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Morning all ? I had my ceremony last night and received my certificate so it's now all done and dusted! Here is my timeline just for reference. I understand the frustrations of long wait times - I am the most impatient person I know but for me it was going to happen when it happened, I've been here 7 years so waiting a few more months wasn't going to make a big difference to me. For those who are still waiting, I hope you get some movement soon and wish you all luck! Date applied: 21 Oct 2017 City/Council area: Bayside Council, NSW Online / Paper: Online Date received the acknowledgement email: 21 Oct 2017 Test invite email: I can't remember - I think it was around April 2018 Date of the Citizenship Test: 01 Jun 2018 Date of approval: 16 Jun 2018 Ceremony invitation: 13 Aug 2018 Date of ceremony: 25 Sep 2018 I've been here since December 2011 - Having held a 417 (8 months), 457 (3 years 5 months) and Permanent residency (2 years and 4 months) and I am from the UK.

I have my ceremony in late September and received my letter from the Department of Home Affairs to confirm. I have just received an email from my local council to ask me to confirm my attendance at the ceremony and they have said: "Please note that due to the recent Parliamentary Minister changes that you may not receive your certificate on the day of the ceremony and that the Department of Home Affairs will mail your certificate to you. You become a citizen when you make the Pledge of Commitment"

I did just because I have all my paperwork for my various visa applications etc held in one folder so I just took the lot. BUT you don’t need to ?

Hi All. I received my ceremony invite yesterday so here is my updated timeline. One month short of 12 months end to end. Best of luck to everyone still waiting - it's frustrating but you'll all get there in the end :) Date applied: 21 Oct 2017 City/Council area: Bayside Council, NSW Online / Paper: Online Date received the acknowledgement email: 21 Oct 2017 Test invite email: Date of the Citizenship Test: 01 Jun 2018 Date of approval: 16 Jun 2018 Ceremony invitation: 13 Aug 2018 Date of ceremony: 25 Sep 2018

Just thought I'd post an update that my online account changed to "Approved" today, 2 weeks and 2 days after I passed the test ? So now just to wait for my council to hold their next ceremony.

Yes @CowlingAFC . When she was checking my documents at the interview, she noticed a problem with something my ID verified had signed on the 1195 form, just got her to re-sign the form and uploaded it to my immi account ASAP ? Was still able to sit the test etc.

Hi @whtzau No, not yet but there was a problem with one of my uploaded documents so I had to re-upload it today so I wasn't expecting anything just yet anyway.

Date applied: 27 October 2017 City/Council area: Bayside Council, NSW (Sydney CBD test centre) Online / Paper: Online Date received the acknowledgement email: 27 October 2017 Date of the Citizenship Test: 1 June 2018 Date of ceremony: TBC Type of ceremony (Urgent/Normal): Normal In addition, I'm English and have been in Australia since 2011. 417, 457, then PR. Have held my PR for 2 years and 1 month.

I'm not complaining in any way, I've got no problem having paid the visa costs and am not about to ask for it back or anything, I was just interested as to know if anyone had any experience of this. I have a good relationship with the company and am not about to try and get them in trouble with immigration or anyone but would be useful for them to know for future reference in case it comes up again

Hi I'm just after some advice or someone to point in the right direction for advice! I am in Australia on a 457 visa, sponsored by my company. I was working for them on a 6month contract on a 417 visa and asked them if they would consider sponsoring me. As I asked them, rather than them offering the option to me, they informed me that I would need to pay for the visa, which I agreed to. We employed a migration agent who helped with all the neccessary paperwork and my visa was granted. My company paid the bill and I have been salary sacrificing it, i.e. my company take x amount of money out of my wages before tax and have now paid the whole bill. I thought nothing of this but a couple of people since have questioned why I paid for the visa and whether that is actually legal to do. I have found two conflicting pieces of information: "The employer CANNOT seek or recover from the sponsored person any or part of the costs, including migration agent costs, recruitment costs or sponsorship costs. This is at any time. The primary applicant can pay their own costs for their 457 visa directly to a migration agent". This is where I am confused. Can anyone help me out?! Should I have paid?! I had no problem with paying because it meant I was able to stay in Australia which is what I really wanted to do but now I'm wondering if I should have! Thank you