bwatt99 Posted April 23, 2017 Share Posted April 23, 2017 29 minutes ago, rammygirl said: Even if she was eligible and applied in early June with the delays and backlogs caused waiting for the new tests it could easily be next year before it is all sorted anyway! Yes maybe but nobody knows this yet anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wombatinabox Posted April 23, 2017 Share Posted April 23, 2017 (edited) 10 minutes ago, bwatt99 said: Yes maybe but nobody knows this yet anyway. The bill specifically says the new tests ( English and values test) applies for all applicants who apply after April 20. New tests will only be ready end 2017 or early 2018. This can can only mean citizenship applicants who are eligible under new rules either way will have to wait for approval until 2018 when new tests are developed, most likely well into 2018 and 2019 due to the massive backlog that will be created. Pretty much we are all screwed either way. Edited April 23, 2017 by wombatinabox Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elderberry Posted April 23, 2017 Share Posted April 23, 2017 4 hours ago, Stevwtosh said: Yea that Thier choice not to be here when they were granted PR visa, and those are the people who are abusing the system, when you know you are not ready to move to Australia why do you applied for it in the first place. Not called for mate. I have not abused any system and nor has Path2Aus. I was merely pointing out to them that they could apply for Citizenship after 3 years rather than 4 based on the same circumstances as me. It's called matemanship here in Australia. There are hundreds of reasons why things can be delayed, life very often gets in the way of the best laid plans - from personal ill health, sudden deaths in the family, unexpected new arrivals, to difficulty in selling or renting a house. To tarnish all of us as 'abusing the system' is a ridiculous over-simplification. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unzippy Posted April 23, 2017 Share Posted April 23, 2017 2 minutes ago, elderberry said: Not called for mate. I have not abused any system and nor has Path2Aus. I was merely pointing out to them that they could apply for Citizenship after 3 years rather than 4 based on the same circumstances as me. It's called matemanship here in Australia. There are hundreds of reasons why things can be delayed, life very often gets in the way of the best laid plans - from personal ill health, sudden deaths in the family, unexpected new arrivals, to difficulty in selling or renting a house. To tarnish all of us as 'abusing the system' is a ridiculous over-simplification. Don't stress too much, I can see from here that you are going to do better at the English test than stevwtosh? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dec05 Posted April 23, 2017 Share Posted April 23, 2017 I dont understand the four year residency change - I was looking at the conditions for applying for citizenship a few weeks ago coincidentally and it saidyou have to living in oz for years as a condition. When was it ever one year ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elderberry Posted April 23, 2017 Share Posted April 23, 2017 Just now, Dec05 said: I dont understand the four year residency change - I was looking at the conditions for applying for citizenship a few weeks ago coincidentally and it saidyou have to living in oz for years as a condition. When was it ever one year ? The difference is the period that you need to be a PR in Australia. Now you will have to be in Australia for four years as a Permanent resident. Previously, you could be here on a number of other visas (including 457's) and not a PR for 3 years, then one year as a PR and apply for citizenship. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dec05 Posted April 23, 2017 Share Posted April 23, 2017 Ok thanks for clearing that up for me. We are moving over this summer on PR and I was concerned I had missed something! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elderberry Posted April 23, 2017 Share Posted April 23, 2017 Just now, Dec05 said: Ok thanks for clearing that up for me. We are moving over this summer on PR and I was concerned I had missed something! For you nothing has changed in terms of timing to apply for Citizenship. Whether there will be a need to re-apply for police checks and sit a dreaded IELTS test again, only time will tell. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Felix123 Posted April 23, 2017 Share Posted April 23, 2017 What about those who applied before 20 April. Are greater delays expected or expediency to clear preexisting prechange applications? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wombatinabox Posted April 23, 2017 Share Posted April 23, 2017 1 minute ago, Felix123 said: What about those who applied before 20 April. Are greater delays expected or expediency to clear preexisting prechange applications? If applied before April 20 you will be fine and processed under old system. Infact expect faster processing as you now have possibly tens of thousands who are suddenly not eligible and will free up processing time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 23, 2017 Share Posted April 23, 2017 Hi all, My situation is I have 186 PR granted in Dec 2015 after 3.5 years on a 457 and prior to that 2 years on WHV. Under the old policy I would of been able to apply for citizenship in December 2016 which I fully intended to do, however due to family reasons I had to return to the UK in July 2016. This trip would be the first time I had left the country. Even though my family still need me here I had planned to return to Australia next month so I would not be out of the country over the 12 month threshold and start earning my time on PR to qualify to apply for citizenship early 2018........ Oh how that plan now changes! I now find myself in a situation where i wont be able to apply for another 4 years regardless of when I go back. These changes are so terribly unfair, I have lived in Australia for such a long time already, I love the country worked bloody hard to make a life for myself there and I feel more Australian then English! Im sure many on this forum feel the same, we all know its not so easy as the media make out to get the visas and build a life here. I now know i should of stayed and sorted my citizenship out but i had a plan and who could of foreseen these crazy changes. I do not regret leaving the country as family is the most important thing, i just feel as though i'm now punished for leaving when i did. i'm now wracked with anxiety and so worried il have to return to UK again in the future but will potentially lose my PR that I worked so hard for because of this time outside of the country. Is anyone else concerned as to whats coming next? I feel a sense of urgency to come back to Australia incase something changes in relation to the rights of Perm Residents living overseas.... I do hope they look again at these changes and reconsider this 4 year PR requirement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wombatinabox Posted April 23, 2017 Share Posted April 23, 2017 (edited) 13 minutes ago, JaneOz1983 said: Hi all, My situation is I have 186 PR granted in Dec 2015 after 3.5 years on a 457 and prior to that 2 years on WHV. Under the old policy I would of been able to apply for citizenship in December 2016 which I fully intended to do, however due to family reasons I had to return to the UK in July 2016. This trip would be the first time I had left the country. Even though my family still need me here I had planned to return to Australia next month so I would not be out of the country over the 12 month threshold and start earning my time on PR to qualify to apply for citizenship early 2018........ Oh how that plan now changes! I now find myself in a situation where i wont be able to apply for another 4 years regardless of when I go back. These changes are so terribly unfair, I have lived in Australia for such a long time already, I love the country worked bloody hard to make a life for myself there and I feel more Australian then English! Im sure many on this forum feel the same, we all know its not so easy as the media make out to get the visas and build a life here. I now know i should of stayed and sorted my citizenship out but i had a plan and who could of foreseen these crazy changes. I do not regret leaving the country as family is the most important thing, i just feel as though i'm now punished for leaving when i did. i'm now wracked with anxiety and so worried il have to return to UK again in the future but will potentially lose my PR that I worked so hard for because of this time outside of the country. Is anyone else concerned as to whats coming next? I feel a sense of urgency to come back to Australia incase something changes in relation to the rights of Perm Residents living overseas.... I do hope they look again at these changes and reconsider this 4 year PR requirement. Unfortunately count on these new rules and changes happening. With a weak spineless Labor opposition, don't expect them to fight this much. Yes it may have been your mistake for not applying immediately when you were qualified in December 2016 but no point regretting. I have learnt from own experience to never take things for granted, it's always advisable to apply immediately the moment you qualify. I suggest approaching a migration agent to see your options. And make sure you follow up and stay up to date on changes as not to miss out on any details that might affect you. Edited April 23, 2017 by wombatinabox Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phoenix16 Posted April 23, 2017 Share Posted April 23, 2017 I can see the worry about having to sit an IELTS but I can't see the issue with the new residency rules for those who plan to live here for many years to come, perhaps it's designed to stop those who came, decided they didn't want to stay but hung on an extra 12 months or so to get their citizenship with no intentions of ever making a life here. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Khushi02aug Posted April 23, 2017 Share Posted April 23, 2017 13 hours ago, Dec05 said: I dont understand the four year residency change - I was looking at the conditions for applying for citizenship a few weeks ago coincidentally and it saidyou have to living in oz for years as a condition. When was it ever one year ? It was one year for them who were living onshore on student ,work or any other visa for 3 years and add another one year as a permanent resident..so in total its four years but people who came directly on PR visa they had to live here for four years as well before applying citizenship. