wsbtroyno21

We have been in Australia for 6 months now (and loving every minute of it). I came here on a Defacto Spouse Visa with my Aussie boyfriend. I have until June next year to apply for the scond stage of the visa to obtain permament residency.

My question is this......once I become a permament resident how long is this valid for? Is is forever (so to speak) or does it have an expiry date? Basically what i am trying to figure out is ...can I remain in Australia for the rest of my days as a permament resident or will I have to become an Australian citizen at some point? I know there are some advantages to becoming a citizen but is it an absolute necessity? Or can I just come and go as I please with my permanent spouse visa ??

This is probaly a daft question but if anyone can enlighten me I would grateful.

Thanks

Wendy

moneypenny20

Don't know if it's the same, but would assume it is but I am here on a PR Spouse visa and the P stands for Permanent. You are not required to apply for citizenship but I don't see the point of not. You don't lose anything by doing it but you do gain in various ways.

Ptlabs

Wendy,

1. You don't have to apply for your permanent visa again. You applied
for both the provisional and permanent spouse visas when you lodged
your spouse visa application.

2. A permanent visa allows you to reside in Australia indefinitely when
you are lawfully in Australia using that visa.

3. If you travel out of Australia, you need to ensure your permanent
visa is valid for entry into Australia. Most permanent visas have a
5-year travel validity.

4. Yes, you may choose to remain only a permanent resident indefinitely
in Australia without taking out citizenship. Citizenship is not a
necessity, although it is highly recommended that you take it out when
eligible.

Peter
--
Peter Chiam
ptlabs[at]gmail.com
Migration Agent Registration No. 0427067

wsbtroyno21

Thanks for that Peter...that helps to clarify things for me. Just another quickie in regards to the 5 year travel validity you mentioned in point no. 3 - does this mean that you would have to renew the travel visa every 5 years ?

I am not against becoming an Australian Citizen ....I just wondered about the situation regarding permanent residency as opposed to citizenship !!

Thanks for you informative answer.

Wendy

JAJ

Yes it does.

Geir

A follow up question to Wendy's question:

I might find myself in the same situation in the future. Just wondering
about the citizen issue? Surely there is something to lose if I have to
give up my original citizenship?
Not all countries allow you to have dual citizenship.
What if I come in the situation where I don't satisfy the criteria for
PR for five years, and lose it; will it be very hard to get it again?
I'm married to an Australian woman (for 6 years now) and we have a
daughter together.

Geir

Jaj

geir wrote:

    > A follow up question to Wendy's question:
    >
    > I might find myself in the same situation in the future. Just wondering
    > about the citizen issue? Surely there is something to lose if I have to
    > give up my original citizenship?
    > Not all countries allow you to have dual citizenship.
    > What if I come in the situation where I don't satisfy the criteria for
    > PR for five years, and lose it; will it be very hard to get it again?
    > I'm married to an Australian woman (for 6 years now) and we have a
    > daughter together.
    >
    > Geir

What country is that? Many countries that "don't allow dual citizenship"
do in fact allow it in certain circumstances.

Has your daughter been registered as an Australian citizen?

If you have not got 2 years residence in Australia you can still get an RRV
if:

- you have 'substantial ties' to Australia; and
- you have not been absent (continuously) for more than 5 years.

http://www.immi.gov.au/allforms/pdf/968i.pdf

Anecdotally, the DIMA missions in London and Berlin have both been quite
lenient with RRV applications recently where there is an Australian citizen
spouse or dependent child involved. That could always change, of
course.

Geir

I'm from Norway, and have been told that I automatically lose my
Norwegian citizenship if I choose to become an Australian citizen.
That's something I never want to do because I am and will always feel
like a Norwegian.
Permanent residency is all that I want as long as we are free to go
back to Norway or other countries for longer periods (because of my
qualifications).
I do not have PR in Australia; I'm here now on an extended tourist visa
with my wife and daughter.
Since there is an 8503 condition (no further stay), we will have to
wait until we come back to Norway before we potentially can start
applying for PR for me.
Our daugther is 7 months old, and has both a Norwegian and an
Australian passport (which I believe she can have until she turns 18 or
20).
We would ideally like to come and go as we like in both countries. My
wife has PR in Norway and is able to do so.
Have heard from friends that if you lose you PR you will most likely
never be granted one again, and can have problems even getting back to
Oz on
shorter visas.

