Back in September last year, the Dear Leader announced that one of the ways that Australia would fight international terrorism would be to increase the citizenship qualification period for permanant residents from the current two years to three.

Hmmm....

Just got off the phone from talking to Dimia - The new rules are due to come into force in the beginning of 2007 (she wasn't sure of the exact date but thought it was January).

Any qualifying applications for citizenship lodged before then would be subject to the old rules.

Perry

Wooooooo hooooooooo!!!

That's all I have to say!

Thats ok i'm here for LIFE !!
Whats the hurry ?? Thinking about moving back home ????

:sign03: for you Sarah! No chance for us .. will have to pay all of my uni fees upfront.

Nikki
xx

:lol:

Just another step along the road.... can't happen soon enough as far as I'm concerned.

I just want to book the party...

P

Nice to have some idea of a date, well done Perry. I'm sure that will be quite a relief to many people who thought they'd miss the date. Of course it will always inconvenience the next set of arrivals, but at one time it seemed they were going to bring it in really quickly so that people who had nearly done their 2 years when it was first mooted would be caught by the extension to 3 years.

Hi,

Are you wanting dual citizenship or are you scrapping the UK passport completely?


I dont really understand it all. Can you have 2 passports or not??



Yorkie

Just a quick question......... So from what i understand :loopy:
Please forgive me i am blonde!!!!
I can't lodge for citizenship untill i have completed 2 "full" years, is that right?
Which means if they bring in the new law in January 2007, i just miss the date by a couple of months. So i take it, i shall have to wait another year?
Not really a big deal i suppose, but i always seem to "just" miss the boat!
If you get my drift.

Debs.

Yes, you can have two passports - you never stop being a British citizen unless you go though a formal renounciation procedure - even then you can get it back later...

I'll certainly keep the old passport - makes travel in the EU so much easier

P

Yes Yorkshire, you can have 2 passports. Use your Aus one to leave Aus and your UK one to enter the UK and have the best of both worlds! Fortunately neither country requires you to revoke other nationalities and stick with the one.

'fraid that's what it looks like...

I should have but a disclaimer on the first post - the Dimia lady did say 'Current plans are...' when she said early 2007, so there may be some movement either way.

In our case, we arrived in November 2004, went back for a couple of weeks last year for a promised rele visit so we should qualify in early December.

Perry

Surely uni fees depend on having a permanent visa, rather than citizenship :what?:

Thanks Kent Coast! I have been trying to find out when the change comes in but even the citizenship hotline is no use!

I got my paperwork for citizenship last week so we will be applying on 4 sept - 2 years to the day of arrival :lol: Yes, you can keep British citizenship and passport as it currently stands. This doesn't mean that it may not change in the future.

We just want to get citizenship as soon as possible because 1) you never know when they might change the rules 2) we are planning on staying for life so it will be good to fully participate in Aussie life - voting and all and 3) it will increase my job prospects as a lot of organisational psychology jobs are for the government and require citizenship!! (great that you get to come over and then it is hard to get a job - not complaining, just making an observation).

Anyone going for citizenship around that time - fancy a party????

Claire

I haven't got a aussie or uk passport - what does that make me - Slack i suppose.

Having both passports is fine until someone wants to boot you out of office on a technicality - as occurred to the One Nation MP in Queensland a few years back.

This is good news :bouncy:

We qualify on the 20th August...I can hardly believe that two years has passed :o
What address did you send off to for your forms Claire? and what's involved exactly?

Questions, questions :rolleyes:

Jan x

Elaine, the rules re payment of uni fees were changed sometime in 2005 - unfortunately!
It used to be possible to defer fees to HECS if you were a permanent resident but now, unless you are a citizen, you have to pay the whole lot up front. I have to pay mine - I don't even get the 20% discount for full payment as I'm not a citizen yet.

My UK passport runs out 2008 and we will becoming citizens around the same time. How do you go about getting a UK passport whilst living here?

Ditto .. the fees are the same as if you were a citizen, BUT .. you have to pay each term up front and don't get the 20% discount for doing so .. I was hoping to get my final year on HECS, but looks like I am going to have to pay the whole lot up front now .. not a big surprise though!

Candice - There is a different form to fill in and you send it to the embassy in Canberra .. there is a link on their website .. I think it is the British High Commision in Aus' (something like that!), we did ours a couple of months ago .. it was really quick too!

Nikki
xx

Ours would have been 27th September but 4 weeks out of the Country means we'll have to wait till the end of October.
Party still sounds good though.

Jan or Claire, You'll have to tell us what its all about ;)

Jan / Delboy - not read through it all yet but will post again when I have! :D

Candice - you can print off a form from the internet and send it off to an address at Canberra Airport! Yes, it is quick but also expensive! We just paid $160 for Max's new passport and that is only a 5 year one.

Claire

19th August for us. Only another 42 days :sign60:

What a bummer about the uni fees!

Candice - I know when I sorted the kids passports I put the link up on here, it's either in FAQ or links, couldn't tell you which now. About twice as expensive as doing it in the UK, but it all happened smoothly enough.

OK folks - have read my citizenship package now. Here are the details:-

Firstly, check you are eligible - they will not refund the fee if you dont get citizenship. You must know the rights and responsbilities of citizenship, understand basic English, be of good character and intend to live in Australia or maintain close links.

There is 10 page form to fill in but it is pretty straightforward.

You can submit electronically, at your local DIMIA office (addresses on the web) or in person. If you lodge in person ring first to get an appointment and then you can have your interview at the same time. The interview is compulsory. Application fee is $120 per adult.

You need to provide originals of: birth certificate, passport/visa, Marriage certificate / evidence of name change if applicable. Also a passport photograph signed by someone who is an Australian citizen who has known you for a year (certain occupations accepted only!).

Children - children under age 16 can be added to the application at no extra cost. They do not have to attend the interview or ceremony. They will get a citizenship certificate too. You must provide their birth certificate and passport at the interview.

Ceremony - you have to attend one at your local council. You take an oath (with 'God in it) or an affirmation (no 'God') and get a native plant, a citizenship certificate and a copy of the pledge you have taken. You also get an electoral form - remember if you are a citizen it is compulsory to register to vote and actually vote. You can get fined for not doing so!

Claire

Nice one, thanks for that Claire :happy03:

Thank-you Claire :D

Jan x

Jan and Rob

If you live near Aberfoyle Park you can get your citizenship forms from the Rates Office next to the Library

Sheila

BIIIIG stinker for me cause there are some fantastic engineering /design jobs for the MOD, means I'll have to wait another year before I can even think about applying with them. Bummer.
Siz