News

Thousands of Aussies arrive at the airport ready to go overseas each day. Few of them realise the condition of their passport could be stopping them from getting on their flight.

For example, a slight tear to your passport's photo page could be enough to prevent you from boarding.

Or you could be turned away by border officials when you arrive at your destination.

Other damage that could make your passport invalid includes:

• written marks or lines
• unauthorised stamps such as souvenir tourist ones
• water damage or mould
• altered or missing pages.

See damaged and faulty passports for more advice and tips.

For more information on how to look after your passport, see using and protecting your passport.

When travelling overseas, most countries will need you to have a valid passport with at least six months’ validity from your return date. This can differ depending on which country you plan to visit.

You should check the period of validity required to enter and exit the country you plan to travel to on smartraveller.gov.au.

Also, did you know that you may need a few blank visa pages in your passport?

Some countries require you to have a certain number of blank visa pages in order to allow visa-free entry.

In fact, most travel visas that are stamped into your passport require an entire blank visa page.

Be sure to check the requirements of the country you are visiting before you travel.

If you’ve run out of visa pages, you can apply for a ‘replacement’ passport. These generally cost less than normal passports, but they’re only valid until the expiry date of the passport they replace. 

See our ‘Replacement passports’ page for more details.

Please allow at least six weeks to get your replacement passport. To apply, you can start online by going to our passport application portal.

Are you planning to travel overseas this year?

Renew or apply for your passport early.

• Passport demand remains high.  You’ll need to allow at least six weeks to get your passport.
• Child applications can take longer to process because we need to conduct extra checks. 
• You’ll need a foreign visa to enter some countries and you can’t get a visa without a valid passport.
• Some countries won’t let you enter on a passport that expires in less than six months. If your current passport has less than six months' validity (from the last day of your travel), you should renew your passport before leaving Australia.

To begin your passport application, you can start online by going here.

If your passport expires in six months or less, you may need a new one. 

Some foreign governments need visitors to carry passports with at least six months validity (beyond their planned stay) or they may be refused entry.  

This includes popular destinations for Australian travellers, such as Indonesia, Singapore, Vietnam, Fiji, Samoa and Vanuatu.  

To check the entry requirements of the countries you’re visiting, contact the foreign diplomatic and consular representatives of the country you’re visiting, or ask your travel agent. 

We recommend you allow a minimum of six weeks to get your new passport and don't book your trip until you have it. 

If you can’t wait at least six weeks for your passport, you can use our priority passport processing service. For more information, visit our urgent applications page. 

For more tips on planning your travel, visit smartraveller.gov.au  

On 13 January 2023, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) became aware that the login credentials (email addresses and login passwords) for a small number of customers registered with the Australian Passport Office’s (APO) online passport application portal, AusPassport, were discovered on the ‘Dark Web’.

There is no evidence to suggest these login credentials were obtained through a compromise of DFAT’s systems.

The department takes the protection of its customers’ personal information very seriously and has taken action to initiate a forced password reset for impacted AusPassport account holders.

This means these customers will be unable to access their AusPassport account without first initiating a password reset. They will be able to do this by selecting the ‘forgot your password’ link on the portal’s homepage and following the steps. 

Concerned customers can also call the APO on 131 232 for assistance.

The compromise of AusPassport login details does not impact the security or integrity of affected customers’ passports. No‑one has access to these passports. Nor can anyone get an Australian passport using an impacted customer’s personal information. DFAT uses robust controls that protect customers from identity takeover, including sophisticated facial-recognition technology.

Advice on safeguarding your personal information can be found on the APO’s webpage on protecting against scams and identity theft.

Customers can also seek help from IDCare, a not-for-profit organisation that specialises in providing advice and support to the Australian community in responding to identity theft.

Advice on how to protect yourself and your family from cyber security incidents is available on the Australian Cyber Security Centre’s (ACSC) webpage at: www.cyber.gov.au