ali n ali

Hi everybody
I've not been on here for a long time and I know that the citizenship rules have changed , anybody know how they affect us ?

We was granted our visa in March 2006 , and we moved to Brisbane in Oct 2006 .
We returned home (UK) , in oct 2007 . and havent been back since . What we'd like to know is are we eligible for citizenship after another year or do we have to do another 3 years before we can become citizens . We are currently in the UK and our visas expire in March next year .
Thanks .

JAJ

You need to move back to Australia before you can even think of becoming eligible for Australian citizenship. Once back, you'll need to wait 3-4 years, exactly how long depends on circumstances.

ali n ali

Thanks JAJ

Thought it might be the case that we had 3 years before we could apply . I dont think we will be going back , but would have been more tempted if we were able to become citizens earlier .

RenShen

Why would you want to become a citizen of a country you do not want to live in?

Centurion

I must confess I was wondering the same and quite pleased that the government requires a certain level of commitment to the country before conferring citizenship.

dhama

Benefits.(May be fact that he doesn't need visa for many countries for less than 90 days visits)

Bermudashorts

A UK passport means no visa for many countries too, so I shouldn't think that is the reason.

It is probably something to do with wanting to keep options open. Although I also think it is correct that Australia expects a certain commitment before handing out citizenships.

dhama

Hi ali ,
You should have lived in australia for 2 years since you come under 2007 citizenship rule .That too you need to apply before 2010 jul.As centurion said you need to come and live minimum 3 to 4 years now to apply for a citizenship..Hope this helps

Dhama

ali n ali

Thanks for the replies .
I dont really want to live in Australia at the moment , but if I had citizenship then I can make that decision anytime I like . That is why I wanted to know if we would be eligible for passports .
It would be more incentive to endure another year there , but I dont think my wife or myself could manage 3 more years , just so we had the option if we wanted to live there later in life , or if we started a family .
These are my reasons for wanting citizenship in a country that I dont ( at the moment ) want to live in .

Qantasflyer

Thirded.

JAJ

If you view life in Australia as an "endurance" then why on earth do you even want the option to live in Australia.

Reality check. Moving to another country is a huge investment in terms of time, emotions and money. Unless it's something you think you really want to do for the long term, and for the right reasons, you should go back and reassess your life priorities.

(I can understand that people from Hong Kong took this kind of decision in the pre-1997 period, but this can't be the same kind of thing?)

Bermudashorts

Do you honestly not know how odd that sounds?

You make life in Australia sound like a prison sentence with the "enduring" stuff. What do you think is going to change in the future? How do you think having children will make Australia more tolerable to you? I know there is a lot of this better life for the kids BS on here, but fact is your children would have much the same quality of life whichever country you decide to live in.

ali n ali

The children would be Australian , ie brought up Australian . I however found it difficult being English in Australia .
I found some negativity towards english and that offended me , but it wouldnt be something any future children would come accross .

I found it difficult to meet people at my age who didnt have children and I think it would be easier to integrate , into Aussie life for people with kids . I would definitely recommend moving to Au to people with kids , But I would say its harder for people without . At my age . late 30's.

I know what a struggle it was to move there ,and I stayed a year . So I dont think I need a reality check on the turmoil it can bring . And yes some parts of the whole experience was an endurance , but some were good .

Things may change in our lives here in UK , and if we dont have passports we would not have the chance to move back there if we so desired .

I dont think we will get the option because we are required to live there at least 3 more years .