How to become an Australian citizen? To meet the general residence requirement for citizenship, you must have been living in Australia lawfully for a period of four (4) years and at least one (1) year as a Permanent Resident immediately before making an application.
All temporary visas, such as visitor visas, student visas, employer or partner-sponsored visas and all classes of bridging visas, can be counted towards the four years lawful residence period.
You may be absent from Australia for up to twelve (12) months within the four (4) years immediately before applying. However, the absence period cannot be counted unless you have already been present in Australia before.
Furthermore, you may be absent for up to ninety (90) days within the twelve (12) months of permanent residence immediately before applying. However, that’s on the proviso you return to Australia as a permanent resident.
It is possible to meet a special residence requirement if you have work that requires you to travel regularly for at least two years before applying for Australian citizenship.
Contact us if you require any assistance with your application.
Hi Nilesh
Thanks for time. I came in Australia 2007, then change to spouse visa , my wife did hairdressers course and we lodged TRA in 2009 and refused in 2010 under PIC (4020) circumstances and my first child born in 2010 and after long time we won the battle in 2019 and now we are on 485 visa till 26May2021 ,and under 10year child rule my son granted Australian citizenship and i have another child he is 2 year old .we are seeking best advise for your experience to settle permanently in Australia.Regards
Your options include making an application for Ministerial Intervention as you already have a decision of the tribunal in hand, although I noticed that it was handed down some time ago.
There is no time limit for making an application for ministerial intervention after the AAT decision.
This is the key to accessing the Minister’s power for the Minister to consider exercising his powers based on the fact that you have an Australian citizen child.
Even though your child is an Australian citizen, the child is less than 18 years old and cannot usually sponsor parents for any parent visas unless there is a relative or guardian who is either an Australian citizen or permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen. Other eligibility criteria also may be relevant.
When you are ready to get specific advice about your circumstances, please book a consultation with us to confirm your options.
Please share your comments with me.
I’d love to know more about your experience with applying for citizenship!
View Comments
I have lived in Australia for 42 years as a permanent resident. Due to Covid and not having seen my family for three years I went home to see my family in the UK for an extended period. I am told this makes me ineligible to apply for Australian Citizenship. I was told I should have applied during Covid! I did not think about it then because no one was allowed to leave the country.
As a permanent resident of so many years are there any extenuating circumstances?
Test hello
Test
Hi I have a question can I apply for Australian citizenship as PR after 2 years is there any exception or a way to fastre the process and not to wait 4 years
Hi Bash
Thank you for posting. I have created a page of useful tools including calculators which may be of interest to you here.
There is no apparent reason why you could FastTrack the approval process for Australian citizenship.
Regards, Nilesh Nandan, Immigration Lawyer, Special Counsel, MyVisa® Immigration Law Advisory, myvisa.com.au/ 1300558472
I'm an Australian citizen an I with like to apply for my children's citizenship and they were born outside Australia so how do I apply for my children's citizenship
This is glistening! You're awesome! I don't believe I've ever read anything like that before. It's wonderful to find someone who has genuine thoughts on this subject. Really, thank you for starting this. This website is exactly what the internet needs: someone with some originality!
Hi,
would you please advise me if I am eligible to apply for the citizenship of Australia?
Visa Class : Skill- 190
- Visa Grant Date : 3/10/2014
- First Entry : 15/8/2015 stayed in Australia for two weeks and then stayed away till second entry
- Second Entry : 10/9/2019 - continue ( Staying in Australia over this period without being away )
Hi Nilesh,
do you have to maintain a visa for the full 4 years period? What if you leave Australia after 3 years for a limited time (1-3 month) because your visa had expired and then come back with a new visa. Is the 4 year period start from the beginning when you return or can you still claim the first 3 years as long as you haven't been away for more than 12 month in total?
Hi there,
May I respectfully ask for my eligibility on my citizenship application as many said I am eligible and some also said I am not yet.
I am now Australian PR subclass 100 which applied offshore and granted from 01/10/2019 and I understand that I have to complete 4 years before applying for citizenship.
Unfortunately, I didn't come to Australia since the grant date, I came on the 21/06/2020 which my PR should start the 4 years scheme from that date, so I may be able to apply for my citizenship application on 21/06/2024.
However, I stayed in Australia on my student Visa on 02/06/2014 - 20/04/2016. Will this length of time be counted on my citizenship application?
I am greatly appreciate on your kindness of answer in advance.
Warmest Regards
Piri
Hi, So I landed in Australia on visitor visa on 20/08/2018, got my spouse visa on 05/08/2019. Got my PR on 07/09/2020. Went out of Australia from 10/10/2019-30/01/2020. When should I be eligible to apply for citizenship? Also my residence calculator shows 20/08/2022 however the citizenship application isn’t letting me go further! Im confused.