As a dual national family, we have a big pile of passports. My husband, myself and our two daughters all hold an Australian and a Dutch passport.
Judging from emails and comments I’ve had over the years via this website, if you are also a dual national, I’d urge you to keep up to date with the rules and regulations of citizenship and residency via the official channels:
For Australians in The Netherlands:
The Australian Embassy, The Hague
For Dutch in Australia:
We’ve realised that our youngest daughter’s Australian passport is about to expire, so thought I’d share the process we’re going through to renew it here in The Hague. Please note – we are sharing this from our own experience and to try and help others, but things can change all the time so make sure you check everything yourself!
1. Visit & read through the Passport section on the Australian Embassy in NL site: http://www.netherlands.embassy.gov.au/thag/PassportGeneral.html
2. Choose the situation that is relevant to you and follow the checklist carefully. For us, we’re renewing a passport for a minor so needed to follow this link: http://www.netherlands.embassy.gov.au/thag/pc8minor.html
3. If you are eligible for an choose to fill out the application form online, this is the place to start: https://www.passports.gov.au/Web/Forms/EntryPoint.aspx
4. Work through filling out all the relevant details
5. Find someone to act as a guarantor. There are certain restrictions to this. We have a friend who has known our daughter for more than a year, and she herself has an Australian passport. Before you get them to sign, make sure you have already done step 6 as they will need to sign the photos too.
6. Organise passport photos that fit the (strict) regulations. Important note – these are different to the Dutch passport photo sizes! We went to our local post office here in Ypenburg, and I ended up paying twice (at 10 euros per time) as the first set he did was the wrong size, and they can’t be measured until they are printed.
7. Gather all the paperwork including authorisation to pay the fee (currently 86 euros for a minor for a 5 year passport.
8. You can post to the Australian Embassy but I decided to drop it all off myself as I live in The Hague. Note if you drive there, parking is near impossible right near the embassy, but I managed to get a spot a bit further down the road. The other advantage to taking it in yourself if you’re able to is that they check it all there for you.
9. Wait for the brand new passport to arrive in the post!
Dutch Australian 