Citizenship Applications

Good Morning Permanent Residents:

I strongly encourage Permanent Residents to become Australian Citizens as soon as possible because:

• Migration Legislation and policies are always changing and it may become harder in the future to obtain your Australian citizenship.
• If you travel and for some reason decide to spend more time overseas you may be need to apply for a Resident Return visa which in some circumstances can be denied.
• The Australian citizenship can bring you advantages that are not available to permanent residents such as students loans.
• More importantly: The Australian Citizenship is a privilege that can be granted in some circumstances and allows you to actively participate in the Australian democracy exercising the right to vote.
• The Permanent Residency can in some instances be removed while the Australian Citizenship can only be taken away in some very serious circumstances usually involving cases of terrorism or national security.

How to apply:

To be eligible to apply for Australian citizenship, you must have:

• Been an Australian permanent resident for at least 1 year and lived in Australia for at least 9 out of 12 months before you apply
• Been lawfully resident in Australia for at least 4 years before you apply
• Not been absent from Australia for more than 12 months in the last 4 years before you apply
• Good moral character

Migrant with permanent residence – eligibility:

To become an Australian citizen you need to meet certain requirements. For most applicants these include that you:

• Are a permanent resident at time of application and time of decision
• Meet the residence requirements
• Are of good character
• Have a basic knowledge of the English language
• Intend to reside or maintain a close and continuing association with Australia
• Have an adequate knowledge of the responsibilities and privileges of Australian citizenship.

(If you are 60 years of age or over you are not required to sit the citizenship test.)

General residence requirement:

The general residence requirement is based on the amount of time you have lived in Australia.

You must meet all of the following:

• Have lived in Australia on a valid Australian visa for four years immediately before applying
• Must have been a permanent resident for the 12 months immediately before making an application and not have been absent from Australia for more than one year in total, during the four year period, including no more than 90 days in the 12 months before applying.
• (Under some circumstances you might be eligible to apply for a variation to the residence requirement or be eligible under the special residence requirement).

Calculate your permanent residency:

If you were granted a permanent resident visa before you arrived in Australia, your permanent residence date is the date that you arrived in Australia on that visa.

If you were granted a permanent resident visa after you arrived in Australia, your permanent residence date will be the date that the visa was granted.

Use the Residence Requirement Calculator to determine if you meet the permanent residence requirements to become a citizen.

Children:

You can include children under 16 years of age in your citizenship application if they are permanent residents.

Children under 16 years of age do not need to meet the residence requirements but must be permanent residents.

There are three types of documents that you need for your citizenship application:

DOCUMENTS

Identity documents:

You must provide the following identity documents:

Three documents that all together show your:

• Photograph and signature
• Current residential address
• Birth name, date of birth and gender.

If you have changed your name, provide evidence of this including links between names.

The Identity declaration completed by a person with the relevant authority and accompanied by an endorsed photograph signed by the same person. If you are applying on a paper application, this is contained in the form. If you are applying online, a Form 1195 – Identity Declaration (232KB PDF) is required for yourself and each person included in your application form.

Good character documents:

You need to provide a penal clearance certificate if, in the time since you were granted a permanent Australian visa:

• You lived or travelled outside Australia since the age of 18 years
• The total time spent overseas adds up to 12 months or more.
• Provide a penal clearance certificate from every country in which you spent more than 90 days.
• We might also ask you to provide a penal clearance certificate in other circumstances.

Supporting documents:

Depending on your application, you might also need to supply:

• Evidence for exemptions, discretions and concessions
• Evidence of the special residence requirement
• Evidence of residence – New Zealand and British migrants
• Documents related to children included in the application.

Documents not in English:

• Documents not in English must be translated.
• If you are applying in Australia, use a translator accredited by the National Accreditation Authority of Translators and Interpreters.
• If you are applying outside Australia, contact the Australian mission in the country which issued the document for advice on translators.
• Include the translation and the document which is not in English with your application.

Please feel free to contact me and ask any questions you may have.

Very Best Regards!

Fabio Alberto Granados Mendoza

Registered Migration Agent 1794674.

www.fabmigrationservices.com