Ari An

If you want to be a citizen of a country you should first consider honesty and admissibility. The Department knows everything. If you are aware in the Application Form (Paper) there is a question asking if you ever held an Australian Driver License and if yes they need the License Number. You understand what is that info required for. The Department will know everything by the time they start processing your application. Good Luck

In the Acknowledgement Letter I have received nothing is mentioned about the new requirements. It is a similar letter applicants before 20 April have received. By law this is how it should be.

I think a Paper Application is more secure. It might take somewhere a week to two months to receive the Acknowledgment Letter. And the official application date acknowledged by DIBP is the date you have signed your citizenship application.

It looks like nothing going to happen today. The Minister might not bring the bill at all for voting. He doesn`t like to be told what he needs to do. And that will put all of us or any prospective applicant in a bad position again. If that happens, the legislation will be removed from the Senate notice paper, requiring the government to win a motion to restore it at a later stage. A later stage without a date it means longer waiting again. And knowing that the current Citizenship Regulations and Citizenship Policy hasn`t changed as yet, it is not fair to continue and block the processing of the applications until further notice. Not Fair Game from any point of view.

Here is the Proposed Amendment from Independent Senator: GICHUHI, Lucy http://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/download/legislation/amend/r5914_amend_8a2b6010-ca96-4aff-9919-adf917f5604e/upload_pdf/8226revised CW Aus Citizenship Leg Amdt (Strengthening Requirements) Bill 2017 Gichuhi.pdf;fileType=application%2Fpdf 2016-2017 The Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia THE SENATE Australian Citizenship Legislation Amendment (Strengthening the Requirements for Australian Citizenship and Other Measures) Bill 2017 (Amendments to be moved by Senator Gichuhi in committee of the whole) (1) Schedule 1, item 8, page 4 (lines 22 to 25), omit the item, substitute: 8 Section 3 Insert: basic English: a person has basic English in the circumstances determined under paragraph 21(9)(a). [definition of language requirements] (2) Schedule 1, item 41, page 16 (line 19), omit “competent”, substitute “basic”. [language requirements] (3) Schedule 1, item 46, page 17 (line 9), omit “competent”, substitute “basic”. [language requirements] (4) Schedule 1, item 51, page 18 (line 6), omit “competent”, substitute: “basic”. [language requirements] (5) Schedule 1, item 53, page 18 (line 16), omit “competent”, substitute: “basic”. [language requirements] (6) Schedule 1, item 53, page 18 (line 20), omit “competent”, substitute: “basic”. [language requirements]

Some more latest news from Tony Burke in an interview with a Greek Newspaper. Similar, but still strong in opposing the government`s proposed changes in particular the language and the residency requirements. http://neoskosmos.com/news/en/Labor-minister-calls-out-citizenship-changes-as-offensive-and-snobbery

http://www.news.com.au/national/breaking-news/citizenship-unis-on-parliament-agenda/news-story/d1bd7ceb4e47517abc017815209b7967

http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2017/10/11/citizenship-unis-parliament-agenda

Latest News Citizenship, unis on parliament agenda Members of parliament will return from a four-week break on Monday to deal with issues ranging from citizenship to university funding. Source: AAP 1 HOUR AGO The federal government is pushing ahead with two controversial bills, to overhaul citizenship and university funding, despite both facing a tough path through parliament. Parliament resumes in Canberra on Monday for a four-day sitting after a month-long break. Immigration Minister Peter Dutton is keen to secure Senate passage of his bill, listed for debate on Tuesday, to tighten English language requirements for citizenship applicants and make migrants wait longer to apply. However, Labor, the Greens and Nick Xenophon Team say the changes are unfair and the government has failed to show why they are needed. Even government senators who scrutinised the bill in an inquiry said the tougher English language standard should be reconsidered, as well as the proposed two-year ban on applications following three failed attempts of the citizenship test. And that there should be some form of transitional arrangement for people who held permanent residency visas on or before April 20 so the current residency requirements apply to this cohort of citizenship applicants. If the bill is rejected, Labor says the immigration department must start processing every citizenship application immediately under the existing law. The government has listed its university reforms for debate in the Senate on Wednesday. Greens MP Adam Bandt said he feared the Nick Xenophon Team and One Nation could back the measures, which would cut funding and put students into more debt. "It's a bad reform and the Greens will be voting it down," he told AAP on Wednesday. However the coalition says the measures will enable the university sector to remain world-class and provide for no upfront fees, while easing pressure on the federal budget. The government has also prioritised draft laws to abolish "limited merits review", in a move designed to take pressure off electricity prices. A Senate committee report into the proposal is due to be tabled before debate starts on the bill. Inquiry reports are also due on the protection of personal Medicare information, laws to set up the Australian Financial Complaints Authority, road safety, the rail industry and online poker.