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10 years of my life was on hold, was 23 when I applied, now when i look in the mirror, i look a lot older than most of the people of my age, just because of this whole un-necessary delays from a useless department that has changed its name 4 times since i applied, DIMIA/DIMA/DIAC and now DIBP. At the end they apologised for this DELAY, no reason given for the delay what so ever, and wished me a "happy beginning". Thank you DIMIA. I am glad its over, and i can start a life. And yes, that dreadful bus ride, 10 years of wait and there is this storm between me and that certificate. One hour passed in the bus, its raining outside and i am stuck, I told myself, i should have left work earlier, but that will make me desperate, I AM DESPERATE , should have drove myself, but who could have known this will happen, every minute sitting in that bus was unbearable, may be thats how its scripted for me, struggle till the very end, may its not meant to be. With 5 minutes remaining, I got off the bus on the second last stop, i knew i can beat the bus if i run, and started running towards the venue, i told myself its now or never. People on the bus stops looked at me if i have stolen something from someone and running in the rain like that. I didnt care, my mind was focused, controlled breathing, i knew i cant let my legs tired now, adrenaline pumping, and i kept running. When i reached the venue, there was a big queue of people registering themselves and i told myself, why did I run, but i didnt have any choice and i couldnt risk it either, sweating, huffing and puffing, unlike most of them i wasnt dressed up in a suit but it didnt matter, i was smiling, i knew i made it and when they gave me the certificate, thats all it mattered then. And of the 600 people there, i am pretty certain I was the first one to leave the City Hall, as a free man.

Yesterday (27 Nov 2014) against all odds, i received my citizenship at Brisbane city hall. After the freakish storm, with baseball size hail stones, and being stuck in the Translink bus for over 2 hours, i thought it was all over, and I will never make it to the venue, but i did, and got the piece of paper after 10 years. Just to clarify, I applied as a skilled migrant on 880 visa (back in 2004 it use to be 880).

I am back again, so I decided to call department of Citizenship, the big improvement over the last 10 years is that you dont have to wait on the phone forever for them to take your call, i opted for a call back option, got a call back within an hour, and asked them about the ceremony date. A very nice lady on the phone gave me my ceremony date, warning you guys again, dont faint Citizenship Ceremony Date: 27 November 20.... ... ... ... ... ... ... 14. Yes, its this year, 27 Nov 2014. i was expecting them to say sometime next year, but no its, this year, and kinda happy :hug:

Not for the faint hearted, you been warned, dont read any further. Applied PR 880 Skilled: 30 March 2004 PR Approved: 27 Oct 2011 Citizenship Applied: 27 Oct 2012 Citizenship Test: A month later Citizenship Approved: 6 August 2014 Approval letter: 28 August 2014 Ceremony: Waiting, will see you guys in 2-4 years and will update :SLEEP: