Australian Citizenship Overview
Table of Contents
Australian Citizenship is a process in which a non-Australian citizen voluntarily becomes an Australian citizen. Australian citizens pledge their loyalty to Australia and its people and are then entitled to its protection and to exercise their rights and responsibilities as citizens.
Highlights
The Australian Citizenship Act 2007 defines who is, who can become, and who ceases to be an Australian citizen.
Australian citizenship can be acquired automatically:
- Birth
- Adoption in Australia
- Historical transitional arrangements
- Abandonment as a child
- Incorporation of a Territory
or by application:
- Descent
- Adoptions are done in accordance with the Hague Convention on intercountry Adoption or bilateral arrangements
- Conferral
- Resumption
Most people who acquire Australian citizenship do so automatically however, most of those who do it by application do it under the conferral pathway.
Key Eligibility requirements – Conferral pathway (general eligibility)
- You must be 18 years or over at the time of application.
- You must be a Permanent Resident.
- You must satisfy the Residence requirement. This is having been lawfully present in Australia for a period of four years immediately prior to making your application, including the last 12 months as a permanent resident.
- You must pass the Citizenship test.
- You must have basic knowledge of the English language (satisfied by the successful completion of the Citizenship test).
- You must have adequate knowledge of Australia and of the responsibilities and privileges of Australian citizenship (satisfied by the successful completion of the Citizenship test).
- You must meet character requirements.
Australian Citizenship – Are you Looking To Apply?
If you are considering applying for Australian Citizenship we would love to hear from you. Tell us about your journey in our comments below. If you have any questions we encourage you to post these in our forums. You can access our community forums by Clicking Here.
Please note this is only a high-level summary of Australian Citizenship
The above is not an exhaustive list of requirements for Australian Citizenship. This content on this page is provided for Getting Down Under visitors as general information purposes only, it is not immigration advice and must not be construed as such. While due care has been taken to ensure that the content is kept-up-to-date and correct, the accuracy of the information cannot be guarantee due to the frequent changes in migration law. Please view our Disclaimer for more information. Post Last Updated: [su_post field=”post_modified” post_type=”page”]