Daffy

Hello everybody

We will soon become eligible to apply for Ozzy citizenship. Wondered if anyone had anything to say about this and what advantages and/or disadvantages it might entail. We are British citizens on a permanent residency visa living here in Oz, mid forties with three young kids.

Thanks for any input.

mlbonner

You get a blue passport
You get to vote but its also illegal to not turn up on polling day (you actually dont then have to vote, just get your name ticked off, you could walk away after that )
You can have a perm. govt/security-risk type job
For the kids it'll give the choice of where to live without any of the visa thing when they're older

melbournehelp

Advantages - you get to meet the mayor,get a small tree, a keyring and a badge ,if your lucky they put on some sangers .If your surmane is at the end of the alphabet, be prepared for a wait.Greater access to jobs ,and quite a warm and fuzzy feeling

Disadvantages - you go on the electoral roll and it's listed alphabetically .
Yes, you have to vote but it's not a huge deal .It'll cost you about $150 to apply and you have to go for an interview -not a biggie,but just inconvenient and you have to learn a few things which you will be tested on .
Overall,it's up to you .Many people don't take the option .The passport does not come with the certificate.You have to make a seperate application .As I found out recently, if you are a citizen then you must have an aussie passport if your PR visa has expired .

blossom

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Hi, I would advise to take it. It doesn't mean you have to give up your british passport etc. We migrated to Oz in 1982, returned in 94 due to health reasons. Since then our daughter has had two children here in UK and we are now looking to return to Oz this year. The children are entitled to Australian citizenship and we can return without the need to reapply. The best piece of paper we have ever owned!

ABCDiamond

I'd say get it aswell. I returned to the UK in 1996, after having plenty of time to become a citizen, but didn't !!!

Then, when I came back in 2000 it was nearly a nightmare to get back in, as my RRV had expired. The cost to become a citizen is the same as an RRV, but that needs doing every 5 years..

Badge

This is the second time my name has been taken in vain.

What I want to know is, if you meet the requirements, and even get the ceremony booked up, is the passport/citizenship only a done deal after the ceremony.

Supposing you have been issued a passport, or been entered on the computer as a fair dinkum aussie, and you can't make the ceremony - do you have to go and repeat the beuracratic process?

I suppose I am wondering at what point in the process you become legally a citizen, passport and ceremony not withstanding.

Badge

mlbonner

Oooooooo, my very own Badge

From what I understand on here, you can't get the passport until you're a citizen. Pressumably for it you need to show citizenship papers (in place of a birth cert) which I thought you got at the ceremony?

Lots of info here

Badge

looks like that will answer the question, Ms Bonner.

Deelia

You only become a citizen at the ceremony (and won't get a passport until after that).

I would strongly recommend becoming a citizen asap. While most people won't have this problem, people with permanent residency can potentially in certain circumstances have their visa cancelled (for instance, if they are convicted of a criminal offence) so citizenship provides much more security.

mlbonner

....and the option to commit criminal offences!!

JAJ

AUD120 per adult. Children under 16 are free, kids aged 16/17 must apply as individuals - and can in fact do so independently of parents so long as one parent countersigns their application.

One strong reason for teenagers to push ahead with citizenship is to be eligible for full tertiary fee benefits - from 2005 most PRs pay domestic fees but are not eligible for discounts/loans given to Australian citizens.

Lots of horror stories where people don't take the option.

Parents go back to look after elderly relations, young adults go overseas to work or study and then find they cannot get back to Australia. Happens all the time.

Teenagers (boys especially) can get into trouble with the law, the last thing you need as parents is to suddenly find the PR status of one of your children is under threat of cancellation.

There are lots of hidden benefits to being an Australian citizen. For example, Canada offers a much better working holiday visa scheme to young Australians compared to what is made available to UK citizens.

As an aside, since July 2002 the cost of an RRV has been increased to AUD120 to bring it into line with the cost of citizenship.

Jeremy

Badge

Could a cancellation of a driving license count as enough to cancel PR? Or are these offences of "strict liability" ,as it were, not so bad..

naturally having a license cancelled due to drunk driving, causing death are far more serious..

This is the worst I think could happen to many...ie after accrual of too many points for speeding???!!

BM

JAJ

Speeding tickets do not generally cause problems with the character test. Nor should even a single drink driving offence without aggravating circumstances - repeated or serious motoring offences might do. And anything that brings a 12 month prison sentence (even a suspended one) spells serious trouble.

Also remember that policy on character can always change, and any changes will be towards getting tougher. For example, the 1996 immigration law reforms in the US left many people there with green cards who had not taken US citizenship in a complete mess.

As long as you're not a citizen - you're vulnerable.

Jeremy

MarkMyWords

A small tree to take away? How nice, if a little inconvenient. And a keyring to use to hang Badge from the tree with? Then Hevs has to come along and rescue Badge by cutting the tree down with her chainsaw, MrsDagboy has to whisk them both away from the vengeful authorities on her larger-than-average boat... er, getting carried away here, sorry. (New "ridiculous convoluted story" thread anyone?)

(Yes, I know it's Dagboy's boat too.)

steve99

Im due to apply for Citizenship around August/September time, along with my better half, we planned to apply for the Australian Passport straight after. However we're getting married in December, is there any reason (good or bad) why we should wait until after December to apply for Citizenship or the passport?
Im thinking costs etc to redo or re-apply for things?

Also whats the situation with regard to her UK passport, does she have to apply straight away to have it changed into the new surname?
If so when we apply for the AU one will it matter that the UK passport is in a different name to the Citizenship papers?

Im probably worrying more about this than I need to

cheers,
Steve