Practical · Passport and visa records
New passport and your Australian visa: updating the Department, lost passports, and when VEVO finds nothing
An Australian visa has no label and no stamp; it is a record held against a passport number, and the airline, the border and the VEVO service all look it up by that number. A renewed passport, a replacement after loss or theft, a passport in a married name, or a second nationality’s passport each break the link until the Department is told, and the moment people discover it is at check-in. This guide sets out how the update is done for each case, the longer route when a passport was lost or stolen overseas, the trap of a visa granted against a passport already cancelled, the timing before a flight, and the reasons VEVO reports no visa for a visa that exists.
By Keshab Chapagain, registered migration agent (MARN 1576536) since 2015 · WIDEN, Sydney · Reviewed October 2026
Keshab Chapagain · MARN 1576536 · Registered since 2015 - The visa
- Still valid; recorded against the old passport
- Routine renewal
- Update in ImmiAccount; usually days
- Lost or stolen
- Police report, consulate, replacement, then the Department’s lost-passport notification
- Granted on a cancelled passport
- Update immediately after grant
- Before a flight
- Update as soon as the passport is issued, not the week before
- VEVO no record
- Mismatch, wrong reference, not yet granted, or ceased
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Why the passport number matters
Australia issues no visa labels. A visa is a record in the Department's system, identified by a grant number and linked to the passport the holder gave in the application. Airlines check that record through the Advance Passenger Processing system before boarding anyone for Australia, and a passenger whose passport returns no visa is refused boarding, because the airline is fined for carrying them. Border officers, employers using VEVO, and the holder's own VEVO check all search by passport. A new passport has a new number, and until the Department links the visa to it, every one of those searches finds nothing. The visa is unaffected; the holder's ability to prove it is not.
A routine renewal
A passport renewed before expiry, or after, with the same name and nationality, is updated in ImmiAccount: open the application from which the visa was granted, use the update-details function, choose the passport change, enter the new number, dates and country, and upload the biodata page. Where the visa was granted through an agent's account or is not visible in your own, the Department's passport-details web form takes the same information. The update usually appears in VEVO within a few days, sometimes longer, and the holder checks VEVO against the new passport before booking travel. Each family member's passport is updated separately, including children, and an expired passport that was the one the visa was recorded on should be kept until the update is confirmed.
A passport lost or stolen overseas
A passport lost or stolen abroad is reported to the local police, for the report that the consulate and the Department will want, and to the holder's own country's consulate for a replacement passport or an emergency travel document. The Department is then notified of the loss and of the new document. The online update function has not, historically, accepted loss or theft as a reason for a passport change, and the Department's form for a lost, stolen or damaged passport, with the police report and the new document, is the route; the Department cancels the link to the old passport, so that it cannot be used, and links the visa to the new one. The process takes longer than a renewal and the holder should not assume the link is made until VEVO shows it. Where a flight is imminent, the nearest Australian embassy or high commission can confirm the visa and, where necessary, assist with the airline. An emergency travel document is a document the Department can link a visa to, but a short-validity document may raise questions at the border, and the holder carries the police report and the grant letter.
A visa granted on a passport you had cancelled
An applicant who renews their passport while an application is pending, and does not tell the Department, is granted a visa recorded against the old passport, which their own country has now cancelled. The grant letter shows the old number. The visa is valid, but the only passport it is linked to no longer exists, and the holder cannot travel until the update is made. The fix is the same update, made immediately on reading the grant letter. The prevention is to notify the Department of the new passport during processing, which also ensures the grant letter is correct from the start.
A change of name or nationality
A passport issued in a new name after marriage, divorce or a legal change is notified with the document that explains the change, the marriage certificate or the change-of-name certificate, so that the Department records both names and links the visa. A passport of a different nationality, where the holder has naturalised elsewhere, is notified in the same way with the new nationality; the visa continues, and the Department updates the nationality on the record, though for some visas a change of nationality after grant can be relevant to conditions. A pending application in which the applicant's name changes is updated by the change-of-circumstances process, and the application proceeds under the new name with both recorded: the change of circumstances guide.
Dual nationals and two passports
A visa is linked to one passport. A dual national who applied on one passport and travels on the other finds no visa against the second, and is refused boarding. The holder travels on the passport the visa is linked to, or notifies the Department of the second passport so that the visa is linked to it instead; the Department does not hold a visa against two passports at once. A person who becomes an Australian citizen travels on an Australian passport and their former visa ceases; a person who holds a visa and also New Zealand citizenship is in a special position and should check which document the record follows.
