passport application process (ongoing)

I found my birth certificate! Deep in a box of paperwork that was moved when I disposed of the second desk. Pretty much right where I thought it would be, but it needed a long weekend to get round to emptying the box out and sorting through it.

Great! Right, now I can finish my passport application.

I need acceptable passport photos. You can do them yourself, following very strict guidelines, but the easiest option is to pay the good folks at Australia Post a tad under $15 to do them for you, no appointment necessary. They'll keep taking photos until they get it right, print them out on the spot for you, and the lovely woman who did mine was even able to get the branch manager to check them before I left to make sure they'd be accepted at the passport interview (which, conveniently, is at the same Australia Post branch).

All set. Now for the form. You can fill in a paper form (available from Australia Post), or fill in the electronic version found at www.passports.gov.au . Easy! Almost. I need a marriage certificate to explain the name change from my birth certificate to now. Yep - I have one of those. It has to be an official one issued by the Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages. Oh. I have the one from the wedding, but not the officially issued one, which apparently isn't supplied at the time (unlike birth certificates). Right then - BDM. I can save time by ordering and collecting the certificate in person - they'll issue it on the spot, and I can save $5 postage into the bargain. Great! I just need to supply 3 original documents to prove my identity - a little painful, but to be expected, and I think I need to supply similar docs with the passport application anyway. But wait! I can apply online, answer a few simple questions, and they'll post it out within a few days - no documents required (but an extra $5). Certificate ordered within minutes. Marvellous!

What's next? Guarantor details - someone who can vouch that you are who you say you are, and your photo is you. Fortunately my chosen guarantor has an amazing memory, and is able to supply the necessary detail of how many years and months we have known each other, because I have no freaking idea of those sorts of details! And now I know her middle name - you never know when that sort of detail might come in handy ;)

So now ... I wait for the official marriage certificate to arrive in the mail, and if it's here by Friday I can finish filling in the application form, have the photos signed by my gorgeous guarantor, gather my identification documents (originals only, please!) and make the interview appointment on Monday morning. And if it doesn't turn up in Friday's mail, I reschedule the interview for the end of the week instead.

Nearly there (and I think I can book the Eurostar trip this weekend too!).