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Australian Citizenship Changes – Again!

by | Oct 26, 2017 | Migration

On 20 April 2017, the Australian Government announced a series of changes to the Australian citizenship requirements.

After the legislation necessary to implement these changes was introduced into Parliament it became clear that the government would not receive sufficient support to have the legislation passed and so, on 18 October 2017, proposed amendments to the Bill were announced.

Subject to the passing of the proposed amended legislation, the new requirements for citizenship will come into effect on 1 July 2018 and include:

  • increasing the general residence requirement, which means applicants for Australian citizenship will need to have a minimum of four years permanent residence immediately prior to their application for citizenship with no more than one year spent outside Australia during that period
  • completing a separate English language test, where applicants will need to demonstrate English language listening, speaking, reading and writing skills at the modest level before applying for citizenship by conferral
  • strengthening the Australian values statement to include reference to allegiance to Australia and requiring applicants to undertake to integrate into and contribute to the Australian community
  • strengthening the test for Australian citizenship through the addition of new test questions about Australian values and the privileges and responsibilities of Australian citizenship
  • a requirement for applicants to demonstrate their integration into the Australian community
  • strengthening the pledge to refer to allegiance to Australia, and extending the requirement to make the pledge to applicants aged 16 years and over for all streams of citizenship by application, including citizenship by descent, adoption and resumption.

What does this mean for persons who have already applied for citizenship?

Applications for Australian citizenship lodged up to 30 June 2018 will be assessed against the eligibility criteria in place when the application was made.

Applications on or after 1 July 2018 (subject to the passage of legislation)

From 1 July 2018 (subject to the passage of legislation), the new requirements for Australian citizenship will take effect. If you apply for Australian citizenship on or after this date, your application will be assessed against the new requirements.

Further information

Please contact us if you require more information.