Australian Lost Passport: getting back to Australia [without it]

[Lendav Orav]

Any (honorary) consulate can issue a Certificate of Return, which is a document that is just valid for travel back to the country of citizenship. You shouldn't need an emergency passport to be issued. Unless Australia has a different policy, this is standard consular practice.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Any (honorary) consulate can issue a Certificate of Return, which is a document that is just valid for travel back to the country of citizenship. You shouldn't need an emergency passport to be issued. Unless Australia has a different policy, this is standard consular practice.

I had to do a bit of searching on this! It's apparently called a Provisional Travel Document for Australian purposes. There are other names given to the same sort of thing by other countries.

It does say it is for emergency travel and it seems to be that this is available in countries where there is no other means to be able to obtain a valid Australian travel document.

Taken from Australian Passports Determination 2015:

Subsection 9(1) provides that provisional travel documents may be issued to Australian citizens overseas when they are unable to obtain another Australian travel document; for example, because there is no Australian mission in the country they are in. These documents may be issued if an identity document is required to permit an Australian to travel from one foreign country to another country where there is an Australian mission where the person may obtain a passport or other Australian travel document. Provisional travel documents are issued by Australian Honorary Consuls and other countries’ missions (such as missions representing Canada) in places where Australia has in place consular sharing arrangements.​

This would appear to rule out the OP's case where there was an Australian High Commission available.

 

[Lendav Orav]

I had to do a bit of searching on this! It's apparently called a Provisional Travel Document for Australian purposes. There are other names given to the same sort of thing by other countries.

It does say it is for emergency travel and it seems to be that this is available in countries where there is no other means to be able to obtain a valid Australian travel document.

Taken from Australian Passports Determination 2015:

Subsection 9(1) provides that provisional travel documents may be issued to Australian citizens overseas when they are unable to obtain another Australian travel document; for example, because there is no Australian mission in the country they are in. These documents may be issued if an identity document is required to permit an Australian to travel from one foreign country to another country where there is an Australian mission where the person may obtain a passport or other Australian travel document. Provisional travel documents are issued by Australian Honorary Consuls and other countries’ missions (such as missions representing Canada) in places where Australia has in place consular sharing arrangements.​

This would appear to rule out the OP's case where there was an Australian High Commission available.

Right! Interesting! Thanks for clarifying. I'm an HC for another country in Australia and we issue certificates of return back to the homeland even though we have an embassy here (but the embassy doesn't have a passport machine). Australia is obviously a bit tighter on this. You have to get to an embassy or a high commission (but can do so with a provisional travel document).

 

[eric2011]

Could your wife have applied for a new NZ passport? I guess she already had a NZ passport with you in Australia and not exactly lost but I wonder if it's be quicker to get that done in NZ and might also means she won't need to travel to Wellington for it to be processed?

I understand what you are saying but it still would have taken a day or two and we would still have needed to get an AU passport back here so would have outlayed for 2 passports plus the 1 or 2 days expenses waiting.
No, I got her home as quick as possible with the least amount of stress (for her, not me lol) and what I think was the minimum cost.

 

[flyingmachine]

I understand what you are saying but it still would have taken a day or two and we would still have needed to get an AU passport back here so would have outlayed for 2 passports plus the 1 or 2 days expenses waiting.
No, I got her home as quick as possible with the least amount of stress (for her, not me lol) and what I think was the minimum cost.

Oh I understand what you've done and why - was just curious what options might've been available.
Have found the NZ passport office to be very helpful in emergency situations previously so thought they might've been worth a try.