Scarlett46 Posted October 18, 2018 Share Posted October 18, 2018 Hi to all, Discovered a bit of a nightmare last night and was wondering what the general thoughts were.... My adult children (21,19 and 18) and I are going back to the UK for Christmas this year. Flights are booked for Dec 11th from Melbourne. We were originally from the UK (2001) and have all held British passports. Mine is still current, the children's all expired in 2013. We all hold Aussie passports as well and mine, the 21 and 18 yr olds are all date. The 19 yr old's expired in Nov 2017 and we were just applying for a new Aussie passport this week when it was discovered that the 19 yr olds Australian Citizenship certificate has gone missing (she has moved out recently with her Uni friends - it is mysterious her certificate is the only one missing since she moved out...she denies all knowledge of taking it..). We cannot apply for the Aus passport without the certificate (as she is moving from a child passport to an adult). To get a proof of citizenship, we have to apply to the Dept. of Home Affairs on form 119 which could take up to 60 days to process (we are scheduled to fly in 53 days), we then have to apply for the passport after that, and even using the priority service - this sounds like we would already have missed the flight. I was wondering if the 19 yr old could apply for a renewal of her British passport, fly to the UK for the holiday, then get an electronic visa in her UK passport in order to return to Australia? Do you think that might work? We are flying with China Southern, only stopping once and only transiting during that stop. Or, too risky, just try to get the Citizenship cert replacement and priority passport application (total cost of around $700). Any advice anyone could provide would be greatly appreciated, Thank you, S :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LouDYorkie Posted October 18, 2018 Share Posted October 18, 2018 You can’t get an Australian visa for an Australian citizen. But yes, if you can get her a British Passport before you go, she could travel on that! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarlett46 Posted October 18, 2018 Author Share Posted October 18, 2018 I was just wondering of we could apply for the visa from London online via the UK passport as we will only have an expired Australian passport for her to come back on. Much as she frustrates me - I would miss her if she was refused entry back into Aus! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LouDYorkie Posted October 18, 2018 Share Posted October 18, 2018 I was just wondering of we could apply for the visa from London online via the UK passport as we will only have an expired Australian passport for her to come back on. Much as she frustrates me - I would miss her if she was refused entry back into Aus! No, I definitely wouldn’t do that! Take her expired Aussie passport along as proof..... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarlett46 Posted October 18, 2018 Author Share Posted October 18, 2018 This is sounding like a plan.... I just phoned the passport office in the UK and all I need is 2 photos, her expired UK passport and a colour copy of her Aus passport. No dramas at all even though it a child to adult passport. I never thought I would be the type of person to have last minute travel hiccups (I watch those airport shows and see all the difficulties people get into!)....when do you stop having to think for your (adult) children! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickyNook Posted October 18, 2018 Share Posted October 18, 2018 But - as has already been said - she cannot get a visa in her British passport if she's an Australian citizen. The British passport is fine to enter the UK. It is not fine to return to Australia on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LouDYorkie Posted October 18, 2018 Share Posted October 18, 2018 This is sounding like a plan.... I just phoned the passport office in the UK and all I need is 2 photos, her expired UK passport and a colour copy of her Aus passport. No dramas at all even though it a child to adult passport. I never thought I would be the type of person to have last minute travel hiccups (I watch those airport shows and see all the difficulties people get into!)....when do you stop having to think for your (adult) children! That does sound like a plan!I try to be so organised and never expect it to happen to me either but I did have a hiccup a few years ago and came way too close to not going on a long awaited holiday.Good luck! (BTW-I paid priority to get my husbands UK passport processed from Australia last year and the turnaround was incredibly fast! I made doubly sure the photos were okay too, so we didn’t risk delay!!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarlett46 Posted October 18, 2018 Author Share Posted October 18, 2018 We have had the photos done at the post office, they have always been very good. I am just going to drive to the 19 yrs flat (2 hr round journey) to check that she hasn't missed it. Still living in hope..... We don't go away often either - I am an RN, and an RN wage supporting 4 people is pretty tight! Fingers crossed..... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JetBlast Posted October 18, 2018 Share Posted October 18, 2018 I would be very careful leaving Australia without an Australian passports. You might have problems getting back in. You don't want to get your fingers burnt! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quoll Posted October 18, 2018 Share Posted October 18, 2018 I hate to say but I doubt they will let her get on the plane at Heathrow without an Australian passport. If you are faced with it though be prepared and arrive several hours in advance of when they say check-in has to happen because they would need to contact DHA. On balance, I'd say her holiday needs to be postponed until she has a current passport. You might be able to get emergency travel documents but as she is only going on holiday that may not be "extenuating circumstances" enough. She will also get a grilling and cop some flak when she leaves Australia because Aussies must leave on an Australian passport. Be careful, too, that the photos you've got from the PO are the right size for a UK passport and they haven't just given you the bog standard Australian dimensions - I vaguely recall having to go elsewhere for a UK photo once when I renewed but they may have upped their game since then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nemesis Posted October 19, 2018 Share Posted October 19, 2018 20 hours ago, Scarlett46 said: This is sounding like a plan.... I just phoned the passport office in the UK and all I need is 2 photos, her expired UK passport and a colour copy of her Aus passport. No dramas at all even though it a child to adult passport. I never thought I would be the type of person to have last minute travel hiccups (I watch those airport shows and see all the difficulties people get into!)....when do you stop having to think for your (adult) children! Are you talking about the UK passport office or the Aus High Commission? Which passport are you replacing? Replacing her UK passport will not get her back into Australia. It will not even get her nto the plane as she is an Australian citizen, therefore cannot travel on a UK passport plus visa, she MUST travel on an Australian passport. Incidentally,if you are hoping to get the Australian passport issued in the UK, check the website as there is currently a 4 week wait for an appointment Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quoll Posted October 19, 2018 Share Posted October 19, 2018 1 hour ago, Nemesis said: Are you talking about the UK passport office or the Aus High Commission? Which passport are you replacing? Replacing her UK passport will not get her back into Australia. It will not even get her nto the plane as she is an Australian citizen, therefore cannot travel on a UK passport plus visa, she MUST travel on an Australian passport. Incidentally,if you are hoping to get the Australian passport issued in the UK, check the website as there is currently a 4 week wait for an appointment Yup! And not to mention, too, the £225 cost of renewing the darn thing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calNgary Posted October 19, 2018 Share Posted October 19, 2018 On 18/10/2018 at 18:13, Scarlett46 said: This is sounding like a plan.... I just phoned the passport office in the UK and all I need is 2 photos, her expired UK passport and a colour copy of her Aus passport. No dramas at all even though it a child to adult passport. I never thought I would be the type of person to have last minute travel hiccups (I watch those airport shows and see all the difficulties people get into!)....when do you stop having to think for your (adult) children! I would still apply for her citizenship certificate and take it with you. This way if you have issues or questioned when coming back you can show them the expired passport and the citizenship certificate, id also apply for the Aus passport too if the citizenship paperwork is back in time, at least then you can say its been applied for. Cal x 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quoll Posted October 19, 2018 Share Posted October 19, 2018 2 hours ago, calNgary said: I would still apply for her citizenship certificate and take it with you. This way if you have issues or questioned when coming back you can show them the expired passport and the citizenship certificate, id also apply for the Aus passport too if the citizenship paperwork is back in time, at least then you can say its been applied for. Cal x I'd be more inclined to try and get a refund on the 19 year old's ticket and leave her in Aus while you go. I think there are altogether too many risk factors which could utterly screw up the whole holiday for everyone else. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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