ajw

Hello

Has anyone attended their citizenship ceremony while overseas at an Aus embassy?

We're applying from Malaysia (as a spouse of an Aus citizen); just not sure where the ceremony would be.

Thanks
Ajw

JAJ

If there is a DIAC presence at the Australian High Commission in Kuala Lumpur, then ceremony should be there. Otherwise you might have to go elsewhere, eg Singapore. You should be advised in due course.

Do you meet the special residence requirement for spouses?

ajw

Thanks JAJ, it would be nice not having to take a flight to Aus just to attend the ceremony. We have been working our way through the process and are now just waiting on a test date from the HC here.

xhuyx

Hi ajw, I'm very interested in the case of applying citizenship under spouse of an Australian citizen like your case. Please share your experience through the process. How did you satisfy the resident requirement? Any hiccup along the way of applying?

ajw

I'm really no expert and don't know exactly what they are looking for but here are the facts as they pertain to us:

Lived in Aus as PR for 3.5 years (6 months short of resident req)
Moved abroad, started application in Feb/March this year
To prove our continued commitment and strong ties to Aus we sent in as much documentation as possible. Inc: Aus spouse (obv), two Aus citizen children!, proof of property ownership, Aus bank statements, proof of continuing contributions to an Aus super fund, proof of shares in Aus companies, trips back to Aus during our absence, names and dob of family in Aus, estimated date of our permanent return to Aus. Original police check from current country of residence (this took two months to process).

Good luck,

ajw

xhuyx

Thanks ajw,

You submitted your application in March and still waiting for the confirm of the test date? So it's been 7 months and they still have not confirmed the approval of your application. Did you get any questions from them after you'd lodged your application requiring extra information ?

ajw

Yep, we were back and forth a few times. Overseas applications are assessed by a specialist unit and it all takes a lot longer.

xhuyx

You seem to be the first one to apply under this discretion n applied from outside aus. Plz keep this post updated.