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erindave Posted April 24, 2017 Share Posted April 24, 2017 Does anybody know if it means four years, but being able to leave the country for x-months for each year? Or has that not been announced? I couldn't find anything. My concern isn't having to wait a further three years, it's not being able to spend enough time with my Grandma who is 92 in the UK. I thought I would be able to leave as soon as I got my citizenship for a few months, then return back to Australia. Now i'm worried I'm stuck here for too long. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keep me in oz Posted April 24, 2017 Share Posted April 24, 2017 Has anyone applied since the 20th of April? Is the system still allowing the application to go through? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason Martin Posted April 24, 2017 Share Posted April 24, 2017 (edited) I don't how immigration cannot process an application as the changes have not been enacted by Parliament. That said, they have stated that the new rules would be back dated to Apr 20th. Does this mean if they process an application and you are granted citizenship, will it be revoked if they pass the new laws and you do not meet the criteria? Edited April 24, 2017 by Jason Martin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
briman Posted April 24, 2017 Share Posted April 24, 2017 I applied on the 20th and no 1 hour ago, Keep me in oz said: Has anyone applied since the 20th of April? Is the system still allowing the application to go through? I applied on the 20th with no issues, I did have issues the day before however which is very frustrating for obvious reasons. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keep me in oz Posted April 24, 2017 Share Posted April 24, 2017 1 minute ago, briman said: I applied on the 20th and no I applied on the 20th with no issues, I did have issues the day before however which is very frustrating for obvious reasons. oh im sooo sorry to hear that you had issues the day before! that is terrible! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keep me in oz Posted April 24, 2017 Share Posted April 24, 2017 44 minutes ago, Jason Martin said: I don't how immigration cannot process an application as the changes have not been enacted by Parliament. That said, they have stated that the new rules would be back dated to Apr 20th. Does this mean if they process an application and you are granted citizenship, will it be revoked if they pass the new laws and you do not meet the criteria? Yea i agree with you, i doubt they would revoke it! The problem is that it is taking up to a year to process atm so the legislation is bound to have been passed by then! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason Martin Posted April 24, 2017 Share Posted April 24, 2017 Feeling frustrated at the moment as I cannot apply until July. I have seen posts on here about the delay in processing but I had a friend at work whose application and ceremony was all done and dusted in about 3 months. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rammygirl Posted April 24, 2017 Share Posted April 24, 2017 When my son applied on the morning of the 20th there was nothing anywhere on the site to indicate any changes. There are now. He got the acknowledgment but nothing since. It mentions they will contact applicants to let them know if further information might be required to meet the new requirements............ I bet the staff are mightily peed off, this is going to create a massive backlog and they will get the fall out! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keep me in oz Posted April 24, 2017 Share Posted April 24, 2017 1 hour ago, Jason Martin said: Feeling frustrated at the moment as I cannot apply until July. I have seen posts on here about the delay in processing but I had a friend at work whose application and ceremony was all done and dusted in about 3 months. Are you eligible under new legislation in July or old? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason Martin Posted April 24, 2017 Share Posted April 24, 2017 Eligible under the existing legislation. I have not heard when the new rules are being put to Parliament. I am assuming that immigration have no authority to impose the new rules or judge any application by them until it has passed through the lower house and senate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sigh Posted April 24, 2017 Share Posted April 24, 2017 (edited) Everyone is making some really strong points about the unfairness of the new rules on existing PR holders. Can I suggest that we make those same representations by way of response to the consultation document that sets out the changes? We have until June to make a submission. I'd have thought, at the very least, submissions should ask for grandfathering in relation to existing PR holders on 20 April. Also: make the case to your MP and senators - especially if they are Labor or Xbench. Edited April 24, 2017 by Sigh typos Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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