hectoraus

Can a australian citizen have her citizenship revoked if she is convicted(12 months jail/death) after becoming an australian citizen and holds an aussi passport, of a crime which she committed before becoming a citizen but went unnoticed by her home country? please note that she did not lie on her application at all as there were no convictions at all and she obtained penal clearences from her home country.


I have check the aus citizenship law 2007 on comlaw but its confusing.

On comlaw, please check,
text>division 3> cessation of australian citizenship

34 revocation by minister,
Citizenship by conferral

(2) The Minister may, by writing, revoke a person’s Australian citizenship if:

(a) the person is an Australian citizen under Subdivision B of Division 2 (including because of the operation of section 32); and

(b) any of the following apply:
(ii) the person has, at any time after making the application to become an Australian citizen, been convicted of a serious offence within the meaning of subsection (5)

(5) For the purposes of this section, a person has been convicted of a serious offence if:

(a) the person has been convicted of an offence against an Australian law or a foreign law, for which the person has been sentenced to death or to a serious prison sentence; and

(b) the person committed the offence at any time before the person became an Australian citizen.

Is an applicant considered to be still making an application if the application has already been approved? Please note the applicant is from a muslim country and has been sentenced to death for pre marital sex which has come to light now but she had pre marital sex before she became a citizen. Please help. previously applicant was 100% crime free and she has never been convicted in the past.

mika24me

I would imagine the words "serious offence" are of importance here. In Australia, pre marital sex is not a crime, never mind a serious one. Of more importance, is she currently in Australia and safe?

hectoraus

serious offence as defined by comlaw act is any offence where you are sentenced to 12 months jail time or death, anywhere australia or abroad. she is safe in australia but she thinks that the aussi gov will cancel her citizenship. so we wish to know what the law says. do convitions for any offence(done before citizenship) but convicted after becoming citizenship reults in revocatio or not?
I huess the key words here are: After making an application to become an australian citizen?

Is an applicant considered to be making an application to become an australian citizen even after one has already become an australian citizen? My logic says no,
but would like opinions from other people.

Thank you.

Bermudashorts

This is a comment without any legal knowledge, but I feel just about certain as it is possible to be, that Australia will not strip somebody of citizenship for having pre-marital sex.

What a horrible thing to have hanging over her, but I am sure she will be safe here.

GoldCoastMag

There must be help for someone in this situation, one such organisation that would probably be able to HELP and another may be Lifeline phone line they both will answer anonymous queries.

I am certain that if the person faced any kind of persecution for this kind of law would not lose their citizenship and the public would be furious if the Australian Government did anything to move on such a case.

I do hope the OP can overcome the fear and anxiety of this and settle here and enjoy the country.

Pollyana

A Lifeline volunteer will not be able to answer such a question. It could come down to a case of human rights, in that if she is deported she would face death, not just imprisonment. You need to contact an agent with knowledge of citizenship law, someone of the ilk of George Lombard or Alan Collet. This is NOT something that should be tackled without good professional advice.

Dorothy

Agreed. I would contact George Lombard's office for help. If he isn't the right person he would likely know who is.

As others have said, it's a terrible thing to have hanging over her head. Best of luck to her in getting this settled.

JAJ

The power to deprive an Australian citizen of citizenship under this provision is held by the Minister personally (ie, cannot be delegated) and the Minister has to be satisfied that deprivation is in the public interest.

In addition, the person concerned must possess another nationality, ie, cannot be made stateless.

These decisions are reviewable at the AAT.

In general, when applying a character test to foreign court decisions, account is taken of whether the issue would be a crime in Australia.

I would recommend a general discussion with George, if only for peace of mind.

iamthecreaturefromuranus

No chance of it being revoked.

What Australian Minister is ever going to revoke Citizenship and send someone 'home' to face a death sentence, particularly for something as trivial as this. If Australia is anything like the UK they won't even allow deportation of convicted criminals to the US, if there is the potential to be given a death sentence.

It will never happen.

hectoraus

Thank you for all the support.

May I ask who is george? The affected person is not financially and emotionally sound to see a lawyer but will look into it.
What happens if the person has dual nationality as theyou can never waive off your original nationality from the country she is from?
Like you said, if some one were to crime(involving sentence of 12 months/death) in the u.s before becoming a citizen, but convicted after becoming a citizen, he/she would not be deported to U.S if Australia is anything like U.K? what does this mean?
Can't the law be enforced to the fullest extent at any time? I presume we all are interpreting the law correctly. I mean how can someone be making an application to be an australian citizen if the application has already been approved or rejected?
Please pray for the poor girl. Thank you for all the support.

iamthecreaturefromuranus

It means the UK and almost certainly Australia as well, will not deport ANYBODY if they face a death sentence.

In cases between the UK and the US, the UK sought a guarantee from the US authorities that the death penalty would not be an option... and we are talking about people here who the US wanted to charge with murder.
The supposed offence this woman is guilty of, isn't even a crime in Australia.

George is George Lombard, a trusted migration agent.


Suggesting that we "pray for the girl" is a little ironic, when it's a barbaric relgion, that caused the issue in the first place

Wendy

http://austimmigration.com.au/site/?q=node/21

JAJ

You've already had the question answered (eg post #8). Is there a particular reason why you need to ask a second time?

Dorothy

George is George Lombard. He's a very well respected migration agent and lawyer in Sydney. http://austimmigration.com.au/site/?q=node/21 If your friend is an Australian citizen she may qualify for legal aid if she needs it. In the meantime, have her contact George Lombard's office to see what he has to say.

JAJ

I do not see any chance that Australia (effectively, the Minister) would deprive someone of citizenship based on a foreign court decision concerning something that is not a crime in Australia.

Assuming the facts are as stated, often that is not the case.