Exiting Australia - Passports

[roverallover]

Myself, my wife and our two children all have dual nationality.

 

My question is whether we need to present a valid Australian passport on exiting Australia for each of us or whether we can just present our British passports (that have no Australian visas)?

 

I'm trying not to go through renewing two sets of passports per person for one trip if I can possibly avoid it...

 

Thanks in advance,

 

Jonathan

[Parley]

An Australian citizen must exit and enter Australia using Australian passports.

[amibovered]

An Australian citizen must exit and enter Australia using Australian passports.

This

[Guest]

If you are dual Aus and UK and are thinking to renew both for a trip to the UK you could only get the Aus one and enter the UK as an Aus tourist (with the usual visa conditions attached to that). Not the ideal as you are supposed to enter and depart a country on its passport if you hold it, but I have read some people have done this once they gained Aus citizenship.

 

You'll need a valid Aus passport to get back into Aus remember

[buzzy--bee]

If you are dual Aus and UK and are thinking to renew both for a trip to the UK you could only get the Aus one and enter the UK as an Aus tourist (with the usual visa conditions attached to that). Not the ideal as you are supposed to enter and depart a country on its passport if you hold it, but I have read some people have done this once they gained Aus citizenship.

 

We've done this. The only pain is having to queue up with all the thousands of other nationalities.

 

BB

[Quinkla]

You would always be able to get in - as a citizen, you are entitled to come in and it is the Border Force's problem to verify your entitlement. I am less clear about the practicalities of leaving without showing an Australian passport. I think that constitutionally they couldn't stop you but I don't know whether that is absolutely correct or whether they could delay you so you miss your flight.

[shaunfreo]

As already said you must exit and enter Australia on your Australian passport , in fact you wouldn't get past check in on return without presenting a current Astralian passport

you can enter the UK on either but if you enter on an Australian passport you just get the usual three month entry , I just look and see which line is shortest , sometimes it can even be the non UK EU line

[Quinkla]

you can enter the UK on either but if you enter on an Australian passport you just get the usual three month entry , I just look and see which line is shortest , sometimes it can even be the non UK EU line

You can use the non EU line into the UK even with a UK passport. I used to do this all the time with my Australian fiancee because we wanted to stand in the same queue and we didn't know my UK passport could get her into the UK Nationals queue.

[Diane]

You will need a valid Australian passport to get back anyway. But entering England, if your English passport has expired - you can still go through the British queue and you are not limited to three months like a sole Australian citizen would be.

 

We have all travelled to and from the UK on expired British passports and current Aussie ones. Your expired UK passport shows you are a citizen anyway (unless you actually revoke your citizenship which is not all that easy - ask Tony Abbott!). My daughter a couple of years ago went to Britain with a current Aussie passport and expired British one, and stayed there for about 7 months, worked, paid National Insurance, everything, and never got round to renewing her British passport (like I told her to!).

[roverallover]

Thanks for all your responses.

 

I should have better clarified our position, we are planning to return permanently to the UK so it's a one-way trip, hence the question around whether we have to depart on Australian passports :-)

[Guest]

Thanks for all your responses.

 

I should have better clarified our position, we are planning to return permanently to the UK so it's a one-way trip, hence the question around whether we have to depart on Australian passports :-)

 

My understand is you should still do so yes.

 

The way passports are all electronic these days they record who has left the country, who has come back in etc. You are Aus citizens and in the system as such.

 

Also I think the flights are attached to a passport that is valid for the country of residence starting point etc. So if you hold UK passports with no current visa and are Aus citizens, they may expect to see Aus passports at check in. We've had that sort of thing come up before. Had to show the passport current to the country etc and also then carry the other one as proof of right of entry the other end (for those who did not have a visa but were citizens).

 

This from the Gov website

 

Passports and visas

 

Entering and leaving Australia

 

All Australians, including dual nationals, should leave and enter Australia on their Australian passport. If you have a passport from another country you can use that for travel once you have left Australia.

 

People trying to enter Australia as an Australian citizen but without an Australian passport will face difficulties and delays. An Australian passport is the preferred and most conclusive proof of Australian citizenship when travelling.

International airlines have an obligation to carry only appropriately documented passengers to Australia. Appropriate documentation for Australian nationals is an Australian passport. Appropriate documentation for a foreign national is a visa to enter Australia. If an Australian national attempts to board a flight to Australia without an Australian passport, airlines will likely be unable to verify their claim to Australian citizenship at the time of check-in and may refuse boarding. See the Department of Immigration and Border Protection website for further information on citizenship and travel.

 

https://smartraveller.gov.au/guide/dual-nationals.html

[newjez]

Thanks for all your responses.

 

I should have better clarified our position, we are planning to return permanently to the UK so it's a one-way trip, hence the question around whether we have to depart on Australian passports :-)

 

 

My kids were Australian citizens, and they exited on UK passports, but, they did still have current visas on their UK passports. If you had no visa, I wouldn't know what would happen.

[scuffythetugboat]

Will it be a one way trip? Who knows what the future has in store for anyone. From other posts on here, if you wanted to apply for an Australian passport in the UK, there is a lot more hassle.

