How to Get an Australian Passport After Citizenship (2026)

Once you have made the pledge and received your citizenship certificate, you can apply for your first Australian passport. You fill in the adult passport form, gather your original documents and two passport photos, lodge everything in person at a participating post office and pay A$422. Then allow at least six weeks for the passport to arrive.

None of it is difficult. The passport office is strict, though. It wants original documents, photos that meet its rules, and a name that matches across your papers. A missing document or a poor photo is what holds an application up, so it pays to check everything before you go.

When can you apply for a passport after your citizenship ceremony?

You become an Australian citizen at the moment you make the pledge. You should receive your citizenship certificate at the ceremony. If it is not ready on the day, Home Affairs posts it to you.

You are eligible for a passport from that day, but do not rush to the post office the next morning. Home Affairs says it "may take some time for your citizenship details to show in the system" and that you should wait at least 10 days before you apply online.

That gap is not wasted. Use it to get your photos taken and to ask someone to be your referee, which are the two jobs that take the longest.

What documents do you need for your first Australian passport?

If you were born overseas and became a citizen at a ceremony, the Australian Passport Office asks for three things:

• your Australian citizenship certificate, which is your proof of citizenship
• evidence of your gender and place of birth. If your certificate does not show both, bring your foreign birth certificate (translated into English) or your foreign passport
• supporting identity documents that show your photo, your signature and your current address

For the supporting documents, the simplest option is one document from Category A and one from Category B.

Category	Accepted documents
A	Current Australian driver licence (digital or physical), Proof of Age card or Photo Card
B	Medicare card, Centrelink card, credit card or bank card, foreign passport
C	Utility bill, bank statement, lease agreement, rates notice, car registration or insurance papers

Category A and B documents must be current. At least one of your documents must show your current address. If neither does, add one Category C document that shows your address and is no more than 12 months old. If you have no Category A document, you can bring two from Category B plus one other official document with your photo.

Bring the originals. Copies are not accepted. Any document that is not in English must be translated in full by an approved translation service.

If your name has changed

Home Affairs issues your certificate in the legal name you held when your application was approved. If you use a different name now, for example after marriage, you need a document that links the two names. That is usually a marriage certificate or a name change certificate issued by an Australian Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages. The passport office explains each case on its change of name page.

What are the passport photo rules?

You need two identical photos, and the photo guidelines are detailed:

• 35 to 40 mm wide and 45 to 50 mm high
• less than six months old
• a plain white or light grey background
• your face looking straight at the camera, eyes open, with a neutral expression
• no glasses, unless you cannot remove them for medical reasons

If you usually cover your head for religious reasons, you can wear the covering. It must be plain, with your whole face visible from chin to forehead.

Our advice is to pay for a professional photo. Many post offices, pharmacies and camera stores take them. The passport office does not recommend online photo services or mobile apps, and a rejected photo is the easiest delay to avoid.

Do you need a guarantor or a referee?

You need one person to confirm who you are. What they have to do depends on the form you choose.

With the online form, that person is called a referee. They do not sign anything, but they must be willing to confirm your identity if the passport office contacts them.

With the paper form, they are a guarantor. A guarantor signs section 11 of your form and the back of one photo, in black pen, with the words "This is a true photo of [your full name]".

The requirements are the same for both. The person must be an adult Australian citizen who has known you for more than one year. They must also hold a current Australian passport with at least two years' validity, or have been on the electoral roll at their current address for at least 12 months.

They cannot be:

• related to you by birth or marriage
• your de facto or registered partner
• living at the same address as you
• an Australian Passport Officer or an Australia Post employee

This step can be the hardest one for new citizens, because the people closest to you are often family, or are not citizens yet. A workmate or a neighbour can do it. Ask early. You will need their full name, date of birth, daytime phone number, and either their passport details or their address as it appears on the electoral roll.

How do you apply, step by step?

The order below is the one on the passport office's adult passport page.

1. Get your photos and documents together. Two photos, your citizenship certificate and your identity documents, all originals.
2. Ask your referee or guarantor. Collect their details before you start the form.
3. Complete the form. Fill it in online through the passport office's application portal, or pick up the paper form from a post office (the adult form is green).
4. Print the online form. A first passport cannot be finished online. Print the completed form on A4 paper, portrait, in black ink, with "Fit to page" selected.
5. Lodge it in person at a participating post office and pay the fee. Australia Post says you do not need an appointment. You can pay by EFTPOS, card or cash.
6. Track your application. Enter your application number in the status tracker.
7. Wait for delivery. The passport is sent by Registered Post, and you receive an email with a tracking number. Once sent, it should arrive in about a week. Do not give a Parcel Locker address, because passports cannot be delivered there.

If you are living outside Australia, you lodge through an Australian embassy or consulate instead. The guarantor rules are different, an overseas surcharge applies (A$189 for an adult passport) and faster processing is not available. See applying outside Australia.

How much does it cost, and how long does it take?

The fees below were set on 1 January 2026.

Service	Cost	Processing time
Routine	A$422	Allow at least 6 weeks from lodging
Fast Track	A$422 + A$107	Processed within 5 business days
Priority	A$422 + A$308	Processed within 2 business days

The Fast Track and Priority times do not include postage, and both services are only for eligible applicants in Australia. Your application has to be complete to qualify, with every supporting document included.

Routine processing is reliable. The passport office reported that more than 97 per cent of travel documents were available within six weeks as at September 2026. If you have no travel booked, the standard service is enough.

Can you travel before your Australian passport arrives?

Plan not to. Home Affairs says Australian citizens should use their Australian passport to travel into or out of Australia. Wait until the passport is in your hand before you book an overseas trip.

If you already have a trip coming up, tell the post office when you lodge and pay for Fast Track or Priority. For a real emergency, such as a death or serious illness in your immediate family, the passport office asks you to call 131 232 and make an appointment at a passport office. Bring evidence of why you need to travel.

Is the passport part of the citizenship test?

Yes, in a small way. Our Common Bond lists applying for an Australian passport and re-entering Australia freely as one of the privileges of citizenship. It is in Part 2 of the booklet, so it can appear in your test. This question is from our question bank:

If your test is still ahead of you, the order is test, approval, ceremony, then passport. The test is the step you can prepare for. Our free chapter tests cover Part 2 and the other three parts one at a time, and practice by topic lets you work on responsibilities and privileges alone. When your scores are steady, sit a full mock test under real conditions.

What else should you do after becoming a citizen?

Two more things are worth doing in the same week.

The first is enrolling to vote. The Australian Electoral Commission says new citizens have the right and the responsibility to enrol and vote. You will be given an enrolment information sheet with a QR code at your ceremony, and you can enrol online with your driver licence, Medicare card or Australian citizenship number.

The second is putting your certificate somewhere safe. It is a legal document, and you may need it again when you apply for a job. Writing on it or changing any detail is an offence. Tell Home Affairs if it is lost or stolen.

Once the application is lodged, the rest is waiting. Check the status tracker now and then. If more than six weeks pass, call the passport office on 131 232.

This article is a study aid and general information only, not immigration or legal advice. Fees, forms and processing times change. Always confirm current requirements with the Australian Passport Office and the Department of Home Affairs.