Do you know how many travel documents are processed at the Honorary Consulate General of France in Melbourne each year?
Since the arrival of the passport machine in Melbourne in 2016, there was a large increase in passports applications. The Consular Agency in Melbourne processed on average just under one thousand of passports per year till the end of 2019. Due to Covid, the lockdowns and two years of border closures, this amount plummeted in 2020 and in 2021
From mid 2022, with the return to normal activities, the French Consulate in Melbourne has seen a large increase in passports applications.
This trend is general throughout Australia with all French consular agencies processing more applications within the first five months of 2023 than in the first six months of 2022! This is mainly explained by the increase of first -time applications from binational French-Australian citizens.
This growing demand for travel and identity documents is even more significant in Melbourne:
- From January 1 to July 31 2023, 734 passport and identity card applications have already been received and processed.
- This makes the Honorary Consulate in Melbourne the most active in Australia amongst all the Honorary Consulates
Red column estimates figures for the rest of 2023.
A little bit of trivia... this rise in demand has not been matched by an increase in human resources which can impact document processing time. In Melbourne, as in Perth and Brisbane, it is still a single consular officer, sometimes supported by trainees, who is responsible for receiving applications for travel and identity documents. Despite this, our services are doing their best to satisfy requests and facilitate administrative procedures for French nationals in Victoria.
