debbie and paul

hi im hoping someone can help with this question ,my story is a bit drawn out but ill make it as short as possible . i was born in belfast and then taken to brisbane when i was 1 and lived there till i was 14 ,my father who was english worked for the australian army from before my birth but on inspection of his australian citizenship he was not made a citizen until 3 weeks after i was born,(i get the impression that it wipes out my chances of going back to oz by australian parentage) but i was told i should maybe go by previous residency, the problem with that is u have to have some kind of ties with australia, well i left to come to the uk at 13 so lost track of friends and i have no family in australia ,thou my brother who came back to uk with us was born in brisbane do u think this would be viewed as enough of a tie , i am now 40 and desperate to go home , as you can imagine im frustrated that i was not made a citizen while i was out there , can anyone give me advice

Pollyana

Hi, and welcome to BE
Not sure if it'll make a difference, but to help those "ïn the know" - can you tell us what year you were born? Am I right that your father was working for the Aus Army inNorthen Ireland when you were born? And if he became a citizen after you were born, did he not include you on his application?

We have some good experts on Aus citizenship, so hopefully one will be able to help you

debbie and paul

hi thankyou for your reply , i am really hoping someone can help me , ive just pulled out some paperwork to try to shed more light on the situation , i have a certificate of service from the australian army from march 1960 to march 1966 and then his next stint from october 1970 to november 1984 ( so he must of done two stints in the australian army) from what i have been told my dad loved australia in his first stint (1960-1966) but came back for his family and meet my mother in belfast while in the british army and as soon as she was pregnant he transferred to the australian army again to get my mother and i out of war torn ireland . iwas born dec 1970 my brother was born in brisbane oct 1979 and my dads certificate of australian citizenship dated january 1971.

my parents are still alive and still together , but they have no idea im hoping to go back to australia ,the only other thing ive found is a letter dated march 1972 from the office of births deaths and marriages in australia saying the legitimation of me has been registered in the register of foreign legitimations

Bernieboy

The forum is usually quiet over the weekend(except for yer woman Polly,she lives in yer computer) so hopefully come monday you will get more help/replies,best of luck.

Bermudashorts

When I first read the thread I thought you would have no problems at all.

However I am not so sure now I have read a bit; clearly you are not a citizen by birth and it looks like you cannot get citizenship by descent because you did not have an Australian citizen parent at the time of your birth. I am not sure what other citizen options there are for you. What an absolute shame that your parents did not organise citizenship for you at the time!

The former resident visa would be an option but as you have noted yourself you need to have some ongoing ties. I assume that your brother is in the UK, perhaps if you could persuade him to move you would have some ties then.

I do think it would be worth a quick professsional consult on this as the question is quite technical, JAJ would know the answer but I have not seen him around lately.

JAJ

Assuming your name was not included on your father's citizenship certificate then you did not acquire Australian citizenship on that basis.

Did your parents ever try to get Australian citizenship for you? Did your mother ever seek to become Australian, for example?

It's clear you are not eligible for Australian citizenship by descent.

At this point probably the clearest option is the Former Resident visa, as you spent more than 9 years in Australia and are under 45 (assuming the age limit is unchanged). But you probably need professional assistance with proving ties to Australia - Australian citizen parent and brother might help. Try Ian Harrop: http://www.ianharrop.co.uk

debbie and paul

might be a long shot, but I (Paul, lived in England all my life) have an uncle that lives in sydney - could this help?

moneypenny20

Not particularly unless you're going to try for sponsorship. Best advice is JAJs - have a word with Ian Harrop.

debbie and paul

well, spoke to Ian, and wasn't too positive gave a number for a contact in Aus to speak to (will do tonight).

asked the same question - why didn't parents get citizenship for me when I grew up there from the age of 1, went to school, etc etc etc for 13 years...

that aside, still can't believe that all of this (along with my father fighting for the Australian army etc (even mentioned in despatches to the Queen) doesn't count for anything at all!?

I can understand for just your random person off the street, but this was my home for a 3rd of my life and I want to return home with my partner & 2 children.

hopefully the contact out there can offer more advice, but is there any other way to "escalate" this as it must be such a unique situation with technicalities at the time beyond my control and probably not even thought of.

Dorothy

While I understand your frustration, it was up to your parents to include you in your father's citizenship application at the time. If he didn't, then maybe you need to take it up with them?

Your father fighting for the Australian army counted for him. It was then up to him to get your citizenship. I also understand that Australia was your home for 1/3 of your life, but again, if your parents never applied for the correct status for you that is not the fault of the Australian government.

Your situtation is actually not that unique. Lots of people go to live in another country for a few years and never get permanent residency or citizenship status.

I know my post sounds harsh, and I apologise. Perhaps you can apply for a visa and move that way?

JAJ

Father became an Australian citizen before the original poster arrived in Australia, so perhaps it would not have been possible to include her at the time. However, it still leaves open the question of:

- the father could have later on applied for her to have citizenship; and
- more importantly, did the mother ever pursue citizenship.

I'd still be inclined to try to build a case for a Former Resident visa, especially if it's either that or forget the idea of moving to Australia. If Ian Harrop can't help then I'd try George Lombard in Sydney.

debbie and paul

I think that was the name of the contact he gave (debs has it) and it seems like the most direct route, the only concern is the "maintained ties" part, from what we've read, everything else kinda ticks the boxes.

debbie and paul

we're trying to contact the people in Sydney, in the meantime, does anyone have much knowledge/experience with regards to "kept ties/relationship" with regards to a former residency visa and how "flexible" they may be with this?

JAJ

For a Former Resident visa? No, you shouldn't expect anyone on a free forum to know that. You've already been advised to get professional assistance.