Travelling before the update shows
The update is made the day the new passport arrives, and travel is booked after VEVO confirms it. Where travel cannot wait, the holder carries the old passport, if still held, with the new one, and the grant letter; some airlines will accept the visa shown against the old passport number with both documents, and some will not, and the Department's helpline or the nearest mission can sometimes confirm the visa to the airline. None of this is reliable, and a holder who departs Australia on an un-updated passport should expect the return leg to be the difficult one.
When VEVO says no visa found
- Passport mismatch. The passport number entered is not the one the visa was granted against, because of a renewal not yet notified, a passport replaced after loss, or a typo. Check the number on the grant letter. This is the commonest cause.
- Wrong reference. VEVO accepts the visa grant number, the transaction reference number from ImmiAccount, or the visa evidence number, each with the passport; a reference of one type entered in the field for another returns nothing.
- Not yet granted. VEVO shows granted visas only; a pending application, including one marked finalised in ImmiAccount before the grant letter arrives, is checked in ImmiAccount, not VEVO.
- Ceased or cancelled. A visa that has expired, that ceased when a new visa was granted, or that was cancelled, returns no current record, and the holder's ImmiAccount or correspondence explains which.
An employer running a VEVO check meets the same four causes, and a worker whose check fails on a passport mismatch has a record problem rather than a work-rights problem: the employer VEVO guide.
Pending applications and bridging visas
A bridging visa is recorded against the passport held when it was granted, and a bridging visa B used for travel needs the new passport linked before departure in the same way. An applicant with a pending application notifies the new passport through that application, so that the eventual grant is recorded correctly, and so that any health examination, police certificate or identity check already done is matched to the new document rather than repeated. Where the passport was lost with the application pending, the Department is told so that the old passport is not relied on at decision.
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General information only, current at October 2026; not advice on your own case. Section 104 of the Migration Act 1958 (notifying changes in circumstances) and the Department’s published procedures for passport updates and the VEVO service, as at the date above; the Department’s forms and the ImmiAccount functions change, and the current ones govern. Outcomes depend on the Department’s assessment of each matter; no registered migration agent can guarantee a result (Code of Conduct, Migration Agents Regulations). Keshab Chapagain, MARN 1576536.
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I got a new passport. Is my visa still valid?
Yes. The visa is a grant to you, not to the passport, and it continues in effect. But it is recorded against the old passport number, and an airline check-in system, a border officer and VEVO look it up by passport. Until you notify the Department of the new passport, the systems find no visa against it, and you can be refused boarding. The visa is valid; the record needs updating.
How do I update it?
In ImmiAccount, through the update-details function on the application the visa was granted from, or by the Department's passport-details form where the visa is not in your ImmiAccount. You enter the new passport's number, issue and expiry dates, and country, and upload the biodata page. For a routine renewal the update usually shows in VEVO within a few days. Do it as soon as the new passport is in your hand, not the week before a flight.
My passport was lost or stolen overseas. What do I do?
Report it to the local police and to your country's consulate, obtain the replacement passport or an emergency travel document, and then notify the Department of the loss and the new document. The online update function has historically not accepted a lost-or-stolen passport as a reason, and the Department's form for notifying a lost, stolen or damaged passport is used instead; the Department then links the visa to the new document. Allow more time than for a renewal, and contact the nearest Australian mission if a flight is imminent.
I renewed my passport after applying but before the visa was granted. Does the grant go on the new one?
Only if you told the Department before the decision. A grant records the passport the Department holds on file at the time, and a visa granted against a passport you have already cancelled needs the update immediately after grant. Notifying the change during processing, through the same update function, avoids the problem.
VEVO says no visa found. What does that mean?
Usually one of four things: the passport number entered does not match the one the visa was granted against, because of a renewal not yet notified or a typo; the wrong reference type was used, when the grant number, transaction reference number and visa evidence number are each accepted but must match; the visa has not yet been granted and VEVO only shows granted visas; or the visa has ceased or been cancelled. Check the grant letter's passport number first. If it is a passport mismatch, update the details; if it is none of these, contact the Department with the grant number.
What does the consultation cost?
A$330 inc. GST for 30 minutes by video with Keshab Chapagain (MARN 1576536), credited in full if you engage WIDEN. A passport update itself is something you can do in ImmiAccount without an agent; the consultation is for a loss overseas with a flight imminent, a name change that touches a pending application, or a VEVO result that is not explained by the four reasons above.
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