a child, you must present a document to show your current residential address.

Normal adult passport renewals do not require proof of current residential address.

 

The Australian Passports Web Page

For further details on passport applications please click here.

 

Guarantors

For a list of guarantor occupational groups, please click here.

 

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 the Passport photo guidelines to avoid rejection. 

 

Passport Fees

At the Shanghai Consulate-General Passport Fees can only be paid using mPOS (Alipay & WeChat Pay), Chinese ATM cards and most international credit cards. We can not accept American Express cards without a UnionPay symbol and can not accept cheques or cash.

Fees can vary each month due to changes in the exchange rate.

Passport applications lodged overseas incur a surcharge, currently more than 100 Australian dollars per adult. 

 

Same Holder Letter

The Shanghai Consulate can provide a Same Holder Letter, written in English and Chinese, that states your current and previous Australian passport numbers. Same Holder Letters are sometimes requested to transfer a visa to a new Australian passport.

The Shanghai Consulate can not provide a letter that links your Australian passport to any foreign document, including foreign passports.

Please request a letter when collecting your passport, or apply for a letter by making a notarial appointment.

The cost of a Same Holder Letter is the “Preparing a declaration or other document” price on our Passport and Consular Fees page.

 

Frequent Traveller Passports

Australia no longer issues Frequent Traveller Passports (64 pages).

If your passport has 2 years validity remaining and either of the following you can choose to renew or replace your passport:
  • the visa pages are almost full. or
  • minor damage.

A renewed passport is a new 34 page passport with 10 years validity. The new passport will have a different passport/document number. The cost will be the price of a new passport plus the overseas surcharge.

A replacement passport has 34 pages and the same expiry date as the passport being replaced. The replacement passport will have a different passport/document number. The replacement passport costs less than a new passport and will not incur an overseas surcharge.

Applicants must decide which of the two above replacement options best suit their own circumstances.