Child Passport (under 18 years of age, applying for first passport and renewal) application process
Step 1- Make an appointment to lodge your passport application
The Shanghai Passport Office operates an appointment system. We will not see you without an appointment.
Appointments are held at the Australian Consulate-General Shanghai:
Level 22, CITIC Square
1168 West Nanjing Road
Jing’An District, Shanghai
Appointment times can be booked-out up to 4 weeks in advance.
Allow a minimum of 6 weeks to receive your new passport. Please keep this in mind when making your travel plans.
Children aged 16 & 17 are required to attend the appointment along with a guardian.
Step 2 - Fill out your application form (Australian Passport Overseas Application)
You can obtain a passport application form online or in-person at the Consulate-General.
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.
Get your form online
You can complete your passport application form online at 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.
You will need VPN to access this website.
You cannot download blank forms.
After you have completed your 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.
OR Get your form in-person
You can collect a paper copy of the passport application at the Australian Consulate-General in Shanghai.
You will need a guarantor and additional documents, so we suggest that you collect the passport application 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.
For all passport applicants born in Australia after 20 August 1986, you must also provide one of the following four documents:
- Your Australian passport issued on/after 1/1/2000 that was valid for 2 years or more; or
- One parent’s full Australian birth certificate (parent born prior to 20/8/1986); or
- One parent’s Australian passport issued on/after 20/8/1986 that was valid for 2 years and 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 cannot provide the above documents, you must get a certificate of citizenship. Please refer to the Australian Citizenship section under Visas and Citizenship for further information.
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. Please refer to the Australian Citizenship section under Visas and Citizenship for further information.
Translation of foreign documents
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 are in different locations and want to provide consent for 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 overseas, complete sections 12, 13 and 15, and then submit the consent in person at 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. Contact the Consulate to discuss.
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 the passport photo guidelines to avoid rejection.
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. Picture yourself bald and measure from the top of your skull to the tip of your chin.
Your guarantor (see Step 6) must endorse one photo by signing on the back using a black pen and writing “This is a true photo of [applicant’s full name]”.
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 your photo, ensure Section 11 is completed by a guarantor who meets all of the following criteria:
- is an adult (18 years of age or over);
- has known the applicant for more than one year;
- holds a current Australian passport with at least 2 years validity remaining
We do prefer an Australian passport holder to be your guarantor, but a non-Australian citizen who is employed in one of the following occupational groups is also acceptable:
- Judge
- Lawyer
- Police officer (with at least 5 years continuous service)
- Bank manager (of a branch)
- Accountant (member of either: the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia; Australian Society of Certified Practicing Accountants; National Institute of Accountants; or the Association of Taxation and Management Accountants)
- Teacher (employed full time and been teaching for more than five years at a school or tertiary institution)
- Dentist
- Doctor, nurse or midwife
- Psychologist
- Veterinary surgeon
Step 7 – Additional documents
Check the Australian Passport Office to see if you need to provide any supplementary information.
If your current name or the other parent’s current name is different to the name as it appears on the child’s birth certificate, you must provide documentation for 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 a utility bill (electricity, water etc.), bank or credit card statement, insurance documents, temporary residential registration, Hukou book, Chinese ID or property lease agreement.
Step 8 – Print and sign
If you have completed the form online, print it using the "fit to page" setting to ensure no sections are missing. 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 (the declaration is signed by a parent or a person with parental responsibility).
Step 9 – 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:
- The completed and signed Australian Passport Overseas Application form.
- The child’s most recent Australian passport.
- Proof of the child’s citizenship and birth certificate (see Step 3).
- Original translation of birth certificate prepared by a registered translation service, if applicable (see Step 3).
- Three passport photos (see Step 5).
- Lodging parent's address proof and any other additional documents (see Step 7).
- Proof of your own identity that has a photo and signature. If you have an Australian passport please bring that along.
- Payment can be made by Alipay, WeChat and most bank cards.
Note: Passport Officers may request further documentation pertaining to your application at lodgement.
Collection
You will receive a generic email when your passport is ready for collection at the Consulate. You do not need an appointment to collect your passport. You should also ask the Chinese Entry and Exit Administration Bureau (EEAB) about visa requirements in your new passport.