[newjez]

Will it be a one way trip? Who knows what the future has in store for anyone. From other posts on here, if you wanted to apply for an Australian passport in the UK, there is a lot more hassle.

 

 

It's a pain, but it's not like having a testicle removed.

[PeepingTom]

It's a pain, but it's not like having a testicle removed.

 

I have renewed both Child and Adult Australian passports while in UK.

You need to visit the Australian embassy in central London (not a hassle for me as I am based in London).

In both cases got our respective passport in 2 weeks after application.

[Quoll]

It'd be an interesting exercise to see what they would do to you - as you have a current passport from a foreign country which is supposed to allow you to travel, there may be a bit of a diplomatic incident if they refused to accept a current UK passport as a valid travel document. Definitely better to enter UK on your UK one otherwise it will be a hassle to stay permanently as you would get a 6 month stay stamp in your Aus passport. Saving pennies, probably not the best solution for a hassle free journey

[Wooba]

I have a Canadian and British passport. I have frequently exited Canada on my UK passport but obviously re-enter with my Canadian one and have never had any issues. Also I usually hand over my British passport to the desk when exiting the UK and was never questioned except one time at Heathrow as I was entering the gangway to board the plane, someone noticed it was a return ticket and asked for proof that I was allowed to live in Canada. I showed my Canadian passport then, but that was the only time it was ever an issue.

However, Canada is starting an electronic visa program similar to what Australia has in March, so perhaps then it will start to matter.

[Nemesis]

My kids were Australian citizens, and they exited on UK passports, but, they did still have current visas on their UK passports. If you had no visa, I wouldn't know what would happen.

How on earth could they have current visas yet be Australian citizens? Visas are cancelled once you become a citizen, aren't they?

[newjez]

How on earth could they have current visas yet be Australian citizens? Visas are cancelled once you become a citizen, aren't they?

 

 

Good question. This was 2003, maybe they are more electronic nowadays. From memory, they still had the paper visa. We actually entered and exited Australia on them (uk, even though oz citizens) a couple of years later, (makes a bit of a mockery of all the who har). It wasn't until the visa expired that I had to get them Australian passports.

[newjez]

It'd be an interesting exercise to see what they would do to you - as you have a current passport from a foreign country which is supposed to allow you to travel, there may be a bit of a diplomatic incident if they refused to accept a current UK passport as a valid travel document. Definitely better to enter UK on your UK one otherwise it will be a hassle to stay permanently as you would get a 6 month stay stamp in your Aus passport. Saving pennies, probably not the best solution for a hassle free journey

 

As far as they were concerned, you would be an illegal, and they may want to ban you from reentry.

[Wooba]

How on earth could they have current visas yet be Australian citizens? Visas are cancelled once you become a citizen, aren't they?

 

That makes an interesting question.. What happens if you become a citizen then a couple of days later there's a family emergency abroad? Not enough time to get a passport, can you travel on your original passport?

[deryans]

That makes an interesting question.. What happens if you become a citizen then a couple of days later there's a family emergency abroad? Not enough time to get a passport, can you travel on your original passport?

 

Yes you can, this is an unusual and compassionate circumstance, the passport is actually no more than a travel document, oddly it does not imply citizenship as a diplomatic mate of mine informs me (yes I know, I don't figure that one out either). You can get exceptional circumstance and travel on your old EU/UK one.

 

I left on a Aus passport (that was a bit tatty as I used to travel for work alot .= airline work) and my damaged biometric page on my aussie passport was picked up on by the Aussie border control officer who informed me that I may not be able to get into the UK with a damaged aussie passport, I simply held up my EU passport and waved it , and the officer simply smiled and said renew the aussie one as soon as practical in the UK.

 

Entry into the UK was fine as my EU/UK passport was biometric so , no issue.

[deryans]

Actually as an addendum to what I've said above:

 

I had to travel in 2007 due compassionate with an expired PR visa on my EU passport as i became an aussie citizen a few months before, so technically my PR was invalid/expired due my citizenship ceremony, however since my old passport was non-bio and my PR had not been stamped invalid, I simply travelled!

 

Coming back in some weeks after burying my loved one, I still recall the immigration clown asking me if this was my PR and what was my reason for travel - Compassionate ? (those of you who know me on this site won't be surprised with my answer), why yes, it's my Visa and I coloured it in myself.............. what a knob!!!

[Quinkla]

Definitely better to enter UK on your UK one otherwise it will be a hassle to stay permanently as you would get a 6 month stay stamp in your Aus passport.

As far as they were concerned, you would be an illegal, and they may want to ban you from reentry.

It actually doesn't matter if you enter the UK on an Aussie passport and get a six month stamp - as a British Citizen you are still entitled to stay as long as you want and work, regardless of what a stamp might say in an Aussie passport. Similarly, if you leave Australia on a UK passport and get banned from re-entry, it won't have any effect because as an Australian citizen you are entitled to return whenever you want. In any case, if you look up your UK passport on VEVO it notes that you have citizenship - so I doubt it would be as administratively difficult as they may choose to pretend.