Applying for a Dutch passport or identity card if you live in Australia

You must prove that you are legally resident in Australia. You can do this by providing one of the following documents:

• a recent letter, issued no more than 12 months ago, from the Australian immigration service confirming your visa status * a VEVO (Visa Entitlement Verification Online) extract, issued no more than 12 months ago
• if you also have Australian nationality: a valid Australian passport or ID card
• if you have acquired Australian nationality through marriage since your last passport application: a letter/email from the Family Law Court stating that it has no record that you were divorced at the time of your naturalisation.

If you are applying for a Dutch passport or ID card for your child for the first time, use their birth certificate as proof of legal residence.

It is possible that your details are not held in the VEVO database. For instance, if you have not left Australia in the past  20 years, or if you hold dual nationality. If this is the case, you can contact the Australian immigration service on 131 881 (from within Australia). In most cases, your VEVO can be sent to you by email.

Your Dutch passport and your Australian visa

You can only use your Australian visa if it is linked to your new Dutch passport. If you have a visa sticker in your old passport, you must provide the Australian Department of Home Affairs with your new passport details. You do this online or using Form 929. You can find more information and the form on the website of the Department of Home Affairs. The Dutch embassy or consulate-general cannot assist you with this.

If you have a Dutch passport and a New Zealand passport

If you hold both a Dutch passport and a New Zealand passport, your Australian visa is probably linked to your New Zealand passport.

Although you do not need to actively apply for this visa, you will be known to the Australian Department of Home Affairs as a visa holder. In order to renew your Dutch passport, you will also need to provide your VEVO details. Since you never received a notification regarding your Australian visa from the Australian Department of Home Affairs, you can call them on 131 881 (within Australia) and request your visa grant number, which you can use to retrieve your VEVO details.

If you have a birth certificate or marriage certificate from Australia, you must have the original certificate legalised. Find out more about having documents from Australia legalised.

If you have other documents from Australia, or documents from another country, find out if you need to have them legalised.

You can submit documents written in Dutch, English, German or French. If you have documents in another language, you should have them translated by a sworn translator.

Make an appointment

Make an appointment online with the consulate-general in Sydney

Changing or cancelling your appointment

After making an appointment it will be confirmed by email. The email will contain a link you can use to change or cancel your appointment.

You can make an appointment to submit your application with VFS Global in Melbourne. VFS Global is an external service provider. The location has longer opening times than the consulate-general in Sydney. Please be aware that a service fee of $35.05 (AUD) will be charged on top of the consular fee.

• Make an appointment online with VFS Global in Melbourne
• If you want to submit applications for several family members at the same time, send an email to melnlpp@vfsglobal.com to make an appointment.

You can skip steps 4 and 5.

You can make an appointment to submit your application with VFS Global in Perth. VFS Global is an external service provider. The location has longer opening times than the consulate-general in Sydney. Please be aware that a service fee of $35.05 (AUD) will be charged on top of the consular fee.

• Make an appointment online with VFS Global in Perth
• If you want to submit applications for several family members at the same time, send an email to pernlpp@vfsglobal.com to make an appointment.

You can skip steps 4 and 5.

You can submit your passport or ID card application at a border municipality in the Netherlands. If you wish to do this, you can skip steps 4 and 5.

• Apply for a passport or ID card at a Dutch border municipality

You can submit your passport or ID card application at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport. If you wish to do this, you can skip steps 4 and 5.

• Apply for a passport or ID card at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport

Bring all the documents on your personal checklist. For every document the checklist will show you whether you need to provide the original and/or a photocopy.

If you needed to have documents legalised and/or translated, bring the legalised and translated versions with you as well.

The overview of consular fees in Australia tells you how much you will have to pay for a passport or ID card and which payment methods are accepted.

Applying for a passport or ID card at a Dutch border municipality or at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport will cost you less.

No. If you need your current passport or ID card while your application is being processed, you can retain it for the time being.

When do I have to hand in my old passport or ID card?

If you are collecting your new passport or ID card in person, you should hand in your old one when you come to collect it.

If you are having your passport or ID card sent to you, you will need to first send your old one to the embassy or consulate-general. Only then will your new passport or ID card be sent to you. This means that there will be a period when you have no passport or ID card. If you want your old passport or ID card back, inform the embassy or consulate-general.

I have a residence permit or visa in my old passport, what should I do?

If your passport contains visas or a residence permit and you want to keep those pages intact, inform staff of this when you submit your old passport.

After you submit your application you will receive a track & trace code to track the status of your application. You will receive an email when your new passport or ID card is ready.

You can collect your new passport or ID card from the consulate-general in Sydney at the following times:

• Monday: 9:00 - 12:00 hours
• Tuesday: 8:00 - 13:00 hours
• Wednesday: 8:00 - 13:00 hours
• Thursday: 8:00 - 13:00 hours
• Friday: 9:00 - 12:00 hours

You do not need to make an appointment, but first check which days our offices will be closed.

You can have your new passport sent to you via registered post. To do this, bring a self-addressed, registered post envelope (A4 size) to your appointment. A maximum of 4 passports will fit in each envelope. Other types of envelope will not be accepted. Your document is sent to you at your own risk. You will have to pay the postage fees when you submit your application. You will also need to sign for delivery when the passport arrives.

You can also have your passport sent via Express Post. You will need a special Express Post envelope from Australia Post for this purpose. The envelope must have a ‘signature on delivery’ sticker, otherwise the passport cannot be sent to you. You will need to sign for delivery.

It is not possible to have your new ID card sent to you. You can collect your ID card from the consulate-general in Sydney