Does my UK-born child need aussie citizenhsip to live in OZ?

[Holsten76]

Hi,

 

I need a bit of advice please. My partner is a UK and Australian citizen and I am UK citizen and have Oz residency. My daughter, aged 3, was born in Oz and has Oz and British passports. We moved back to UK 2 years ago and have had a baby boy here, he is 6 months old. He has a British passport.

 

We are moving back to Oz in 4 weeks time. I just assumed that my son would be able to travel on his British passport and we could apply for Oz citizenship when we get back to Oz. I have had a thought that it may not be this simple and, after googling, it looks like he may need to get Citizen by descent and an Ozzie passport. I'm a bit worried as don't have long to get this sorted if this is the case.

 

Any help on this would be greatly appreciated!

[Croft]

It sounds as though your son is eligible for Australian citizenship (https://www.border.gov.au/Trav/Citi/pathways-processes/application-options/descent and the High Commission in London http://uk.embassy.gov.au/lhlh/immi_citz.html). Now, the question is, is he classified as an Australian citizen now (through your partner), as would be the case with British citizenship, or do you have to apply for it. This makes a big difference as strictly speaking if he is classified as Australian already he must enter Australia on an Australian passport.

 

It is best to talk to the High Commission in London as you may face problems coming into Australia otherwise.

[MaggieMay24]

British citizens still need a visa to enter Australia, so you'd either need to apply for a visa for your son or else his citizenship by descent.

[Holsten76]

Thanks for the reply. I'm thinking if I get his citizen by descent then will he be able to enter on his UK passport or will he need an Aus one? I'll have to make enquiries quick sharp

[Michael Arch]

Your son is eligible to become an Australian citizen.

 

Under the Australian Citizenship Act (section 16) a person is eligible to become an Australian citizen if they are born outside of Australia after 26 January 1949 and one of the parents was an Australian citizen at the time of the person's birth. (Depending upon how your partner acquired Australian citizenship, it may be necessary to show in the application that your partner has been lawfully present in Australia for a period of at least 2 years before the citizenship application is made for your son.

 

Your son can travel to Australia on his British passport under a Subclass 651 eVisitor visa, which you will need to apply for.

 

The eVisa will allow your son to remain lawfully in Australia for a period of 3 months. It would therefore be advisable in my opinion for you to lodge the citizenship application for your son as soon as possible so hopefully it will be processed and your son will be granted Australian citizenship during the 3 month period of his visa.

[Holsten76]

Getting a visa would be no problem I'm just not sure if we can do that and then get him Aussie citizenship once we get to Oz.

[Holsten76]

Thanks Michael, sorry that previous reply was just meant as a post.

 

That sounds like a good way to go but I'm worried that he may not be entitled to things when we arrive, such as Family allowance type payments or medicare etc.

 

I will call the high commission!

[Nemesis]

Thanks Michael, sorry that previous reply was just meant as a post.

 

That sounds like a good way to go but I'm worried that he may not be entitled to things when we arrive, such as Family allowance type payments or medicare etc.

 

I will call the high commission!

 

The words of a registered agent are more likely to be reliable than those of a call centre operator who only knows the most general of information .........

[Michael Arch]

A citizenship application must be made for the child - he does not "automatically" acquire Australian citizenship due to being the son of an Australian citizen for the reason that he was born outside Australia.

 

The situation would be different if your son had been born in Australia, as he would then be an Australian citizen by birth (see section 12 of the Australian Citizenship Act).

 

Your son would be able to come with you lawfully on a British passport but he will need to have an eVisa - it is very unlikely that you could get a citizenship application reviewed and granted and also get an application for an Australian passport approved in the 4 week period before you are planning to come to Australia.

[Holsten76]

Thanks for the replies.

 

I thought about applying for the citizen by descent in the UK before we go and then have my son travel on his UK passport with visa but realise this could cause issues as if he's an aussie citizen then he should arrive in Australia on an aussie passport and I don't have enough time to get this.

 

It looks like it takes up to a month to do the citizen by descent so I will do it in Australia when we arrive and he can travel on his UK passport with visa (Thanks Michael for that suggestion).