HERE

Thanks for that.......only got 10 months to go now if they keep it at 2 years!

4 years is crazy! A PR visa only lasts 5 years, and then things get messy, with having to get a returning residents visa to gt back into the country if you go abroad (say on holiday)

Also, why amend the citizenship requirements to address terrorism? Surely the place to do all of the background checks is during the PR visa application.

Also take somone entering on a spouse provisional visa. The period in Australia on the provisional visa does not count towards citizenship, therefore a good number of people who come here on that visa will wait 6 years for citzenship?

In the words of the TV ad currently running: "There has been no better time to become an Australian citizen" so get in there quick (if you can)

Yes, it would greatly increase pressure in the RRV system if they change the rules. Note however that in NZ the citizenship rules are:

1. You have received your permanent residence before 21 April 2005, and
2. Have been ordinarily resident in New Zealand for the last 3 years.

OR

1. You have received your permanent residence on or after 21 April 2005, and
2. Have had your New Zealand permanent residence for the last 5 years.

This is from http://www.dia.govt.nz/diawebsite.ns...p?OpenDocument . So, Oz is already considerably more generous than NZ and some convergence towards the NZ levels could be easily seen.

Indeed, there's no better time to become an Australian citizen.

A PR visa has a 5-year travel facility, yes. When that expires, you can get an RRV which in turn has another 5-year travel facility, if you qualify for an RRV.

Even if citizenship eventually requires 4 years of residence in Australia as a PR, one should still be able to get an RRV provided the rules for an RRV remain unchanged.

The bigger question is how much will Australia change? ID Cards (NSW has already passed legislation providing for a NSW Photo Card) is just a first step.

Peter

The main reason behind the citizenship re-examination is that citizens cannot be deported easily.

Permanent residents have much less protection from such ejections, so I would be surprised if the government modified RRV rules for that reason. A permanent visa (be it a 136 or RRV) can easily be cancelled and the holder expelled if the holder was determined enough.

Peter

I hope they don't extend it to 4 years. At the mo we have to pay uni tuition fees up front with no discount but were hoping after 2 years and citizenship that Dave can then either get the cash discount for paying up front or defer with a student loan . We would also be caught out on the end of visa period and have to get RRVs if necessary.

There's no suggestion the RRV rules are going to change, and after 2 years you can get an RRV over the counter at a DIMIA office.

You shouldn't be surprised if the residence requirement is increased, although they *might* exempt existing PRs and give some credit for legal temporary residence at the same time.

A change like this may lead to some pressure to review the uni funding rules as they apply to PRs, if they are going to effectively double the pool of people who *can't* get Australian citizenship, as opposed to *won't*.


Jeremy

What's the timescale on the changes, any rumours??

Will the change to 4yrs for citizenship apply to those of us who already have PR and are waiting currently for 2yrs,or is it just new PRs yet to be granted?
We only have a year left to wait for ours as it stands now.

Nobody knows for sure whether it will change at all, let alone whether or not they will exempt existing PRs. It needs an Act to go through Parliament before it can change.



Jeremy

We've only seen the first indications appearing in the newspapers. It may be weeks (or more) before we hear anything specific, and months before any legislation can be passed.

Wait and see for now. If you're eligible for citizenship (and want to obtain it) it's very advisable to apply straight away, if not, you'll just have to be patient.


Jeremy

Presumably that would take about a year in any case, by the the time all the politicos get to argue the t*ss?

Cheers
Anya.

It depends on the priority that's put on it (all legislation fights for space on the parliamentary agenda) and whether the Government's Senate majority is solid on the matter.

Time is also required to draft the legislation even before it gets introduced to Parliament.

The 2002 legislation took only 2 months to get through Parliament, but was relatively uncontentious and was a reintroduction of a Bill that had been in progress before the 2001 federal election.

Realistically, if the Government makes an announcement on something like this, we're looking at a lead time that's likely between three and nine months.

Jeremy

AGHHHHHHHh I really hope they do make allowances for those on PR and Others like me who are on TR spouse visa, I was hoping for the TR and PR time to change so that I could get citizenship quicker, If this goes through it will be a total of 10 YEARS my hubby and I will have been together before we can come and go from each others countries without having to apply for things and fill in loads of forms. I understand the rules have to be there but this is getting stupid.

Well as you say all we can do is wait and see.

Kala