luchi

After a long time we have finally got our citizenship!! Phew.....now we are not sure whether to fork out the money to get the passports or not....we need to go back to UK for a while (family reasons) but hope to come back to Oz.....I will check with immigration...but just wondered if anyone else knew about this....

bcworld

Well you don't need an Aus passport to leave Australia, however you will need one to get back in. If you are planning on being away from Australia for a considerable time you might as well wait and maximise the life of your new passport when you do finally get it.

luchi

cheers..thats what we though....we still have uk ones....really I think once we have citizenship we dont need passport to prove it...

iolande

my husband just got his citizenship and he was told verbally that he would need a passport to get into Australia when traveling. He also got a letter that said that a passport was the preferred method of entry to Australia. Having looked into it apparently you can travel without a passport as technically they have to allow you in, but not before you go through the hassle of them verifying your citizenship (which can take several hours - not something I'd want after a long haul flight)

luchi

thats good to know...cheers

iolande

this is where I got the info:

http://www.smartraveller.gov.au/tips/dualnat.html

An Australian citizen who arrives without an Australian passport may be delayed until their identity and claims to enter Australia have been checked. If a foreign passport holder claims to be an Australian citizen, immigration officers must confirm and verify this through official databases. This will invariably cause some delays to the person while the authorities undertake the necessary enquiries.

International airlines have an obligation to ensure that they only carry appropriately documented passengers to Australia. In the absence of an Australian passport, airlines are unable to assess an Australian citizen's claimed citizenship at the time of check-in and may decline to carry the traveller. Or they may have to make inquiries with the Department of Immigration and Citizenship in Australia seeking approval to carry the passenger which takes time and may cause inconvenience to the passenger.

Centurion

If you tried to re-enter Australia on a UK passport you would look mighty silly and not to mention the embarrassment being taken to one side by immigration who would have to sort it all out. Even though you COULD turn up to immigration with your citizenship papers you would still be delayed for who knows how long whilst its resolved. The procedure would normally be for people with lost passports whilst abroad and similar emergency situations.

I must admit if I were standing behind you in the immigration queue I was would be thinking myself "what an idiot" and pretty much I reckon thats what the immigration officer would be thinking too.

That is of course even if your airline will allow you to board the flight back to Australia since your visa is no longer valid.

As you can see - its not worth it. Just get a passport. I'm not really sure why you would think that you don't need a passport to be honest. Would you expect the same if you turned up to the UK with an Australian passport ?

On the plus side your new passport means it will be biometric so you can make use of the new Australian Citizen electronic entry gates which are very cool indeed and you dont even speak to an immigration officer, you just get scanned and the gate opens Its so quick and saves queuing.

luchi

thanks for the reponse..yes...silly is the word here...the point is money is tight at the mo hence the question....

from the silly idiot!!!

cat5

Don't forget that when you get your citizenship, your PR visa in your UK passport is automatically cancelled, so it's a good idea to get the aussie one for hassle free travel.....

craig_m67

Is that true ?
I wonder, could I leave on my UK passport, even though I last re-entered on my Aust. one.
Surely they'd be inclined to ask me how the hell I got here?

could end up on border security.. ooh the fame.

EvannTel

They might. Best to leave and enter Aus on Aus one. What you do from there is your business

craig_m67

that would mean renewing the Aust. one before i left.
i too am in two minds about staying in Aust.

and i'm an Aussie

EvannTel

You can renew in UK, I have without any drama.

craig_m67

yep, I know.. hence the question about leaving Aust. on a UK passport that is .. apart from an entry/exit for Cuba in 2003, completly blank.

"I realise you're leaving sir.. but how'd you get here in the first place."

comet555

Your visa label will still be in your UK passport, so they would know exactly how you got in. It would also be on the computers.

We also have stamps every time we entered Australia, surely you'd have some of those in there somewhere.