Australian Embassy
Tokyo
Japan

Passport Topics

In this section:

 

For information on topics not featured on this page, please refer to our Passport FAQ or visit the Australian Passport Office website.

 

 

Lodging a Passport Application

Please make a booking at the Australian Embassy Tokyo or at the Australian Consulate-General in Osaka to lodge your application in person.

Child applications aged 15 or under must be lodged by a parent or person with parental responsibility for the child.

Child applications aged 16 or 17 must be lodged by the applicant together with a parent or person with parental responsibility for the child. Applications must still include parental consent. The person lodging the child's application must also provide proof of identity.

 

 

Guarantors

To help us identify the person applying for an Australian passport, we need someone (a "guarantor") to complete the guarantor declaration in the application form.

The guarantor must:

  • be 18 years of age or over
  • have known the applicant for at least 12 months or since birth
  • not be related to the applicant by birth, marriage, de facto or same sex relationship, nor live at the applicant's address
  • possess a current (unexpired) Australian passport that was issued with at least two years' validity; OR be currently employed in one of the approved employment groups below
  • agree to be contacted by an Australian Passport Office representative to confirm the applicant’s identity
  • endorse the back of one photograph in English by writing "This is a true photograph of (applicant's full name)" and sign in black ink

 

Approved Employment groups:

  • Accountants, Tax Accountants (Registered)
  • Bank Managers
  • Barristers, Solicitors and Patent Attorneys
  • Chartered Professional Engineers (Government Registered)
  • Clerks of Courts
  • Members currently serving in the regular Defence Forces with at least five years continuous service
  • Dentists
  • Police Officers with at least five years continuous service
  • Elected representatives of Parliaments
  • Judges
  • University professors of more than five years’ service
  • Members of the Chartered Institute of Company Secretaries
  • Marriage Celebrants
  • Pharmacists
  • Registered Medical Practitioners
  • Postal Managers
  • Teachers - full time early childhood / primary / high school teachers of more than five years’ service who hold university teaching qualifications and are registered to a Board of Education
  • Stipendiary Magistrates
  • Public Servants with at least five years continuous service
  • Registered Veterinary Surgeons
  • Registered Nurses

 

Please ensure that the guarantor signs the declaration and the back of the photograph using the same signature. Should the guarantor sign the declaration in Kanji then the signature on the back of the photograph should also be in Kanji.

The guarantor does not need to be living in Japan. For example, someone living in Australia that meets the above requirements would be acceptable.

Passport officers may contact your guarantor by telephone. As the applicant, you should ensure that your guarantor is aware of this and has provided appropriate daytime telephone contact details (preferably a mobile phone number). Any difficulties in contacting your guarantor will cause delays in issuing your passport.

Please ensure the guarantor dates the form using Australian Date Format (DD/MM/YYYY).

 

 

Passport Photographs

You must provide two recent identical colour photographs of yourself with your completed passport application. Photographs that do not meet ALL the requirements below will result in your passport application being rejected.

Please ensure that your photographs:

  • comply with the strict Camera Operator Guidelines.
  • were taken at a professional photo shop (not taken or printed at photo booths, home or convenience stores).
  • were taken in the last six months.
  • were taken with a plain white or light grey background. Photographs with a blue background will in principle not be accepted by the Passport Office. Photo shop staff must NOT edit the photo to change the background colour.
  • were NOT edited or retouched/enhanced photos.

Please take care of your photographs; attaching them to the application form with glue, paperclips, staples or bulldog clips can mark or damage the photo making them unusable.

Our Camera Operator Guidelines in Japanese may assist you when explaining photograph requirements to camera/photo shop staff in Japan.

 

 

Professional English Translation

If you are required to present foreign documentation that is not written in English, you must provide an English translation made by an approved translation service. English translations must be an exact copy of the source document, and in principle must be original documents (not photo/PDF digital versions obtained by email etc.).

Please contact the National Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreters (NAATI) for a list of approved translators in your area. Visit the NAATI website to locate a translator. There are NAATI accredited translation services available in Japan.

If not translated by NAATI accredited translators, translations must be performed by a professional translation company or translator. The translation must be on their company letterhead or have their official company stamp, seal or certificate, and include their contact details. The person who translates the document must be a third party not related to the applicant in any way, nor living at the same address. Translations which do not meet the aforementioned requirements will not be accepted. You will be required to obtain a new translation which satisfies the requirements.

 

 

General Declaration (B11)

Where an applicant's circumstances require further explanation, passport interviewing officers may advice the applicant or parent (or person with parental responsibility) to complete a general declaration known as a Form B-11 General Declaration by Passport Applicant.

If you are required to submit a general declaration, please print off the following Form B-11 and complete using your own words.

Download Form B11 General Declaration by Passport Application. 

 

 

Japanese Birth Certificate

If one parent of the child applicant is Japanese, please provide an extract of the Japanese Family Register koseki tohon or koseki shohon

If both parents of the child applicant are foreign nationals, please provide the shussho todoke kisai jiko shomeisho OR shussho todoke juri shomeisho (available from the City Office where the birth was registered).

If you are required to present foreign documentation that is not written in English, you must provide an English translation made by an approved translation service. English translations must be an exact copy of the source document.

 

 

Names Different on Citizenship Certificate and Japanese Birth Certificate

If the child was born in Japan, obtained Australian citizenship prior to March 2009 and the Citizenship Certificate shows a different name to the name on their Japanese birth document due to either:

  • romaji spelling of names; or
  • Japanese Authorities not allowing a middle name or Australian parent's surname,

Please complete a Form B-11 to explain the difference.

 

 

Parent's Family Name Change since the Birth of Child (Due to Marriage or Divorce)

If a parent’s current family name is different to the name on the child’s birth document due to marriage or divorce, please submit:

  • Australian birth certificate which records the name change; or
  • Marriage, registered relationship or name change certificate issued by a Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages in Australia; or
  • Divorce certificate issued by a family court (link is external) in Australia; or
  • Japanese family register (Koseki Tohon) which records marriage/divorce details AND its Professional English Translation

 

Lost and stolen passports

If you believe your Australian passport has been lost or stolen, you must report this to us and local Japanese police as soon as possible. Under Japanese law, tourists in Japan must always carry their passports with them. Police can provide you with a police report. A police report may also be required by your travel insurance.

We will cancel your passport as soon as you report it lost or stolen, or if a third party (police, railway company, etc) reports the passport as handed in to them.

You can contact us via email or phone.

Australian Embassy Tokyo 
Consular Section phone: +81 3 5232 4111 (ext. 3)
Email: [email protected]

Australian Consulate-General Osaka 
Consular Section phone: +81 6 6941 9271
Email: [email protected]

For more information on lost and stolen passports, please see Lost and stolen passports | Australian Passport Office

 

Dual Nationality

See the Department of Home Affairs and Smartraveller websites for information about which passport to use when entering/departing Australia and your country of other nationality.

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