Stevefaulds

Hi,Moving to oz soon,lucky enough to have got permanent residents visa.

I know there talking about to get citizenship you must have lived in oz
for 2 years and they might make it 3 years.

But what about if you have lived there for say 18 months or so.Bit
unfair if you have to then wait another 18 months.

Does anyone know if that will only apply to anyone who enters after
they change it?

Thanks Steve.

Posted via http://www.mymigration.net

Pollyana

As it stands at present it looks like it will apply to anyone without citizenship at the time, even if you have lived here for 18 months.
Spare a thought for those of us who started on temp visas for one reason or another. I'm not even a PR yet, been on temp spouse visas in Aus since Nov 2nd 2003.....yes, over two years already, married to an Aussie. And at present none of that time will count towards citizenship.

JAJ

It will apply to everyone except those who apply (for citizenship) before the start date of the new law, expected for now to be 1 July 2006.
http://www.citizenship.gov.au/citz_bill_2005/index.htm

However under the new rules, many people who have been temporary residents before getting permanent residence will benefit from a credit of up to 2 years against the 3 year residence requirement. Policy on this is still under development, so it's important for anyone affected to check again when the new law is introduced.

JAJ

However the latest indications from DIMA are that once the new law is in place, there will be a 2 year credit available for most temporary residents (unclear if former students will qualify, but spouses almost certainly will).

Pollyana

Sounds more positive! Thanks Jeremy

Test

stevefaulds wrote:
    > Hi,Moving to oz soon,lucky enough to have got permanent residents visa.
    >
    > I know there talking about to get citizenship you must have lived in oz
    > for 2 years and they might make it 3 years.
    >
    > But what about if you have lived there for say 18 months or so.Bit
    > unfair if you have to then wait another 18 months.
    >
    > Does anyone know if that will only apply to anyone who enters after
    > they change it?
    >
    > Thanks Steve.
    >
    > Posted via http://www.mymigration.net
    >

Is this unfair??? I don't think so. Remember you are making Australia
your home. It would only be unfair if you plan to get citizenship and
then leave.

I for one, who is currently a PR with 2 years wouldn't have a problem if
they changed it to 5+ years.

Look at the USA requirements for citizenship. A lot more years, your
are required to know about it's history. Show you have paid taxes,.....

I'm always wary about ppl who complain about the potential new rules.

KS

Pollyana

Depends on why they are complaining I guess.
I've had to withdraw from two jobs this week because the small print specifies "citizenship" - THATS annoying!!!

sk686

Beginning 2005, thanks to the Howard Government, you are no longer eligible for FEE-HELP unless you are a Citizen. So, those who want to do their post-graduate education to improve their skills, will now have to wait until they become Australian Citizens. That may be a concern for some who want to plan their careers based on their post-graduate education.

Test

sk686 wrote:
    >> stevefaulds wrote:
    >>> Hi,Moving to oz soon,lucky enough to have got permanent
    >>> residents visa.
    >>> I know there talking about to get citizenship you must have lived in
    >>> oz
    >>> for 2 years and they might make it 3 years.
    >>> But what about if you have lived there for say 18 months or so.Bit
    >>> unfair if you have to then wait another 18 months.
    >>> Does anyone know if that will only apply to anyone who enters after
    >>> they change it?
    >>> Thanks Steve.
    >>> Posted via http://www.mymigration.net
    >> Is this unfair??? I don't think so. Remember you are making
    >> Australia
    >> your home. It would only be unfair if you plan to get citizenship and
    >> then leave.
    >> I for one, who is currently a PR with 2 years wouldn't have a problem
    >> if
    >> they changed it to 5+ years.
    >> Look at the USA requirements for citizenship. A lot more years, your
    >> are required to know about it's history. Show you have paid
    >> taxes,.....
    >> I'm always wary about ppl who complain about the potential new rules.
    >> KS
    >
    > Beginning 2005, thanks to the Howard Government, you are no longer
    > eligible for FEE-HELP unless you are a Citizen. So, those who want to do
    > their post-graduate education to improve their skills, will now have to
    > wait until they become Australian Citizens. That may be a concern for
    > some who want to plan their careers based on their post-graduate
    > education.
    >

OK, may be I just look at the bad things ppl can do.

We now have 2 reasons why citizenship is good if you can get it sooner.

Are there any others??

KS

JAJ

Permanent residents still only pay domestic fees - not international.

weeman111

Hi,we will be wanting to buy a house as soon as we can in oz,do we qualify for first time buyers grant as permanent residents or is that only for citizens? Cheers Dave

sk686

The domestic fees are still high enough for some to delay their post-graduate education until acquiring Citizenship.

As an example, The Master of Pharmacy at The University of Sydney, is a full-fee paying, full-time postgraduate course. The cost for local students in 2006 will be $24,480 per year and for international students $31,680 per year. Fees are payable before each semester.

Unless they have that amount of cash readily available, most usually wait until they are eligible for FEE-HELP (which is after getting their Citizenship).

Permanent residents are eligible for HECS-HELP, which is good for paying or deferring reduced undergraduate tuitions, if they can get into a HECS place. The number of HECS places are also being reduced by the Howard Government in favour of full-fee paying places.

HECS-HELP does not help in paying for post-graduate education.

sk686

Permanent residents are eligible for the first time buyers grant, the last time I checked (which was about a year ago).

You may want to call the Mortgage Department in any Australian Bank and speak to a Mortgage Officer, and they can confirm it for you.

Knowing which State you want to buy the home in, also helps.

Here is info on Victoria:

http://www.sro.vic.gov.au/sro/sroweb...set=iso-8859-1

HOW MUCH IS THE GRANT?
A one-off payment of up to $7,000 will be payable by the Victorian Government to eligible first home owners to help with their purchase or construction

ARE YOU ELIGIBLE?
At least one applicant for the grant must be a permanent resident or Australian citizen at the time of settlement or completion of construction of the home.
Note: A permanent resident includes the holder of a permanent visa under section 30(1) of the Migration Act 1958. New Zealand citizens holding a special category visa under section 32 of the Migration Act 1958 also satisfy this requirement.

weeman111

Thanks mate we are going to settle in Frankston area so that will help us a lot to getting that first home,Cheers Dave

SydneyStace

Hey Pollyana,
How come you haven't got your PR yet if you've been in Aus since Nov '03?

I was granted my 309 in Jan '04 & have my PR...surely isn't it your turn?