Returning to Australia After Years Abroad: Documents You May Need
Table of contents
If you are an Australian citizen, you need only a current Australian passport to come home. The rest depends on who comes with you and what you will do here. Children born overseas may need Australian citizenship by descent, a non-citizen partner needs a visa, and permanent residents may need a Resident Return visa. Collect foreign records before you leave.
Key takeaways
- Home Affairs says an Australian citizen needs only a current Australian passport to enter. Dual citizens should use it when leaving and returning.
- Children born overseas to an Australian parent generally need to apply for citizenship by descent before they can hold an Australian passport.
- A permanent resident whose travel facility has ended generally needs a Resident Return visa to return as a permanent resident.
- A non-citizen partner needs their own visa. Their overseas police certificates are easiest to get while you are still there.
- Foreign documents are legalised, if at all, in the country that issued them. DFAT and Australian notaries cannot do it here.
- Many Australian bodies accept a foreign document with an English translation, without legalisation. Ask first.
What does each family member need to enter Australia?
The Department of Home Affairs' page on travel documents for citizens and permanent residents sets out the basic position. An Australian citizen has an automatic right of entry and needs only a current Australian passport. A citizen who arrives without one may have their entry delayed while their identity and citizenship are checked. If you hold another nationality as well, Home Affairs says to use your Australian passport when leaving and returning. If your passport has expired, you can apply for a new one at an Australian embassy or consulate before you travel.
Permanent residents are in a different position. Home Affairs explains that an initial permanent visa generally gives permission to return for a limited period, and after that a permanent resident needs a valid visa, such as a Resident Return visa, to come back as a permanent resident. Former citizens who lost or renounced citizenship need a permanent visa, or may be eligible to resume citizenship. Check your own position on the Home Affairs site well before you book flights.
| Family member | What they usually need | Who decides |
|---|---|---|
| Australian citizen | Current Australian passport | Australian Passport Office for the passport |
| Child born overseas to an Australian parent | Citizenship by descent, then an Australian passport | Home Affairs, then the Passport Office |
| Permanent resident whose travel facility ended | Resident Return visa | Home Affairs |
| Former Australian citizen | A permanent visa or resumption of citizenship | Home Affairs |
| Non-citizen partner | A visa, often a partner visa | Home Affairs |
| Non-citizen stepchild or other dependant | A visa in their own right | Home Affairs |
What about children born overseas?
A child born overseas to an Australian citizen parent is generally not an Australian citizen automatically in the way a child born here to a citizen parent is. The parent usually applies to Home Affairs for Australian citizenship by descent, and once it is granted, applies for the child's Australian passport. The application needs evidence such as the child's foreign birth certificate, evidence of the parent's citizenship, and identity documents. Home Affairs generally accepts certified copies and English translations; it does not usually ask for an apostille on the foreign birth certificate. Check the current evidence list on the Home Affairs site.
Start this early. It is far easier while you are still in the country of birth, where you can order extra copies of the birth certificate and get a translation. Australian state registries generally do not register births that happened overseas, so the child's Australian citizenship record, together with the foreign birth certificate, is what they will use here.
Which foreign documents should you collect before you leave?
Every year abroad leaves a trail of records you may need in Australia: marriage and children's birth certificates, divorce orders, degrees and professional registrations, employment references, tax and pension records, medical and immunisation records, rental and bank histories. Getting any of them from Australia later means posting requests to foreign offices, often in another language, and waiting.
If an Australian body will want a foreign document legalised, that has to happen in the country that issued it. DFAT only legalises Australian public documents and copies notarised by Australian notaries, and an Australian notary cannot confirm that a foreign registry's document is genuine. So if, for example, an Australian court or a professional body asks for an apostilled foreign marriage certificate, get the apostille from that country's authority before you leave. Many Australian bodies, including Home Affairs, usually accept foreign documents with an English translation and no legalisation, so ask each body what it wants before paying for extra steps.
What about your partner's visa?
A partner who is not an Australian citizen needs a visa in their own right, and a partner visa application asks for a lot of evidence: identity, the relationship, and character. Character evidence usually includes police certificates from countries where the partner has lived for a set period, which are much easier to obtain in person in that country than by post from Australia. The relationship evidence includes the marriage certificate, if married, and records of your life together overseas: a joint lease, joint bank statements, correspondence. Collect them before the move. Our guide to partner visa documents explains which need certifying and which do not.
For Home Affairs, a copy certified by an authorised person is usually enough, and a notary is often not needed. Translations made in Australia should be by a NAATI certified translator; translations made overseas need the translator's full name, address, telephone number and qualifications.
How do you prepare for the move home?
- Check every family member's entry position. Passport, citizenship by descent, Resident Return visa, or a visa for a partner.
- Renew passports early. An expired Australian passport can be replaced through an Australian embassy or consulate.
- Order extra foreign certificates. Marriage, children's births, divorce, degrees, with more than one original where possible.
- Ask Australian bodies what they need. Whether plain copies, certified copies, translations or legalisation.
- Legalise foreign documents there. Only those an Australian body has asked to have apostilled or legalised.
- Collect police certificates and references. For a partner visa and for work, while you can still get them in person.
- Arrange translations. NAATI in Australia, or overseas with the translator's full details, as the body requires.
What happens once you are home?
A second round of paperwork follows, mostly not notarial: re-enrolling in Medicare, telling the ATO your residency has changed, converting an overseas driver licence under your state or territory's rules, enrolling children in school with their immunisation history, and having overseas qualifications recognised for your profession. Each body sets its own evidence rules. A certified copy for an Australian body can usually be made by a JP or another authorised witness at no charge, and a notary is not normally needed. Our guide to certified translation in Australia explains how to get foreign records translated here.
What if your Australian documents have lapsed?
After years away, the Australian documents you left with may no longer be current. An expired Australian passport has to be renewed before you travel, and that can be done through an Australian embassy or consulate. If you have lost your citizenship certificate and need proof of citizenship, for example for a child's citizenship by descent application, Home Affairs has a process for evidence of Australian citizenship. An Australian driver licence that expired while you were away is dealt with under your state or territory's rules, which differ; some let you renew, others treat you as a new applicant.
Your Australian birth certificate does not expire, but if you took the only copy overseas, or it is laminated or damaged, order a fresh one from the registry in the state where you were born. Most registries accept applications from overseas, although identity checks by post take longer. If you plan to use any Australian document in another country later, keep it unlaminated, since DFAT refuses laminated, framed or altered documents.
Will you need a notary at all?
Often not. Most of the paperwork for coming home is for Australian bodies, which generally accept certified copies from a JP or another authorised witness, and translations by a NAATI certified translator. A notary becomes relevant when a document is going the other way: for example, if you still have property, a pension or a company in the country you are leaving, and a foreign office later asks for a notarised signature or certified copy from you in Australia. Our guide to documents for a foreign pension covers one common example.
Common mistakes to avoid
The first is booking flights before checking whether a permanent resident's return visa is still valid, or whether a child's citizenship has been granted. The second is leaving without extra foreign certificates, then waiting months for them by post. The third is asking an Australian notary or DFAT to apostille a foreign document; that happens in the country that issued it. The fourth is paying for foreign legalisation that the Australian body never asked for. The fifth is a dual citizen travelling home on their other passport.
Here is an illustration, not a real case.
Hannah has lived in Germany for nine years with her German husband and their two children. Before moving back to Adelaide, she applies for the children's Australian citizenship by descent and then their passports, orders extra German birth and marriage certificates, and her husband gets his German police certificate for his partner visa. Home Affairs does not ask for apostilles, so she gets NAATI translations in Adelaide instead.
In short
An Australian citizen needs only a current Australian passport to come home. Children born overseas usually need citizenship by descent first, permanent residents may need a Resident Return visa, and a non-citizen partner needs a visa of their own. Collect foreign certificates, police certificates and references before you leave, and legalise foreign documents there only if an Australian body asks. Our document translation services page covers translating foreign records for Australian use.
People also search for
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Coming home with foreign documents that need translating or certifying? Tell us what you have and who needs it, and we will explain each step before you book.
Frequently asked questions
What do I need to return to Australia as a citizen?
A current Australian passport. Home Affairs says a citizen arriving without one may have their entry delayed while their identity and citizenship are checked.
I am a dual citizen. Which passport do I use to come home?
Home Affairs says dual citizens should use their Australian passport when leaving and returning to Australia.
Is my child born overseas automatically Australian?
Generally not in the same way as a child born in Australia. The parent usually applies for Australian citizenship by descent, then for the child's Australian passport.
I am a permanent resident who has been away for years. Can I come back?
If the travel facility on your permanent visa has ended, you generally need a Resident Return visa to return as a permanent resident. Check your position with Home Affairs before travelling.
Do my foreign documents need an apostille for Australia?
Often not. Many Australian bodies, including Home Affairs, usually accept foreign documents with an English translation. Ask each body what it needs.
Can DFAT apostille my foreign marriage certificate?
No. DFAT only legalises Australian public documents. A foreign certificate is legalised, if needed, in the country that issued it.
Can an Australian notary certify my foreign documents?
A notary can certify that a copy matches a foreign original they have sighted, but cannot confirm the foreign document is genuine. For Australian bodies, a JP or authorised witness copy is usually enough.
Who can translate foreign documents for Home Affairs?
In Australia, a NAATI certified translator. Translations made overseas need the translator's full name, address, telephone number and qualifications.
When should my partner get their police certificates?
Before leaving the country where they live, if possible. Police certificates are usually much easier to obtain in person there than by post from Australia.
What should I do once I am back?
Re-enrol in Medicare, update your tax residency, convert your driver licence under your state's rules, and enrol children in school. Each body sets its own evidence rules.
