How to get your passport application witnessed

Getting Your Application Witnessed

The information below is intended only as a general guide. Please read all the instructions that accompany the application form for detailed advice on the documents required in your particular case.

Which sections of the APS2E form need to be witnessed?

• All applications: Identification (Section 9, including two of the accompanying passport photographs
• Applications for under 18s: Consent of parents/guardians (Section 7) and Section 9 as above

A member of one of the professions listed below can witness your passport application form as long as they are satisfied as to your identify and that your four photos are a true likeness of you. Make sure you bring photo identification with you and be aware that the witness may ask you for more proof of identification - this is at their discretion.

Please note that in Austria, police officers generally do not act as witnesses for passport applications.

• Member of clergy
• Medical doctor
• Lawyer
• Bank manager/assistant bank manager
• Elected public representative
• Notary public/commissioner for oaths
• Peace commissioner
• School principal/vice principal
• Accountant

Your application form is only valid for six months from the date your witness signs Section 9.

You must:

• Sign Section 8 of the form in the presence of the witness. Everyone aged seven and over must sign their own form

The witness must:

• Complete Section 9 of the form, including a work landline phone number - mobile phone numbers will not be accepted
• Insert the form number from Section 9 on the back of two of your four photos
• Sign and stamp the back of those two photos

Consent of parents or guardians:

This is an additional requirement for children. Everyone under the age of 18 must have the consent of their parents/guardians to get a passport and this consent must be witnessed. The only exception to this is if the child is married.

Parents/guardians must:

• Fill in and sign the relevant part of Section 7 of the passport application form in the presence of a listed witness (same list as above)
• Find out what to do if both parents/guardians are unable to sign Section 7

The witness must:

• Complete, sign and stamp Section 7, including a work landline telephone number - mobile telephone numbers are not acceptable.
• Sign each column separately if they witness both parents/guardians' signatures.