Two details get Tunisian applications rejected outright, and both are trivial to avoid. The money order must carry both the sender’s name and the recipient’s name — written as the Embassy of Tunisia — and if either is missing or incomplete, the application is rejected. And the form must be signed inside the red rectangle, not anywhere else on the page.
Quick facts
The embassy is blunt about completeness: an application missing any required document leads to delay or rejection. It is worth laying everything out on a table and checking twice before sealing the envelope.
Fees breakdown
| Item | Cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Tunisian birth certificate from the embassy | $5 | Cheapest certificate in this directory |
| Consular card | $12 | Applicants over 18 only |
| Identity card pledge form | $8 | If the C.I.N. is lost, damaged or expired |
| Parent’s authorisation | $8 | For minors under 18, notarised |
| Return envelope | Paid in advance | Express Mail, with your full address |
A useful convenience: you do not need to write to Tunisia for a birth certificate. The embassy issues one for $5, and a recent copy is part of the passport file anyway.
How to apply
- Complete the application form and sign it in the red rectangle.
- Add two copies of your Tunisian identity card, both sides.
- Include a recent Tunisian birth certificate, ordering one from the embassy if needed.
- For a lost passport, add two copies of it and a copy of the visa if you have one.
- Buy the money order naming both yourself and the Embassy of Tunisia.
- Enclose a prepaid Express Mail return envelope with your exact full name and address, and keep the tracking number.
Required documents
- Completed application signed in the marked box.
- Two copies of the Tunisian identity card, both sides, or the pledge form.
- Recent Tunisian birth certificate.
- Proof of your legal status in the United States.
- Notarised parent’s authorisation and parents’ identity card copies for minors.
- Money order and a prepaid return envelope.
Where to apply
At the embassy in Washington, on Massachusetts Avenue, or the consulate general in New York.
Additional notes
If you cannot show legal status here
The embassy addresses this directly: failing to show your legal status in the United States means the file needs the Interior Minister’s approval and takes longer than usual. It is not a refusal, but it is a different and slower route, and the embassy asks you to contact the consulate before applying.
Never had an identity card
Anyone over 18 who has never held a Tunisian identity card completes the pledge form instead, for $8.
Keep the tracking number
It is on the sheet you peel off to expose the adhesive on the envelope. The embassy specifically tells you to keep it.
Two copies, not one
The identity card needs two copies of each side. Arriving with one is a common and avoidable delay.