LAG

11 hours ago, Indianinoz said:

Thanks LAG and Ausa0000 for your replies.

Somehow, the 2 posts above from each of you is contradictory. One says there is no message when invited for test, just email. The other says he received a message for invitation for the test. I'm just curious. Please check and confirm. Or is it different for different applicants?

My question is simple - Do you receive a message on immi account when invited for the test?

Hi, I also can only speak for my own experience. I received an email with a test appointment and a copy of this email is available on the messages section of my application.  I think Ausa0000 is making a very good observation here regarding the location of the test. I went to the DOHA office in Melbourne CBD.

Looks like there is no straight answer to this question... just like everything else related to visas and now citizenship applications.

33 minutes ago, Dr-StrangeLove said:

Ah ok thanks. So if the ceremony invite comes in as an email as well, the same is seen in the Messages tab in the ImmiAccount? 

No, I just checked my account to be absolutely sure. The only messages I have are the acknowledgement of app received and then the invitation for the test.

For the ceremony I got an email sent from citizenship.ceremony.events@homeaffairs.gov.au and also got a letter sent by post. I have heard of people who only get the invitation sent by post and no emails.

19 minutes ago, Dr-StrangeLove said:

Oh ok. I might have mistaken then. I thought I got from my local MP. It had the Aus coat of arms in the letter as well. Might have been from the ministry like you said. 

So this letter is separate to the one to be expected for ceremony?

Hi, yes everyone gets that letter a few days after the application is approved. It doesn't really have any important information on it... other than saying that we are not citizens until we attend the ceremony.

The invitation for a ceremony will come by post or/and email around 4 weeks before the ceremony.

45 minutes ago, millski88 said:

Given that me and the OH are (hopefully) within the last month or two of our wait, it's getting to the 'obsessive checking stage' I'm sure we're all so used to from our immigration journeys... I wonder if i can lighten the mood (and waste some thumb-twiddling time) by posing a question to the group -

 

 What are your plans for your citizenship ceremony day?

 

We'll hopefully have the in-laws visiting from the UK over our ceremony, so they'll be joining us. Aside from them we'll almost certainly max-out our invite allowance with close friends and others who have helped us along the way. 

Ceremonies in our area are late afternoon/early evening, and always during the week, so we'll likely get off work early and have a drink in a pub nearby, then go out for some food as a group after.

My UK passport expires in about 4 months, so i'm keen to order both new UK and Aus passports at the same time and have them both brand new (hopefully with a good photo this time!). I think that'd be a really nice touch at the end of this 7 year journey!

So what are you all going to get up to?

 

Hi. We are having our ceremony on Australia Day, ours is early afternoon so planning to do the aussie thing after it and visit the local pub for a parma and pot with some family and friends!

Planning to apply for an Aus passport first thing on the 28...

4 minutes ago, Indianinoz said:

I can't see Citizenship appointment so it possibly opens up when one gets invitation letter. Where can I find messages?

Also, do all applicants of family get a consolidated appointment letter? Or if different, I believe the appointment date is the same? Me and wife applied at a gap of 4 days from each other.

Hi. Applications are managed individually. Each of you will get separate communications, appointment for interview and test could be on the same date or not but again will definitely be an individual interview for each applicant. For the ceremony you can link your applications. If you do this then you both will be invited to the same ceremony. Don't worry if you didn't link your applications before submitting them, you can just call the department and ask the applications to b linked.  You will receive a confirmation email a few days after. I did this for me and my wife and we are attending the same ceremony.

4 hours ago, millski88 said:

Nice! Congrats. Early invitation!

Is your ceremony due to be in the normal venue for your council, or is it a special Jan 26th one in the city, Fed Square etc?

Also, when did you get approval?

Hi thanks!

I got approved on 29 August my wife on 5 September. I think is a special 26 Jan ceremony, it is not at the usual council place. It is going to be at the Hyatt Place, this is Essendon Fields, so it is the same council but not their usual venue.  

Just got the email today! Also my wife.

NO REPLY - Invitation to attend an Australian citizenship ceremony

The ceremony will be on 26 January,  I am from Monee Valley council.

Applied in June this year. Application was approved on 29 August.

Happy days!

14 minutes ago, RIZWA said:

Hi Lasanga,

  Nope, Email contains all the test dates and required documentation for interview and test. i believe i cannot reschedule it.

thanks

Hi Rizwa,

Are you in a regional area? maybe this is the reason why you can't change the appointment. You can always try giving them a call and see if they can help you.

Good luck!

38 minutes ago, RIZWA said:

Hi folks new to this forum, just curious about my application if expert members will be able to answer will be thankful.I submitted my application on 28-January-2019 (Western Australia Pilbara Region) and until now i haven,t received  any update on Immi account. I am not sure about post due to fifo work maybe i miss the post but at least something should be updated on Immi account?

