Australian Citizenship

Australian citizenship is the final step for any applicant looking to live in Australia permanently as an Australian.

There are a number of ways applicants can apply for citizenship. Determining the right one for you depends on your eligibility.

You may be eligible for Australian citizenship if you are a:

• Migrant who has obtained permanent resident status;
• Spouse or partner of an Australian citizen;
• Child of an Australian citizen or a former Australian citizen;
• Refugee or humanitarian applicant;
• Former Australian citizen looking to resume citizenship; or
• Citizen of New Zealand.

You must also meet the following requirements to be eligible for citizenship:

• Be a migrant who is a permanent resident;
• Satisfy the residency requirement;
• Reside, or continue to reside in Australia; and
• Be of good character if you are 18 years of age or older.

The team at Immigration Solutions will aid applicants with the following:

• Preparation and lodgement of citizenship applications for general eligibility
• Preparation and lodgement of citizenship applications with Ministerial requests
• Responding to character requisitions on citizenship applications
• Citizenship resumption
• Evidence of Citizenship

Find out more about our successful Citizenship cases.

There are a number of steps in the Australian Citizenship application process. The first is to ensure that you are eligible to apply. There is only a limited number of ways for a person to become an Australian Citizen. The most common path to Australian Citizenship is through becoming an Australian Permanent Resident and satisfying the residency requirements. To satisfy the residency requirement, a permanent resident must have been living in Australia for at least four years, holding Permanent Resident Status the year immediately before applying. The Australian Permanent Resident must not have left Australia for a time totalling more than 365 days, in the 4 year period before the application is made. Other avenues to qualify for Australian Citizenship include, if an Applicant; was born overseas to a former Australian Citizen, arrived under the Commonwealth Child Migration Scheme, lost Australian Citizenship and wants to resume Australian Citizenship, is a child who is a non-Australian Citizen adopted by an Australian Citizen over 18 years old, is a child who was born overseas but has at least 1 Australian Citizen parent, a Refugee and Humanitarian entrant.

Once eligibility has been established, the next step is to complete and lodge the citizenship application. This can be done onshore in Australia or offshore. Some applications may be completed online, or by hard copy sent to the Department of Immigration and Border Protection Offices in Australia. It is important to ensure all required documents are included in the application.

Once the Department has received your citizenship application, a citizenship appointment will be scheduled. At the appointment, the Applicant will undergo identity verification and may be required to take the Australian Citizenship Test or have a citizenship interview.

The Citizenship Test is designed to assess whether the Applicant has adequate knowledge of Australia, including the responsibilities and privileges of Australian Citizenship. The test also determines the level of English that the Applicant possesses. The Citizenship Test requires a pass make of 75%. Some Applicants are exempt from sitting the test including those under the age of 18, over the age of 60 or do not have the capacity to sit the test.

Dual citizenship is also a consideration, if the law of the other country permits. Some countries do not recognise dual or multiple citizenship, however, since April 2002, dual citizenship has been permitted in Australia. Prior to 2002, if a person wanted to become an Australian Citizen, they had to renounce their previous citizenship.