NelliePea Posted April 3, 2014 Share Posted April 3, 2014 I have a question for anyone who has been through this process I have just applied to find out if my citizenship still stands, I was born in Sydney to British parents, who then took me back to England before my first birthday. I am just checking to see if I still have my citizenship before i start the lengthy process of sponsoring my husband so that we can move to Australia. I am pretty sure i have never lost my citizenship and have duel citizenship. If this comes back positively does anyone know if my children will have citizenship by descent...everything points to this being the case but if i don't have to re do this form for both of them it would speed up the process and i could then just apply for passports for us all, and start my husbands visa process. What do people think? Is it worth filling in forms to check them out too? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lebourvellec Posted April 3, 2014 Share Posted April 3, 2014 From what you have said you would have lost your citizenship if you took up citizenship from another country before April 2002. Regaining lost citizenship depends when you were born, if after 1986 your parents immigration status. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NelliePea Posted April 3, 2014 Author Share Posted April 3, 2014 Ahh yes that would help, I was born in 1972 So you think i might have lost it? Oh no this could put paid to the plans I was kind of banking on the fact I already had British Citizenship by descent, and that my parents moved back and that i didn't actively give up my Australian status, it was done for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozmaniac Posted April 3, 2014 Share Posted April 3, 2014 (edited) You were born with your British citizenship by descent and did not acquire it. You were also born with your Australian citizenship. I very much doubt if you lost your Australian citizenship because you also had British citizenship even though at the time, Australia didn't recognise dual citizenship. It would have been different if you had moved to the UK and then later acquired citizenship of that country but that's not what happened. You may have however lost your Australian citizenship while a child if your parents ceased to be Australian citizens but they would need to have revoked their citizenship. Even if that was the case, you can apply to resume your Australian citizenship. Your best move would probably be to apply for proof of your Australian citizenship - that will clear any doubts and tell you if you need to do anything more. http://www.citizenship.gov.au/current/proof_of_citizenship/ Proof of citizenship http://www.citizenship.gov.au/current/resumption/ Resuming your Australian citizenship if you have lost it Edited April 3, 2014 by Ozmaniac Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NelliePea Posted April 3, 2014 Author Share Posted April 3, 2014 Hi Ozmanic I am currently doing this via the 119 form which is going through at the moment, and if i don't i will then apply to resume it. I just really wanted to find out if there was someone who had had similar experiences, as i have 2 children. It states that as long as i haven't lost my citizenship my children would go through as descendants, but I just wanted to know whether I would have to confirm this by doing a 119 form for them too or could I just apply for passports...I am just trying to cut down on time, but if we have to wait we have to wait. With the partner visa taking an average of 8 months at the moment, I am just trying to figure out a time frame in my head to plan when to put the house on the market...everything is such a balancing act. My parents were never Australian Citizens, they were not there long enough...my father struggled to find work and with no money and no family support they moved back within 18 months...I was just lucky enough to be born over there, and it is about time I ventured back Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaggieMay24 Posted April 3, 2014 Share Posted April 3, 2014 What was your parents' Australian residency status? I know today they'd need PR status for a child born here to have Australian citizenship, but I'm not sure about 1972. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NelliePea Posted April 3, 2014 Author Share Posted April 3, 2014 I have absolutely no idea...all i know is they moved there to start a new life but it didn't work out. My dad got a job, so he must have had a visa that allowed him to work, but he hated it and couldn't find any work as an electrician. They had planned to stay there, but it didn't work out so they moved back. It was at the time that Australia were crying out for people to come and live and work from England, flights were cheap and it must have seemed like a good idea. I know that if you were born after a certain date you had to live there for a certain period of time, or have one parent who is a citizen, but I was born before this date. Everything points to me still being a citizen from what i have read but you just never know, which is why i applied to check. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parley Posted April 3, 2014 Share Posted April 3, 2014 Yes you are an Australian citizen by birth and a British citizen by descent. Just apply for your passport. You need to apply for Australian citizenship for your children. It is not automatic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NelliePea Posted April 3, 2014 Author Share Posted April 3, 2014 Thank you parleycross, the form is going through at the moment anyway, so I might as well wait for it now i have paid for it but I will look into getting the kids visas sorted at the same time as my husbands. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozmaniac Posted April 4, 2014 Share Posted April 4, 2014 Hi OzmanicI am currently doing this via the 119 form which is going through at the moment, and if i don't i will then apply to resume it. I just really wanted to find out if there was someone who had had similar experiences, as i have 2 children. It states that as long as i haven't lost my citizenship my children would go through as descendants, but I just wanted to know whether I would have to confirm this by doing a 119 form for them too or could I just apply for passports...I am just trying to cut down on time, but if we have to wait we have to wait. With the partner visa taking an average of 8 months at the moment, I am just trying to figure out a time frame in my head to plan when to put the house on the market...everything is such a balancing act. My parents were never Australian Citizens, they were not there long enough...my father struggled to find work and with no money and no family support they moved back within 18 months...I was just lucky enough to be born over there, and it is about time I ventured back You were definitely a citizen at birth - in those days, everyone born in Australia was automatically an Australian citizen regardless of their parents' immigration status. I'm virtually positive you still are a citizen but your children are not yet Australian citizens as, unlike with UK citizenship by descent, it doesn't happen automatically. You will have to apply for Australian citizenship by descent for them. Even in the unlikely event that it turns out that you lost your citizenship, you apply using the standard Form 118 - there is a different process for applying for citizenship by descent for the children of former Australian citizens but that doesn't apply to your children because you would have lost it while still a minor. That means that you can get the citizenship process for your children under way without needing to wait until you have confirmed your own status. http://www.citizenship.gov.au/applying/how_to_apply/descent/ Applying for citizenship by descent Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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