lawlere

Hi All, Has anybody any experiences of applying for citizenship from overseas via the Overseas Citizenship Unit (OCU) they would be willing to share? I was previously under the impression that having met the citizenship residency requirements one had to be onshore in Australia for application lodgement, citizenship test and application approval until I came across this document from Immi on another thread: http://www.citizenship.gov.au/_pdf/acis-july-2014.pdf For further info I spoke to a migration agent who specialises in citizenship applications (as I couldn't find anything else on the web) and was advised that they had heard about issues with the process where people who had applied via the OCU were told they would have to return to Australia in order to have their application processed.

I totally agree greed with what you are saying Ozmaniac - you would imagine that the fact sheet would make reference to whether you need to be onshore in Australia for your application to be processed/decided upon in the "How long does it take to process my application" section at the bottom but it just refers to the client service charter for details in standard processing times one can expect.

Just rang the UK Australian Embassy - they advised that they only follow the directions of the Australian based OCU case manager who asks them to host the test and under "special" circumstances arranging an overseas citizenship ceremony but they are not involved in processing the applications for citizenship by confer real and in fact only process citizenship by descent applications. They basically said that the OCU were the best people to advise - but I can't find a direct number for them and from past experience I wouldn't depend on the advice provided by the Immi general citizenship helpline. I really wish the OCU option was 100% watertight but I believe I have heard and read too much conflicting information to take the risk of going down this road at this stage. There is not enough clear guidance about the whole process particularly in respect of where you need to be when the grant/decision is made on that fact sheet. However, I intend to drop in to my local Immi office in Sydney to see if I can get more info and will report back if I obtain any new relevant information. It would be really great if we could get a firsthand account from somebody who successfully completed the entire application process from start to finish whilst based overseas.

Correction to last post: Nette went back to the UK and phoned the Australian embassy to arrange lodgement and they told her it couldn't be done while she was outside Australia so she went straight back to Oz and did the whole thing there. What she is saying us that she received conflicting advice from officials at the embassy on a number of occasions.

Hello, I've been reading this thread with great interest as am in similar position to OP. I was overjoyed when I read the information from Ozmaniac about overseas lodgement arrangements and decided to do further research. However if you read Nette's story on another forum she was told after lodgement and test in the UK that she would have to return to Australia before the final decision could be made: ***Link to forum removed per forum rules*** I also spoke with an immigration lawyer who specialises in citizenship applications this evening and she urged caution re lodging an application overseas as her firm have also heard reports of late of people having to return to Oz before a decision could be made. If this is correct one wonders what is the point of having a facility to lodge from overseas as you'd be better off just applying immediately when you meet the residency requirements as the Immi customer charter advises that 80% of citizenship applications are processed within 80 days. I am going to try calling the UK Australian Embassy for clarification and will report back if I can get any concrete information (contact details here): http://www.uk.embassy.gov.au/lhlh/Immi_contact_london.html

Where are you based Pakenham?

Hi Whans On what date did you receive your invitation for the ceremony?

Hi PIO friends, Its been mentioned on a number of threads that the wait for a citizenship ceremony date can be anywhere up to six months and beyond after passing the citizenship test. For family reasons I need to travel home to the UK for an indefinite period after taking my test and would like to hear about people's experiences regarding the average notice period for the citizenship ceremony i.e. the amount of time between when the invitation is received and the actual date of the ceremony. I will have somebody opening my mail while I am away although my ability to get back in time for the ceremony would depend on how much notice is provided - I reckon I could manage it with a couple of weeks notice but am unsure at the moment about how to plan properly for this situation. Alternatively, I have also been wondering if it might be wiser to put my application through an agent who could notify me when the ceremony date is confirmed? Any advice would be greatly appreciated....

Hi Annever, I'm amazed to find somebody in such a similar position! Have you thought about how you are going to deal with a potential additional six months wait for a citizenship ceremony (maybe longer according to some posts)? I have emailed my immigration agent (am awaiting reply) to see if the correspondence can be done through her which might potentially allow me to return back to the UK after fulfilling the residency requirements as I wouldn't mind coming back at short notice for the ceremony. To be honest I wouldn't mind staying the extra six months but I'm trying to minimise the time I would be away and put an exact timeframe on the plan as the extra uncertainty about the ceremony wait is another major bone of contention for my wife.

Yes that's true, I do have till 2020 but after September/October of this year the residency clock starts ticking again and I/we would have to do another 4 years on the trot to get citizenship and won't get any credit for the two years and three months we have already done. That is the real killer. Before 2010 we would have had citizenship by now under the old 2 years on PR rule.

StevenLozza suggested earlier that as the wife of an Australian citizen my wife could apply for Permanent Resident Visa 100 but I am not sure how straightforward this is or how much it would cost.

I have suggested this but my wife maintains it's me that needs the counselling

I agree - I think my wife has no intention of ever wanting to set foot in Australia again, and trenchantly brings up all the times when I moaned and complained about various things while we were there. The thing is that I believe this is a defence mechanism as loads of people do the same thing but it doesn't ultimately mean they hate the place. I do see the long term future in Ireland/UK while our parents are alive but that could well change when they are gone, even for my wife, and is just think its a shame to close the door at this stage of the game. I've a couple of older friends in their sixties who spend half the year in Oz to escape the winters (one has citizenship and works for a few months there to fund himself) and it's killing me to think that I will probably look back regretting the missed opportunity.

Any time I bring up the subject my wife gets very upset. She can't see the point whereas I totally can. I've tried to sit down and rationally put a plan together and map everything out but emotions keep getting in the way. At times she's hinted she's accepting of the idea and at other times the opposite. Basically it's been an ongoing debate for at least the last 4 months. The usual challenge from her is "why don't you book your ticket?" But I don't want to do this unless we are in full agreement. I can see her point of view and I just wish she could see mine but she basically keeps telling me I'm mad! It's very stressful and I'm concerned that as an earlier poster pointed out if I don't go it will cause me to resent my wife in time to come. Of course if I do go it could well cause her to resent me so maybe it's a no win situation.