Quinn

Date applied: 12th September 2016 City/Council area: Stonnington Council (Victoria) Online / Paper: Online Date received the acknowledgement email: 12th September 2016 Date of the Citizenship Test: 21st October 2016 (Melbourne office) Date of ceremony: 26th January 2017 Type of ceremony (Urgent/Normal): Normal Received my ceremony invitation letter today! 102 candidates invited to this ceremony according to Stonnington Council.

You could try ringing the Australian consulate and ask for their advice. Theoretically she should use an Australian passport to enter Australia but if she turned up at the border with a British passport but had proof of Australian citizenship she wouldn't be denied entry.

Between your birth and 1st September 1994 did you ever enter Australia at all? Such as for a few days on a family holiday? If you have you are entitled to apply for a Resident Return Visa which would restore your permanent resident status you were afforded when you originally entered Australia and as a result it would provide an eventual pathway for your wife to get permanent residency. I had a friend who was able to get permanent residency through this technicality when he went through his mums passport and discovered he travelled to Australia for a couple of days as a baby. Failing that you can try and satisfy the criteria for a skilled visa. It takes time but it can be done. I grew up here as a child on an NZ passport and this is what I am currently in the process of doing in order to become an Australian citizen. Your other option is to to go back to NZ with your wife in order for her to become a NZ citizen. Then she will have the automatic right to live here for the rest of her life without restriction. There are negatives to this as you are aware but at least it is better than her existing status.