Shhhhhh

Hi, I will be traveling into Perth next Saturday from Singapore with Jetstar for a week´s holiday/business, and my problem is, that although I am a naturalized Australian citizen, I never got around to apply for a passport since I left two years ago.
I presumed, I could use an evisitor tourist visa instead, just for the purpose of getting through immigration at Perth airport, but this was denied online, as they apparently can access citizenship data. I also have an expired permanent visa in my PP, expired since October of last year, though.
I don´t have my citizenship certificate with me at the moment, it is stored elsewhere, where I can hardly access it in time, so do I have any other options to prove my citizenship in Perth at immigration? Would they have access to data, that proves, that I am a citizen, without me showing any proof for it?
Anyone else been in that situation before?

Shhhhhh

I just found this online:

"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, which will cause delays.

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 verify a claim of Australian citizenship at the time of check-in and may refuse boarding. The airline 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 delays."

So my main problem will be for Jetstar to let me onboard. Anybody has any experience how to deal with that. Should I try to contact their helpline and advice them in advance of the situation? I might try straight away.

Shellyj

You're right in that you main problem will be boarding in Singapore. Airlines get massive fines for bringing in passangers who do not have a valid visa so are quite vigilant about this. Contacting the airline may help but you could still face issues with the check in desk.
You can get a evidence of your citizenship from DIAC but probably not by next week! Maybe contact DIAC.

Shhhhhh

Just checked with their helpline staff in Bangolore, apparently Jetstar under some Singapore airport regulation has a second option apart from presenting the PP, which is your Australian driver´s licence. So I´m a lucky bunny again.
But anyway, some moral support from anyone, who´s gone through the same situation is still appreciated.

dsugums

I am not a PR or citizen, but I have Victorian driving license. That does not make me an Aussie

Shellyj

We went through the same when hubby was granted citizenship a few days before we felw to Sydney. We had a paniked few days, traveled to London and paid silly money for an emergency passport to ensure he was not turned back at the gate!

Very true about the driving licence. Anyone on a PR visa should get the licence transfered to an Aus one. That does not make them a citizen or prove they have a visa!

bcworld

I would be very worried about taking that advice to be honest.

Shhhhhh

Yes, I´m just developing a game plan of showing my wife´s PP together with our marriage certificate, I had situations like that before - police check at night in Nairobi . and I´m gonna sweet talk my way out of this one, too.

Shhhhhh

I just want to round up this topic by recounting my experiences of flying into Perth from Singapore with Jetstar without showing an Australian passport last July.

At the Jetstar check in desk in Singapore, it seemed to me, that this had happened quite a few times before, travelers having had their passport chewed up or washed out, as I was asked first, what had happened to my passport. The agent made one phone call, I presented my Australian drivers license and was allowed on board.
Immigration in Perth made me feel pretty stupid, I was handed a little flyer and instructed about the necessity to travel with appropriate documents.

On leaving Perth again, I was marked, and sent to the immigration office, where it took a representative about ten minutes to hammer my case into a computer, which was quite embarrassing again, as I was obviously the one to cause all this extra work.

I still haven´ t figured out all the legal intricacies of the case, which would become valid, for example, in the case of Australians demanding access to embassy grounds in an emergency situation and not having their passports with them. In a way, I don´t think, that there are too many people, who won´t budge an eye claiming a certain nationality falsely. So real life cases will be few and far between and handled liberally by the authorities.