On 20 April 2017 the Australian Government announced that it would be strengthening the requirements to become an Australian citizen.
This included increasing the general residence requirement, which means an applicant for Australian citizenship will need to demonstrate a minimum of four years permanent residence immediately prior to their application for citizenship.
This was defeated in the Senate, and will not be in effect now, unless changes are made; however, it has also caused some uncertainty as to the direction the citizenship application will take in the future.
The current requirements for citizenship requires you to meet all the following:
- have lived in Australia on a valid Australian visa (this can be a temporary or permanent visa) for four years immediately before applying, and
- must have been a permanent resident for the 12 months immediately before making an application, and not have been absent from Australia for more than one year in total, during the four year period, including no more than 90 days in the 12 months before applying.
Contact us if you require assistance with your citizenship application.
