Proof of Age

For my Permanent Residency (PR) application, I need to show that I am between 18-29 years of age in order to get that 30 points. And the documents that would be required of me are my passport as well as a translated copy of my birth certificate.












Passport:
I had to renew my passport prior to lodgement because my passport only had a couple of months left in it before it expires. I am actually allowed to lodge my application with my old passport and inform the department of immigration once I've renewed my passport so that they can update their system with my new passport details. But because I am planning to go back to Malaysia before my student visa expires, I thought that I might as well get my passport renewed and update my student visa details so that I would not encounter any problems or difficulties when I re-enter the country.

What I had to do was to:
1. download the application form here
2. fill it up and call the Malaysian High Commission to make an appointment at 9am
3. bring along my original identity card (IC) and a photocopy
4. bring along the original passport
5. bring along 2 recent passport sized photos (or have your picture taken on that same day for $12)
6. present all of the above to the person in charge
7. pay the application fee of $110
7. collect your new passport at 3pm the same day

It's pretty much a straight forward procedure. The only hassle is the waiting time between 10am and 3pm. What I did was I caught the bus home, grabbed some lunch and then headed back. Spent a lot of time traveling in the bus, but I didn't mind.

And once my passport was renewed, I headed straight to the Department of Immigration in the City Center to inform them of my change of passport details. Before I went over, I had to print out Form 929 and fill it up and submit it together with a photocopy of your old and new passport. Because I came straight from the embassy, the staff at the department were kind enough to make a photocopy of both my passports for me without charge. Changes will then be reflected in my online student visa after 24 hours.

Cost: Application fee $110 + 2 x Passport photos $12
Total: $122

Birth Certificate:
I actually got my birth certificate translated at the Malaysian High Commission here in Canberra when I got my Police Checks done for $10. But I later found out that the department of immigration only accepted translated documents by translators from the National Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreters (NAATI).

So what I had to do was to head to the NAATI website, follow the selected prompts and locate my nearest NAATI translator. Once I located a translator (there was only one in Canberra for Malay to English translation), I contacted him via email about my query. He called me back later in the day and asked me to email him a scanned copy of my birth certificate, both front and back (even if the back was blank) and he will translate it and affix his legal stamp and arrange for a meeting time where I will have to pay him $40 for his service.

Required:
1. Locate NAATI translator
2. Email scanned, coloured documents
3. Meet up to pay $40 and collect translated documents

The translator here in Canberra is pretty efficient. I sent him an email on a Friday afternoon, he called me in the evening, I emailed him my document the night itself and he could get it translated and ready for pick up the next day.

Cost: $40 + $10 (unofficial translation from Malaysian High Commission)
Total: $50


Total costs for proof of age: $172

Back to PR Application Checklist