Visa News

July 2018

The Department of Home Affairs has announced proposed changes to Australian Citizenship application requirements, proposed to be effective from 1 July 2018. Even though this date has now passed, there is a (probably very small) chance the changes will apply retrospectively from 1 July 2018. Otherwise, the changes will apply from the date the relevant bill (currently before the Senate) are passed. These proposed changes are several but include:

• RESIDENCE REQUIREMENT: Applicants to have been a permanent resident in Australia for four years prior to submitting an application for Australian Citizenship, with no more than one year total spent outside Australia.
• ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEST: Applicants applying for citizenship by conferral to undergo a separate English language test that will examine the applicant’s listening, speaking, reading and writing skills.

For most clients, the residence requirement as it stands prior to any changes requires four years of residence with the fourth, final year being permanent residence. In other words, currently only one year of PR-residence is required, not four. In certain cases there can be a waiver of some of this time. Presently there are no English language requirements.

The above are only proposed changes, and still need to pass through parliament to be enacted. However, if you are currently eligible (or about to become eligible) under the existing regime we would recommend applying for Citizenship now to avoid any changes that may come into effect in 2018 or later.

If you need advice about calculating your residence for these purposes or assistance in lodging an application, please contact us. We would be glad to help give you advice about eligibility (typically for $99) and/or file your application (typically for about $1100).

Please get in touch if we can help you or someone you know.