Citizenship process query
May 12th 2018, 10:58 am
#1
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Citizenship process query
I know (I think) that the ceremony itself is under the control of the local council where you live, but how does the test work administratively?
Does DIAC (or whatever they are called now) determine the date and venue or is also the council? Is it a consistent period of time from when you apply or are you are the whim of whoever organises it? Can you attend anywhere or does it have to be local to you? Does anyone have any idea of how long to expect it to take after applying (i.e. the interval between applying and doing the test)?
I'm trying to get an idea of what will happen after we apply as we at least want to get the test done before heading back to the UK to sort out some family stuff.....
Does DIAC (or whatever they are called now) determine the date and venue or is also the council? Is it a consistent period of time from when you apply or are you are the whim of whoever organises it? Can you attend anywhere or does it have to be local to you? Does anyone have any idea of how long to expect it to take after applying (i.e. the interval between applying and doing the test)?
I'm trying to get an idea of what will happen after we apply as we at least want to get the test done before heading back to the UK to sort out some family stuff.....
May 12th 2018, 12:46 pm
#2
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Location: Keep true friends and puppets close, trust no-one else...
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Re: Citizenship process query
I know (I think) that the ceremony itself is under the control of the local council where you live, but how does the test work administratively?
Does DIAC (or whatever they are called now) determine the date and venue or is also the council? Is it a consistent period of time from when you apply or are you are the whim of whoever organises it? Can you attend anywhere or does it have to be local to you? Does anyone have any idea of how long to expect it to take after applying (i.e. the interval between applying and doing the test)?
I'm trying to get an idea of what will happen after we apply as we at least want to get the test done before heading back to the UK to sort out some family stuff.....
Does DIAC (or whatever they are called now) determine the date and venue or is also the council? Is it a consistent period of time from when you apply or are you are the whim of whoever organises it? Can you attend anywhere or does it have to be local to you? Does anyone have any idea of how long to expect it to take after applying (i.e. the interval between applying and doing the test)?
I'm trying to get an idea of what will happen after we apply as we at least want to get the test done before heading back to the UK to sort out some family stuff.....
Waiting time for the Test - can't help you there as I have no idea at present, hopefully someone will post who has been through it recently.
The Test is usually at the nearest DoHA office to where you live, then the ceremony is in your local council area and is arranged by the council - they contact you with those details. Waiting time for the ceremony after approval depends on how many times a year the council hold them - Brisbane have one every 2-3 months, for instance, because of the number of applicants, but other places might be only twice a year.
May 13th 2018, 1:57 am
#3
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Re: Citizenship process query
We applied on the 24th December, got a test date on 28th April for 29th May, which we moved to 7th June as we are away.
That is pretty good compared to others. Some people get the approval within 48 hours of the test and some are waiting for months! You must be in Australia for the approval after the test so are not supposed to travel overseas.
Once you have approval you can travel on your visa if still valid or an RRV. You are not a citizen until you have attended the ceremony, which could be up to six months after approval, depending on your council/shire.
Once a citizen you will need an Australian passport to travel overseas as any visa is cancelled.
There are people who applied in May last year who are still waiting for approval or tests. No rhyme or reason.
That is pretty good compared to others. Some people get the approval within 48 hours of the test and some are waiting for months! You must be in Australia for the approval after the test so are not supposed to travel overseas.
Once you have approval you can travel on your visa if still valid or an RRV. You are not a citizen until you have attended the ceremony, which could be up to six months after approval, depending on your council/shire.
Once a citizen you will need an Australian passport to travel overseas as any visa is cancelled.
There are people who applied in May last year who are still waiting for approval or tests. No rhyme or reason.
May 15th 2018, 11:34 am
#4
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Posts: 189
Re: Citizenship process query
We put our applications in on 5th November 2017. My wife's application had our two children on it, mine was stand alone. We had our interviews/tests last week - Both passed the test and all documents were verified as ok. We were told there would be (wife)/might be (me) one final police check and then we'd have to wait for our ceremony and that this could take up to 6 months to come through. Our local council does ceremonies every 2 months so hopefully won't be too long. I was also told that you have 12 months to attend a ceremony so you can defer if the initial date doesn't suit (e.g travel plans). One weird thing is that when we go into our respective Immi accounts online, mine says "approved" whereas my wife and the kids' is still listed as "received". Not sure why that would be - any ideas?
May 17th 2018, 6:56 am
#5
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Posts: 189
Re: Citizenship process query
All good - system seems to have updated this afternoon and we're all showing as approved now. Just another immigration mystery!
May 20th 2018, 10:53 am
#6
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Posts: 2,900
Re: Citizenship process query
I'm pleased to hear people are getting their test dates so quickly - recently I've been hearing in the 8-9 month timeframe from when applications get submitted to receiving the test e-mail.
May 20th 2018, 12:40 pm
#7
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Posts: 189
Re: Citizenship process query
Maybe could be due the initial backlog when applications were put on hold due to the governments attempts to chnage the process? When I asked about this, I just got a wry smile in response 😉
May 20th 2018, 12:41 pm
#8
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Posts: 2,900
Re: Citizenship process query
I had heard the same thing, and also that the Department was adding more staff to try and address this.