Geir

Jaj

geir wrote:

    >
    > I'm from Norway, and have been told that I automatically lose my
    > Norwegian citizenship if I choose to become an Australian citizen.
    > That's something I never want to do because I am and will always feel
    > like a Norwegian.


That is true. All the Nordic countries had a law like this until
recently, however Sweden changed the law to remove restrictions on dual
citizenship in 2001. Iceland and Finland followed in 2003.


    > Our daugther is 7 months old, and has both a Norwegian and an
    > Australian passport (which I believe she can have until she turns 18 or
    > 20).


Norway makes an exception to its rules (on dual citizenship) for those who
acquire another citizenship at birth. Was your daughter born in
Australia or Norway?

You should read this information leaflet published by the Norwegian
Directorate of Immigration:
http://tinyurl.com/kndqu
It's a pdf file in English but they must have a Norwegian version too, if
you visit http://www.udi.no



    > We would ideally like to come and go as we like in both countries. My
    > wife has PR in Norway and is able to do so.


For the rules on keeping PR in Australia, read form 968i:
http://www.immi.gov.au/allforms/pdf/968i.pdf



    > Have heard from friends that if you lose you PR you will most likely
    > never be granted one again, and can have problems even getting back to
    > Oz on
    > shorter visas.

There is no bar on former PRs applying for a new migration visa.

But many people who lose PR cannot get it back again because they don't meet
the requirements for a new migration visa.

ETA eligible nationals (including Norwegians) can normally visit without
problems, it doesn't help if you want to live in Australia however.

Geir

Thank you so much for your help!

    >Norway makes an exception to its rules (on dual citizenship) for those who
    >acquire another citizenship at birth. Was your daughter born in
    >Australia or Norway?

Our daugher was born in Norway. Applied for Australian citizanship for
her from the embassy in Berlin, and later got a passport for her from
the
embassy/consulate in Copehagen. No problems there (except for barely
receiving her Australian passport before we had to leave Norway..)

My wife has one more question: She is so happy to be back here, but is
sometimes very depressed about the fact that I (ie. we) HAVE to leave
Oz because of the
8503 condition of my visa. Is there any way of avoiding that? I rang up
the local immigration office here (Adelaide), but was almost accused of
having held back
information when I asked about the pssibility of still applying for a
PR from here (and was told that that was a very serious act!).

Geir

Jaj

geir wrote:
    >
    > Thank you so much for your help!
    >
    >>Norway makes an exception to its rules (on dual citizenship) for those who
    >>acquire another citizenship at birth. Was your daughter born in
    >>Australia or Norway?
    >
    > Our daugher was born in Norway. Applied for Australian citizanship for
    > her from the embassy in Berlin, and later got a passport for her from
    > the
    > embassy/consulate in Copehagen. No problems there (except for barely
    > receiving her Australian passport before we had to leave Norway..)

You need to obtain confirmation from the Norwegians that her Norwegian
citizenship is still valid. If it is, she ought to be able to keep both
in adulthood.

See a Norwegian lawyer who specialises in immigration/nationality matters if
you need more specific advice.


    >
    > My wife has one more question: She is so happy to be back here, but is
    > sometimes very depressed about the fact that I (ie. we) HAVE to leave
    > Oz because of the
    > 8503 condition of my visa. Is there any way of avoiding that? I rang up
    > the local immigration office here (Adelaide), but was almost accused of
    > having held back
    > information when I asked about the pssibility of still applying for a
    > PR from here (and was told that that was a very serious act!).
    >

It is extremely difficult to waive condition 8503, sorry.