austr4lia

Finally i have been invited to a Citizenship ceremony on 21 May 2015 in Canberra.

Hi friends, Does anyone know how long it takes to be invited for a ceremony in Canberra ?

Wow! That is super fast. Below is my timeline. Applied on 8 December 2014(Paper) Test date received - 16 December 2014 Citizenship Test - 12 January 2014 Citizenship application approved - 22 January 2015 Council - Canterbury Oath ceremony ????

Please read my sad story :cry: Came to Australia on a student visa on Feb 2006 Got Temporary residency on 16 June 2010(VC 485) Applied for Permanent Residency on 1 December 2010(VB 885) Travel overseas between 16 October 2011 and 27 November 2011 Temporary Visa (VC 485) expired on 11 December 2011. This was my biggest mistake as i didn't apply for a Bridging visa. Applied for and got Bridging visa A on 05 June 2012. Now this is the time my residence period reset as my earlier time period in Australia was overwritten by being unlawful from 11 December 2011 to 05 June 2012. So all my 6 Years of residence in Australia account for nothing :mad:. Now, I got Permanent Residency on 3 July 2013 and till today i was thinking that next year i will be an Australian Citizen. I just happen to call Immigration today and got the shock when they told me that i will be eligible for Citizenship on 5 June 2016 :arghh: . Now my query is regarding the 4 years of lawful residence. My wife is overseas and i would like to join her for around 6-7 months, just wondering if i can include the same time in my Residency requirement of 4 years. I plan to leave Australia to see my wife somewhere around December 2014 and will come back to Australia in july 2015. Is this absence from Australia going to hinder my Citizenship plans in any way?. I filled these dates in the Residency calculator and the results are positive. Inputs from the esteemed members will be highly appreciated.

I agree with you Dyanne and also believe that DIAC is not fair with the processing. Holding applications for years, be it for onshore or offshore applicants is inhumane. What i want to say is that please don't consider temporary visa holders as people who use visa as a shortcut to be in Australia. I was 19 when i came to Australia, so i left my family and everything behind just to fulfill my Australian dream. I did all this to come to Australia as early as i can and get Australian education, experience and a taste of Australian life. Now here I'm almost 27 years old and just got my residency. My question is, do you think this was a shortcut ?. This is the story of many 885/886 applicants.

I do agree with you dyanne on this " It is a matter of the right person at the right time and the ability of someone to grow and adjust himself to his surroundings". What i'm saying is recent arrivals from overseas still take time to get used to Australian culture as compared to people who have been living here for long. This was my position when i came to Australia, and i think same applies to all the new arrivals.

Thank you for your comment Sekena. I believe in your words and also know some people who have been living here for long and still the same but it is really not fair for people who never put their step in Australian soil and still think that people who come on temporary visas are here to get residency by shortcut. My question is how short is my timeline of 7 years and 5 months ?.

Dyanne, you have not arrived in Australia(assuming because of 176 visa) and comparing yourself with people on temporary visas in Australia ?. Well your sufferings are not comparable to people who have been here from last 7-8 years and still in limbo. Imagine someone like me who came to Australia on a student visa(temporary) and recently got residency after 7 years and 5 months. We have invested a lot to gain permanent residency and we came here with a plan to sort out things in 2 years. Well it takes lot of guts to come on a temporary visa or short cut(as mentioned by you), invest a lot and still live in dreamland. Honestly someone living in Australia for such a long time is more suitable and better to integrate in Australian lifestyle than people who come here in a snap.

I don't think it is something serious. I got my visa grant on 3 July 2013 and can see "​primary applicant not applicable" line in my visa entitlements page.

I applied for 485 in 2008 and then waited for grant. I got 485 granted in july 2010, i.e. bit over 2 years. I then applied for 885 on 1 december 2010 and got it approved on 3/7/2013.

Thank You for the wishes Wongkitogalo ans Saras :biggrin: @Marconi, sorry mate in case i confused you. I came to Australia on a student visa in 2006 with a dream to get Australian residency. I got stuck in all the policy changes and here I'm now with Australian PR after 7 years 5 months. I'm an 885 applicant.

Yahoooooooo what a relief !! After a long wait of 7 years, I'm a proud holder of an Australian Permanent Visa. I'm on cloud 9. Visa granted today......everyone is happy in the family. I wish everyone waiting a speedy visa and an end to the long wait

Congrats Mandy !!. I have a case officer from team 6 Adelaide and got CO on same date as yours i.e. 14/05/13. My CO's initials are C-L C.

Submitted the last document (Spouse PCC) on 19 June 2013 and waiting since then. I feel like writing an email to Visa Officer and say her that i do wake up few times just to check the emails.

I'm sure immigration is well into dec 2010 as I got CO on 14/05/13. I applied on 1dec 2010 (885 cook)