Pollyana

The post you have quoted is the first post on this thread, and is dated SEPT 2006. At that time I was believed that it still could be law by January 2007. If you took time to read the thread you would be able to follow the progress of the bill, along with Jeremy's frequent updates on its time line.The new rules are still not in effect yet.

suzimc

Just wondering if I am understanding this correctly... does the para below (from section 5, P9 of the new act) mean that provided you have validated a PR visa before the date that the new act comes into force you will be classified as a permanent resident and therefore you will be eligible to apply for citizenship under the conditions of the original act (i.e. after 2 years of being phsically resident in Australia)?

For the purposes of this Act, a person is a permanent resident at a particular time if and only if:
(a) the person is present in Australia at that time and holds a permanent visa at that time; or
(b) both:
(i) the person is not present in Australia at that time and holds a permanent visa at that time; and
(ii) the person has previously been present in Australia and held a permanent visa immediately before last leaving Australia; or
(c) the person is covered by a determination in force under subsection (2) at that time.

WS

Yes, you're right .

suzimc

Good news for me then - cheers!

>40

The section you quote defines "permanent resident" under the new act after it has commenced. However, if I understand you correctly, that is unfortunately not the relevant part of the new legislation for what you are interested in. The provisions that control the possibilities to be judged under the now current residence requirement for a limited time also after the new legislation has commenced are to be found in a separate act, the Australian Citizenship (Transitionals and Consequentials) Act 2007, schedule 3, section 5B. [Until this act becomes available on ComLaw in the next couple of days, the underlying bill can be found at the parliament website: http://parlinfoweb.aph.gov.au/piweb/...d/06120608.pdf].

tracey.d

this thread is getting funnier by the day. Although it is really immportant for a lot of people (myself included) it's now getting too long for people to read the whole thread. Therefore, we are just going round in circles.

It would be good if we could pick out the relevant bits and put them on a sticky thread for a couple of weeks.

I've been folowing it and even I'm confused now. Doesn't take much I know

Tracey

tessa

Sorry mate !

Just getting used to all this thread stuff

Thanks for advise

Tessa Steven

suzimc

Thanks for explaining ... looks like I've got a bit more reading to do yet then

Geoff Spilman

When are we gonna get clarification on this issue of people such as myself who hold PR Visas, already validated but who have not migrated permanantly yet.....2 years or 4????

WS

I think it has been clarified, if you have a validated PR visa before 1 July 2007, you come under the 2 year requirement for citizenship.

But these two years must be completed by 30 June 2010.

Geoff Spilman

Thanks for that.....where is this info..is it concrete??

Geoff Spilman

The section you quote defines "permanent resident" under the new act after it has commenced. However, if I understand you correctly, that is unfortunately not the relevant part of the new legislation for what you are interested in. The provisions that control the possibilities to be judged under the now current residence requirement for a limited time also after the new legislation has commenced are to be found in a separate act, the Australian Citizenship (Transitionals and Consequentials) Act 2007, schedule 3, section 5B. [Until this act becomes available on ComLaw in the next couple of days, the underlying bill can be found at the parliament website: http://parlinfoweb.aph.gov.au/piweb/...d/06120608.pdf].

This seems to suggest not?

JAJ

The bottom line in all of this is:

1. DIAC policy appears to be that as long as you are granted a permanent visa before 30 June (and validate it before 30 June if it's an offshore visa) then you will still qualify under the 2 year rule.

2. However a strict reading of the legislation suggests that you need to be physically in Australia at commencement (30 June-1 July) in order for the 2 year rule to apply.

We will have to see how this apparent contradiction plays out between now and then. Until that point, there's no point asking the same question over and over again.

Either way, all applications under the 2 year rule must be made by 30 June 2010.

(all this assumes a commencement date of 1 July 2007 but this is near-certain).

srdegnan

How depressing - will miss this by 19 days if the cutoff is to be in by 1st July.

>40

Having discussed the interpretation of the new citizenship legislation earlier in this thread, I would personally recommend DIAC to quickly make two official declarations on their www.citizenship.gov.au site: 1) that the commencement date of the new legislation will be 1 July 2007 (or a specified later date), and 2) that it is the grant date of a permanent visa (irrespectively of any validation or the holder's present location) that determines whether one is eligible to be judged under the "old" residence requirements within three years after the new legislation has commenced.

Overall, I would view such declarations as an important courtesy to all people affected by the new legislation, especially considering the current uncertainty and anxiety expressed, in this forum and elsewhere. Specifically, I see three main reasons for these particular declarations, especially the second one. First, the legislative documents, both the new and the current, are quite complex to interpret. Second, official answers to queries have been very diverse and inconsistent. Third, the keyword "grant" has frequently been used, most notable in the official explanation of the new legislation: "In particular, the amendments will: provide that the new residence requirements in the principal Bill apply only to persons granted permanent residence on or after the date of commencement of the Bill" [Supplementary explanatory memorandum, Australian Citizenship (Transitionals and Consequentials) Bill, http://parlinfoweb.aph.gov.au/piweb/...d/06120613.pdf, page 2].

Although I expect that perhaps not everyone might agree, I strongly believe that in cases like this not only the legislation itself, but also how it is communicated and the intentions with it, are highly significant.