Eligibility
There are many ways to acquire Australian citizenship
Citizenship by Birth
If you were born in Australia and at least one of your parents is an Australian citizen or a permanent resident at the time of your birth on or after 20 August 1986, you will automatically be granted Australian citizenship.
- Application not required
Citizenship by Descent
If you were born outside Australia on or after 26 January 1949 and at least one of your parents at the time of your birth, was also an Australian citizen, you must apply for Australian citizenship.
Unlike applying for Citizenship by Conferral, you will not need to meet the General Residence Requirement or the Language Requirement. In addition, you will not need to sit the Citizenship Test.
Evidence of parent’s Australian Citizenship
Providing evidence that at least one of your parents was an Australian Citizen on the day you were born is imperative.
The documents you may need to supply include your parent’s full Australian Birth Certificate, their Australian Citizenship Certificate and/or their Australian Passport. You will also need to provide evidence of your Parent’s other Citizenships to other countries.
Furthermore, you will need to provide evidence that you are, in fact, your parent’s child. You can do this by providing your full Birth Certificate (and translated, if in a different language).
If you’re eligible for Citizenship, it is imperative that you apply as soon as possible, as there may be changes to the criteria, without prior warning.
If you need help to apply for Australian citizenship by descent, contact us today.
- Application required
Citizenship by Conferral
Becoming a citizen by conferral is a common way for many migrants to become Australian citizens. It means you must apply for Australian citizenship and will only be granted Australian citizenship if you meet specified eligibility requirements.
In general, you (the applicant) must satisfy the following criteria to be eligible for citizenship by conferral:
- Be a permanent resident or an eligible New Zealand citizen.
- At the time you apply you must have been:
- living in Australia on a valid visa for the past 4 years.
- a permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen for the past 12 months.
- away from Australia for no more than 12 months in total in the past 4 years, including no more than 90 days in total in the past 12 months.
- Have a good knowledge of Australia by passing a citizenship test. To pass, you must score 75% or more on the citizenship test, and answer all 5 questions on Australian values correctly. If you are 60 years or older you do not have to sit the citizenship test.
- Be likely to reside, or continue to reside, in Australia and to maintain a close and continuing association with Australia.
- Be of good character.
Note:
- A dependent child aged 15 years or younger can be included in their parent's application at no additional cost. The child must be a permanent resident.
- If a parent is not applying to become an Australian citizen, a child 15 years or younger can apply on their own and must pay the associated fee.
- A child aged 16 or 17 cannot be included on their parent's application. They must apply on their own.
- Application required
Practice Test
Need help to pass the citizenship test? Try our free practice test
Training Courses
- To help those who may find it difficult to do the simulation practice tests, we provide training courses in English and English-Vietnamese.
- We recommend you attempt the training courses before doing the simulation practice tests.
