Identity Documents for Subclass 851 in 2026: What to Upload and What If You Have None
Which identity documents a Subclass 851 application asks for, how to upload them, and what to do when you cannot obtain any.
If the Department invites you to provide further information about your identity for a Resolution of Status (subclass 851) application, you must provide original and translated documents supporting your identity, nationality or citizenship; examples include all pages of any current or expired passport, including the biodata page, your birth certificate, your national identity card, your driver's licence, proof of a change of name if applicable, and any other supporting document. If you cannot obtain them, you are not refused on the spot: you are given an opportunity to explain why and to show the reasonable steps you took to try. That is the position set out by the Department of Home Affairs on its Resolution of Status (subclass 851) official page, as at August 2026.
The rest of this article is general information about how those published requirements operate. It is not advice about any individual case, and the Department's own page together with the current text of the Migration Regulations 1994 remain the reference points. Clause numbers below follow the Migration Regulations 1994; for exact wording and current status, check the Federal Register of Legislation.
What identity documents does an 851 application ask for?
The Department's document list for RoS identity requests covers:
- all pages of your current or expired passports, including the biodata page
- your birth certificate
- your national identity card
- your driver's licence
- proof of change of name, if applicable
- any other documents that support your identity, nationality or citizenship
The list is framed as examples rather than a rigid set, and the Department states that in many cases it can decide an application using the information provided at lodgement alone. Identity documents are usually requested only when the case needs them.
Which documents count as proof of a change of name?
Where your name has changed, the Department accepts:
- a marriage or divorce certificate
- change of name documents from an Australian Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, or from the relevant overseas authority
- documents that show other names you have been known by
The third category matters for applicants whose name has been recorded differently across countries, transliteration systems or earlier protection applications. A document showing an alternative spelling or a name used in everyday life can be relevant even if it is not a formal change-of-name record.
Do they need to be originals and translations, and where do they attach?
Where the Department has invited further information about your identity, the requirement is for original and translated documents of your identity, nationality and citizenship. Those documents are attached in ImmiAccount.
You do not need to re-supply the claims, information or documents you already gave as part of your earlier Temporary Protection visa (subclass 785) or Safe Haven Enterprise visa (subclass 790) application, and the Department says there is no need to ask it for copies of that material. If you still want access to what it holds, that runs through the Privacy Act 1988 rather than the visa process.
Is there a deadline for responding to an identity request?
Yes, in the sense that an invitation comes with a timeframe. If you are invited to provide identity information and you do not provide it within the timeframe given, the Department will give you an opportunity to explain why you could not provide it and to describe the steps you took to obtain it. If you do not make a genuine attempt to establish your identity, the Department may consider refusing the application.
Separately, where the Department asks for further information generally, you must respond by the set date, and after that date it can decide the application using the information it already holds. You can also provide further information in writing at any time before a decision is made.
What if you genuinely cannot obtain any identity documents?
This is the situation the published criteria address directly. You will be given the opportunity to explain why the documents are unavailable and to demonstrate the reasonable steps you took to obtain them. Failure to provide the information, or providing a bogus document or false or misleading information about your identity, can lead to refusal.
Clause 851.228 of the Migration Regulations 1994 is the provision that deals with responding to an identity request. Departmental policy guidance (PAM3) describes the two-part test that sits behind the clause: a reasonable explanation for not providing the documents, and evidence of reasonable steps taken to get them.
Guidance describes reasonable steps as assessed objectively and proportionately against your individual circumstances — statelessness, discrimination in your country of origin, collapse of government record systems, or loss through theft are the kinds of factors that bear on what is reasonable. Contacting relatives, friends and relevant institutions can form part of those steps. Guidance also states that applicants are not required to approach the authorities of the country they sought protection against.
The procedural side is more forgiving than applicants often assume. Guidance notes that an invitation to provide information under section 56 of the Migration Act 1958 can be issued more than once, and can be re-issued after an applicant later supplies material.
If the Department suspects a document is bogus, or that information given about your identity was false or misleading in a material particular, it does not move straight to refusal. Guidance describes a step under section 57 of the Migration Act 1958 where you are told in writing and invited to comment before any adverse finding is made.
A hypothetical helps show the difference. Assume an applicant whose birth records were held in a district office that no longer exists, and who has an expired passport with no renewal route available. Refusal on identity grounds would not follow from the missing document alone; what matters is whether the explanation is credible and whether the steps taken — requests made, offices approached, alternatives tried — match what was reasonably open to that person.
What if the Department still has substantial concerns about your identity?
If, after your response, the Department has substantial concerns with a previous finding about your identity, clause 851.229 requires it to assess whether you meet at least one of three criteria before the visa can be granted:
- You would satisfy the criteria for the grant of a protection visa, including engaging Australia's protection obligations.
- There is a compelling or compassionate reason for granting the RoS visa, which the Department says could include family circumstances, health needs, or a positive contribution to Australian society.
- You are a member of the same family unit as a person who holds a RoS visa.
These are alternatives, not a cumulative list. Meeting one is enough on the published criteria.
Are biometrics part of the identity check?
They can be. The Department may ask you to provide biometrics — a scan of your fingerprints and a digital photograph of your face — as part of the application if you have not provided them before. Departmental guidance refers to section 257A of the Migration Act 1958 as the basis for collecting biometrics in these cases.
Does it cost anything to apply?
There is no visa application charge for the RoS visa. The Department also notes that free legal assistance is available to RoS applicants through specialist legal service providers in each state and territory; the official page carries the current list.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I have to upload identity documents with every 851 application?
No. The Department states that in many cases it can make a decision using the information provided at lodgement, and that it may request additional information in some cases, for example in relation to identity. The detailed document list applies when you have been invited to provide further information.
Are photocopies enough, or do I need originals?
Where the Department has invited further identity information, it requires original and translated documents of your identity, nationality and citizenship. These are attached in ImmiAccount rather than posted separately.
What counts as a "reasonable step" to obtain documents I do not have?
Guidance describes reasonable steps as judged objectively and proportionately against your own circumstances, including factors such as statelessness, discrimination, destroyed government records or theft. Contacting relatives, friends and relevant institutions can count; approaching the authorities of the country you sought protection against is not required of you.
Can my application be refused just because a document is missing?
Not solely because of the gap. The published position is that you get an opportunity to explain why you could not provide the information and to show the steps you took. Refusal is the risk if you do not provide the information, do not make a genuine attempt to establish your identity, or provide a bogus document or false or misleading information.
What happens if the Department thinks one of my documents is fake?
Guidance describes a process under section 57 of the Migration Act 1958 in which you are informed in writing and invited to comment before a decision is made about whether the document is bogus or the information false or misleading. You should expect that step rather than an immediate refusal.
Can my family rely on my identity documents instead of lodging their own?
The Department of Home Affairs criteria for the Resolution of Status (subclass 851) visa do not provide a general rule allowing one family member's identity documents to replace another applicant's identity evidence. Under clause 851.229, being a member of the same family unit as a person who holds a RoS visa is an alternative criterion only where, after the applicant responds, the Department still has substantial concerns about a previous identity finding.
Is there a fee for the RoS visa?
No. The Department states there is no visa application charge for the RoS visa. It also warns that the Department does not charge any fee to fast-track a visa, and that an offer of that kind is a scam.