In preparation for our visit to Hong Kong possibly at the end of the year, our baby needs to apply for an Australian passport.
為準備年底可能到香港一遊（大人要跟寶寶，不可以說回港），寶寶要申領澳洲護照。After we the parents filled in the application form, we needed to have the baby's photo taken and went to a camera shop. The biggest problem was that our baby smiled at the staff's camera by habit, like looking at our phones, but passport photos supposedly only allow a neutral facial expression. The staff decided to turn to the next customer before returning to us, but right at that moment our baby stopped smiling and my wife told the staff to snap a shot quickly. The staff guaranteed that the last shot would definitely meet the passport requirement, so we've passed the photo step.
填申請表後，先要為寶寶拍護照相片，為求專業，我們光顧一家攝影店，寶寶最大的「問題」，是見到店員拿相機時笑容流露，就像我們平時拍照般，但護照相片是不容展露笑容的啊。店員因為不想耽誤下個顧客，正開始招待其時，寶寶有一刻歛起笑臉，太太趕緊着店員捕捉那一剎，結果是連店員也說這幀相片保證合規，算是過了第一關。
The next customer 下一個顧客
Then we needed a witness for a couple of requirements in the form. The baby's identity had to be attested - wife didn't understand why, so I explained that it was necessitated by a lack of centralised persons registration system, and the attestation would be akin to how joining some clubs required the endorsement by existing members. The application also required both parents' consent witnessed by a third person. Wife found it complicated, and I suggested that possible reasons could be preventing child trafficking or leaving the country during custody dispute. Wife was left to admire at the comprehensive thoughts behind those witnessing requirements, which thankfully could be easily fulfilled by asking one of our neighbours.
第二關是申請表上的見證要求，寶寶的相片要另一名無親屬關係的澳籍人士確認其身份，太太不明其目的，我便解釋說，因為澳洲沒有統一的人事登記制度，所以便好像某些會籍般要靠現有會員推薦入會的原理一樣。另一點是要有人見證父母雙方皆同意護照申請，太太覺得煩複，因為申請香港兒童特區護照時只用父母其中一方簽名便作實，我推測是為防拐帶兒童或撫養權有爭議時父母其中一人帶兒童出境吧，太太唯有佩服想得這麼周到。此兩項見證，正可由我們一個鄰居肩負。
The last step was to submit the application at an Australian Post outlet (there is no passport office outlet). Postal staff went through the standard checks of the form and the identity documents of one of the parents (me in this case), and in the end the staff told us that there was actually no need to bring the baby. Wife and I were taken back: for all the considerations and safeguards in the passport application, how would one allow the perspective passport holder not to present themselves in person to ascertain that such a person exists! Wouldn't that be a major oversight, we both wondered.
最後一關是我們三人前往郵局遞交申請（澳洲是要經郵局遞交，沒有護照辦公室），職員循例核對表格和父（母亦可）的幾款身份證明文件後，說了句「其實你們不用帶寶寶來，只要父或母其中一人現身便可」，倒令我和太太錯愕：申請表的構思那麼慎密，但最終卻毋須確認真有寶寶其人，那倒是百密一大疏啊！
Our baby's passport was issued with exceptional efficiency and arrived one week after submission. When I opened the passport, I was simply amazed by the beautiful pictures of the various Australian landmarks! It would make for a good introduction to places around Australia when baby grows up, and with arrival and departure date stamps fast becoming a thing of the past, this passport will be like a picture album for a keepsake after expiry.
寶寶的護照，簽發效率極快，遞交後剛好一週便寄到舍下，我打開護照內頁，馬上「嘩」了一聲，是一幅接一幅漂亮的澳洲各地風景畫！我說正好可以用以向寶寶介紹澳洲各地，而且現在趨勢是護照免蓋章，所以護照到期失效後可以當成一本精美的畫册保存呢。
After the passport, the next hurdle is booking the flight!
有了護照，接着的難關就是訂機票！
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