It’s certainly not easy to get out of Australia.
Lots of little requirements (it’s worse than software dependencies) before I can even think about it: I need a passport, which means I need a birth certificate, and my parents birth certificates, and some other identifying material, and an interview, and the fees. Worse, I’m starting almost from scratch (and that includes knowledge and know-how).
It’s even harder to get into another country.
For a start, I’ll be going for an ancestry VISA (thanks, Nana!), so I’m pretty sure I need her original birth certificate as well as my parents, and my own … and since she was born in England, getting it may prove troublesome. It’s easier for my partner – her father is a pom, and she’s a dual citizen.
I can’t even imagine what it would be like were we going to a country that was less “buddy-buddy” with Australia than the United Kingdom … I guess we’d just have to figure out who to bribe. (Just kidding, government officials around the world; we love your work.)
First things first, the passport.
Now, in Australia, apparently you can get the passport application form from any Australia Post Office (although I don’t know if there is a fee involved). Once that’s filled out, and all the extra ID found, you take it into some government agency somewhere, they interview you, and take your money.
Looking on the web, there’s about another gazillion forms of documents that they can issue (for a fee, of course), including UN travel documents and certificates of identity. Do I need these? I don’t know.
I think I should talk to a travel agent.