Should i contact them or just keep waiting?
           

Hi Rizwa, I guess there is no harm on calling the helpline and asking. Probably you get the standard answer that your application is within the published waiting time. But if it helps you feel better that at least you did something, I'll say go for it.

Good luck.

7 minutes ago, millski88 said:

I am that's right! Are you too?

I'm not a member of whirlpool but i'll join up and add myself.

Thanks!

 

Tom

No, I'm from Monee Valley. According to their website the last ceremony for 2019 was last week. So I guess I'll wait until Australia day.

3 hours ago, millski88 said:

Want to preface this with the fact that we have been *incredibly* lucky on our visa/migration journey in regards to turnaround times. I definitely did not expect this timeline or take this for granted.

But, this morning my citizenship flipped over to Approved too, after the OH's has end of last week. We're on the last straight! 

Congratulations!

I think you are from Moreland right? anyway, there is a very active whirlpool forum and they've just created a list of people waiting for ceremony by council

Moreland Council

Mikhel Approval:22 August 2019 Ceremony waiting
Mikhel's partner Approval:28 August 2019 Ceremony waiting
kokodajs Approved Sept10th, ceremony waiting

Link to the list https://whirlpool.net.au/wiki/ceremony_backlog and the thread in case you want to have a look https://forums.whirlpool.net.au/thread/9w0vkxm3?p=1207

Cheers, the wait is almost over!

29 minutes ago, Rvee said:

HI FRIENDS

Date of Application: August 10 2019

citizenship Test invitation date: Oct  21 2019

Test Date : 21 Feb 2020

Changed Test Date: 23 OCT 2019

Test passed but still shows in immi account RECEIVED 

anyone knows why ?

thanks

Ceremony Date: waiting

 

 

Hi Rvee, congratulations on passing the test!

The interview and test are just part of the assessment process, not necessarily the last steps on the process. Usually after the interview case officers request a police clearance from the Australian Federal Police (they do that, you don't need to do anything). Maybe in your case they are just waiting for that. 

Hopefully the application gets approved soon! cheers.

1 hour ago, KazBaker said:

Dear LAG,

Thanks for your valuable information.

should i apply the “Evidence of citizenship” once  baby is born with the birth certificate? thanks 

cheers !

Hi, yes you apply after the baby is born and you have the birth certificate. But that certificate I think is only needed for the passport. So you don't need to rush, unless you are planning to get a passport for your son. Things like medicare and so on can be done with the birth certificate.

12 hours ago, KazBaker said:

Dear Friends,

I have applied for Citizenship recently. my wife is pregnant and due in next month. How my new born will be citizen automatically? i heard new born to permanent residents will be automatically citizen. if this true, then how can i apply for him? is this the application of evidence of citizenship?

please guide me. Thanks 

Hi KazBaker,

Yes children born to PR parents are citizens. I know this firsthand, my daughter was born after I got PR. She already has her citizenship certificate and passport. Info here https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/citizenship/certificate/get-a-certificate#Eligibility The application process is very easy and quick. I got the certificate within a couple of days. With that you can then apply for a passport if that is what you need.

The question is if you need to update your citizenship application after your son is born?  Maybe call the department and check this with them.

Cheers.

1 hour ago, andrewajp002 said:

Hi all

I don't get on here as much as I would like, general life and work has taken over and its starting to feel like home now (after 4 years), I have just started my citizenship application and embarrassingly as an IT worker I fell for a stupid non government website to start the process and later found out it was not a registered site and charged me $160 just to download the forms,  doh.

Word of warning, the only 2 ways to apply for citizenship is either through a registered agent or through the government website (immi account) for $285, i learnt the hard way.

OK, now for my real reason for the post  I do not have access to a birth certificate, can you still complete the citizen application without one?  I more then cover the minimum 100 points requirement without it, I have a UK passport and drivers licence, bank account, rental lease, medicare card, car insurance / rego etc. 

 It would be a pain to have to get a birth certificate from the UK and would make life sooo much easier if I didn't have to

Thanks in advance

Andrew

 

Hi it seems to be possible to submit an application without a birth certificate.

Taken from immi website:  https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/citizenship/become-a-citizen/permanent-resident#HowTo

9 hours ago, Aug2017ACT said:

back log is nearly 200.000 !!!

https://www.sbs.com.au/news/lives-are-on-hold-government-pressured-to-address-citizenship-backlog

And Moonee Valley is taking 60 per ceremony... this is going to be a long wait...

On 13/09/2019 at 09:19, MrGrieves said:

Not if the ceremony is scheduled 4-5 months later, which is the average wait at the moment.

On 13/09/2019 at 09:49, millski88 said:

Look on the bright side though? 

Guess what!!!

I received the ceremony invite e-mail for the 2-Oct. So if you have not got the invite for this one, you will definitely be in for the 23rd Oct.

Here is the final timeline.
My Timeline (Applied with my child)
Online application applied/ received – 1/05/19
Council – Greater Dandenong, VIC
Email received 23/07/2019 with date for citizenship test for Late Jan2020
Date of the Citizenship Test – 08/08/2019
Date of approval – 08/08/2019 (same day)
Citizenship approval letter received -16/08/2019
Ceremony invite e-mail – 13/09/2019
Ceremony: 02/10/2019

5 Months from start to Finish!!
Thank Lord. Super excited!!!

1 hour ago, millski88 said:

Think we've finally got our appointments in order.

Me - 17th October
OH - 24th October

OH needed one as late as possible in the afternoon, so probably not feasible to hold out for the same day. Happy that these aren't too long to wait now, and fairly close together.

Averaging 95-100% on the practice tests, itching to do it now!!!

Great! it will be test day in no time!

Good luck now holding back and not trying to reschedule it for a week earlier haha.

8 hours ago, cashman said:

Hi Guys new to this site

My Time Line

30/06/2019 - Applied Online with my Daughter

22/07/2019 - Received appointment letter for 19/11/2019

02/09/2019 - Resheduled for Test and both Passed and I approved same Day

But my Daughter status still says “RECEIVED”, We are from Shire of Cockburn, Perth.

 

Is there anyone on this same situation??

 

Hi Cashman, both of you had the same case officer for the interview? My situation is not exactly the same as you, but my wife and I applied exactly at the same time received interview invitations on the same day and passed the test and interview also on the same day, we had different interviewers. I got approved the morning after the test, my wife's application is still received.

It has been a week now...

3 minutes ago, millski88 said:

Could anyone recommend a good source of practice tests? I've got a few different iphone apps but not convinced of their accuracy, the english is pretty bad in some of the questions!

To be honest you should be fine with the booklet and the YouTube videos. I had the same experience, downloaded an app and realised that it had mistakes.

The videos are good as they have exactly what you need to know. The booklet has a lot of additional information.

10 minutes ago, millski88 said:

Hey LAG. Just out of interest, when did your test email arrive and when did you end up having your test appointment? Interesting that my initial date was earlier than yours but you've already managed to get it ticked off! the waiting times must fluctuate a lot depending on the office i suppose.

Yes I was thinking the same. Dates and timelines are all over the place. I got the email on 2 August for 7 February 2020. I was able to reschedule it for 28 August.

Now waiting for the ceremony. According to Moonee Valley's website there's only two left in 2019, 17 Sept and 23 Oct. I can only hope I guess hahaha

15 hours ago, millski88 said:

Does anyone know - if i reschedule my test appointment can i continue to reschedule? So if i grab a test date a month earlier but an even earlier one comes up later, can i reschedule again?

Hi millski88. Great that you got your interview invitation!

There is absolutely no problem with how many times you reschedule, I moved mine three or four times.  Initial date was Feb 2020 so moved it month by month and then one last time so my wife and I had the test on the same day. The case officer didn't even mention it, I don't think they care about that.

Hope you can move your test sooner.

Cheers!

15 minutes ago, shaundennis said:

Congratulations on passing your test, I am not from the same council but I just had a quick question. The approval on the immi site did you get an email notification or did you check on the site itself?

I have by test yesterday and have a very similar timeline, so hoping for a quick approval. 

 

Thanks! No email. I checked the immi account. I had a nice case officer for the interview and she told me that there is no email sent for the approval. She also mentioned that she just needed to run some checks and that if everything was ok she expected to be able to approve within a day or two. So I checked this morning!

Update on my application

Applied - 06/2019

City/Council area - Mooney Valley, Vic

Interview and test invitation received - 2/08/2019 

Date of the Citizenship Test - 28/08/2019 (rescheduled from February 2020)

Immi account approval - 29/08/2019

Anyone else from the same council here waiting for ceremony?

33 minutes ago, Hex said:

Hey Guys

New to this forum, active contribute on the 457-186 visa thread.

I realized that it's nearly time for me to apply for citizenship and honestly have no idea where to start (I was hoping I could use an MA but it seems not many of them do this, as it's not profitable for them). 

I don't want to be "one of those people" (we get a bunch of them on the other forum) but short of me reading through the 193 pages here, I was hoping someone could point me to some relevant information on where to start. 
- My assumption is that I'd need to do it all online, via my Immi account. It feels like it should be simple but i'm afraid I know way more on 186 / 187 progression visas vs the citizenship  

Hi Hex, welcome to the citizenship thread. There is a few of us here also coming from 457/186 visas.

Citizenship applications are a lot simpler than visa applications (every case is different but I think in general terms they are). As you said all is done online. A good place to start is here https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/citizenship/become-a-citizen/permanent-resident  

Hope that helps. Cheers.