clougherty family

Hi all,

I have managed to get interviews for our citizenship, mine on 17th May and OH on 11th June (he has been out of the country since we've been here). I am really pleased that we will still be here to do this, but here comes the problem. I phoned City of Perth and also City of Joondalup to see when the next ceremonies are and Perth said not until August and Joondalup said end of the year. What can we do? If we pay for the citizenship and have the interview, we are not citizens until attending a ceremony. If you don't attend one within 12mth then you have to reapply. I can't see us still being here by then, and if we sell the house we won't be able to put settlement off until these dates. Does anyone have any ideas/information for me??

Jo

my melbourne

Hi there,we are in the same predicament,our interview(in Melbourne is in May)but then it can take up to three months to be accepted and then another 6 months until a ceremony becomes available.We would like to have been home by the end of the year but it is looking doubful and we know we will regret it ifwe dont get citizenship!Have to accept that we will have to wait,i am learning how to have patience which i'm rubbish at.Hope this helps.Linda.

northernbird

I think because your child is a citizen then you don't really have a choice but to stay and get your citizenship. To abandon it and leave without would be foolish IMO. If you sell your house then maybe you have to take a short term rental to tide you over until you go home. Good luck with your decision.

St.Georges Girl

Hi Jo, have you tried Wanneroo? They have alot less people than Joondalup, so it might be worth a try. I know sometimes the citizenship ceremony can take up to 6 months after your interview and being accepted, but personally I think you might regret not waiting if you decide to leave before you get it. At least if you do wait, you can get Cilla chipped etc., then she'll be able to go home with you.

Geordie George

JAJ is fairly knowledgeable on this subject - might be worth searching through some of his old posts. I think (?) councils are meant to hold ceremonies quite regularly and, if they don't, you're able to ask about ceremonies at DIC (or whatever the department's called these days). Sorry to be so vague - JAJ is the way forward.

TraceyW

I'd heard somewhere along the line that as long as you've been accepted at your interview you don't have to have a formal ceremony you can just go into the council chamber, swear on the bible and get your certificate. After all, that's all they do at the darn ceremony anyhow.

clougherty family

Tracey,

That would be excellent, how can I find out? I don't want to tell them that we are going home...

Jo

JAJ

You do need a formal ceremony, sorry, although private ceremonies are possible.

St.Georges Girl

But at a cost I would imagine?

clougherty family

How do you arrange this? I am just a bit worried about staying for longer than the time we need to sell the house because my Grandfather is in the last stages of Altzeimers and I have already lost my Grandmother whilst we have been here. I want to get citizenship as one of my boys was born here and want to make sure for the future that we can all be here if the kids decide to come back. Seems unfair that you have to be here 2yrs but then you don't get citizenship unless you stay for nearly 3 really with the way the ceremonies seem to be.

Jo

Jerseygirl

Why are you posting this in the MBTUK forum?

St.Georges Girl

Because Jo is going back, or hoped to, before April JG.

Jerseygirl

That confuses me even more...'cos she said their citizenship interviews are May and June...oath ceremony later in the year. Even so it still doesn't seem like a MBTUK thread 'cos it's about getting Oz citizenship.

clougherty family

We thought we would have sold the house by now so weren't going to get citizenship, but as it's now mid March and we haven't sold we thought we might as well get it if we can. Even if we sell the house now, we can be here for at least mine and my son's interview in May. This means that both my children will have citizenship. Didn't realise we would have to wait so long for the ceremony and time is against us due to my Grandfather's failing health. He was ok when we left but seems to have deteriorated rapidly since the onset of the disease. Just want to do the best for my children but really don't want to be away for another Grandparent's death. I am very lucky in the fact that I had 4 Grandparents until I was 17, I realise that a lot of people don't, and now have only 2 and 1 of them isn't going to be here much longer. I have missed enough important life events through coming to this bloody place and don't want to miss any more. Before you say it, I know it was my choice. All these things seem unimportant when you want to move here because you don't think about what could happen. I seriously underestimated what I had at home.

Jo

Jerseygirl

I think many of us underestimate what we had in the UK. We took things for granted for so long we didn't even consider them when emigrating. All those regular things we did so naturally have suddenly disappeared and we are left empty and desolate.