PRs who never bother to take out citizenship

[starlight7]

I always wonder why some people who live here permanently never make the commitment to become citizens.  I know several people like this who have been here over 30 years and have to have a visa everytime they travel back from overseas.  I would be afraid they might change the rules, personally- its been known. I am talking about people who have no intentions of ever returning to their country of origin.

[Marisawright]

I think some people still have a resistance, deep down, to being Australian. 

[JetBlast]

I know someone who isn't a citizen because of the compulsory voting. 

For stability reasons I would rather be a citizen than not.

[Johndoe]

Those that I've spoken to...............quite a few, and I quote, "I can't be arsed".....................they'd probably be the first to moan about the voters' choices.

[Amber Snowball]

Some countries don’t allow dual citizenship. A friends parner is Japanese and doesn’t want to give up his Japanese citizenship. Fair enough imo.

[xxlornaxx]

Yeah I have met a someone who won’t do it as they would lose the citizenship in their own country - Denmark I think. And onother colleague says he won’t as it’s too expensive and why should he sort of attitude, feeling he should be given it after being here and contributing for 20yrs, not have to pay and apply. I got mine as soon as possible. 

[rammygirl]

Yes. A friend of ours migrated over 20 years ago. His daughter was born here so is a citizen, his son became a citizen so he could get uni help fees. Not sure about his ex wife but he still doesn’t have citizenship, despite working for a council and organising the ceremonies. 

He says he keeps starting the application then ends up going on holiday so gets a five year RRV, then being a Yorkshire man wants his full value out of it.....................his new Aussie partner just rolls her eyes. 

[Toots]

6 hours ago, Johndoe said:

Those that I've spoken to...............quite a few, and I quote, "I can't be arsed".....................they'd probably be the first to moan about the voters' choices.

I've also heard "I can't be arsed" a few times.

[kevsan]

i dont understand either - it is a top priority for us. 17 more days to go before i can push the button!

[s713]

To be fair, I couldn't be arsed, the form is too big. Plus, what do I get out of it? The chance to vote for a new PM every 6 weeks? Whoopee.

[can1983]

17 minutes ago, s713 said:

To be fair, I couldn't be arsed, the form is too big. Plus, what do I get out of it? The chance to vote for a new PM every 6 weeks? Whoopee.

actually you don't get that chance, they just change themselves.

Your 6 weeks is a gross exaggeration. In the past 52 weeks there have only been 5 prime ministers so its more like 10 weeks

[Toots]

15 minutes ago, s713 said:

To be fair, I couldn't be arsed, the form is too big. Plus, what do I get out of it? The chance to vote for a new PM every 6 weeks? Whoopee.

I know of two people who have been her for decades and still not citizens.  They have application forms stuffed away in a drawer as they reckon it's all to hard to fill in.    The money they have spent on RRVs over the years   .............  it would have been worth their while to have completed the forms a while ago.

[SWMOY04]

So...just a quick question... I went for years without taking on British citizenship... i travelled frequently on the Indefinite Leave to Remain visa...

Does this mean the 189 (and other permanent visas) dont allow me to travel for holidays and return to Aus without a RRV?

[calNgary]

1 hour ago, s713 said:

To be fair, I couldn't be arsed, the form is too big. Plus, what do I get out of it? The chance to vote for a new PM every 6 weeks? Whoopee.

Mp's and voting were not even a factor in us getting citizenship. It was more for the security and to give our children options in the future without them having to jump through the hoops like we had too. To us it was the final piece in the whole migration jigsaw.

I actually feel sorry for people who post on here who didn't gain citizenship when they had the chance and now want to return but cant. It must be a bit of a kick in the teeth.

Cal x

[Bulya]

2 hours ago, s713 said:

To be fair, I couldn't be arsed, the form is too big. Plus, what do I get out of it? The chance to vote for a new PM every 6 weeks? Whoopee.

Haven’t you left yet?

[Gbye grey sky]

I am now eligible to apply but haven’t got around to it.  I will need to get myself a 5 year RRV anyway as I am planning a New Zealand trip at the end of the year (my first overseas trip since arriving here) and I would never have received citizenship by then anyway.

As I am 60 late next year I may well wait another 18 months before applying.  The over 60 application is about $100 cheaper I believe and there is no requirement to sit a test (?) so for the sake of 18 months I may as well delay it I think.

I am looking forward to some day being a citizen like my wife and daughter but not sure it will make a significant difference to my life.  I did work in the polling stations at past elections but under new rules I now have to be a citizen to do so.....but that isn’t an issue really.

[Rossmoyne]

I had PR in the 1960's, but got caught up in the rules when they changed in the 1970's.   I renewed my passport in London as I was living there at the time and didnt go to Australia House to get my PR visa physically attached to my passport.   2 years later when I wanted to come to Oz on holiday to visit family, I found out the hard way and had to obtain a visitor visa.   15 years later when I wanted to return to live in Australia with my children, we had to go through the whole emigration process again.   It was a total nightmare.    So a soon as we were eligible for Citizenship, we applied for it.   Both  my children (now in their 30's) have travelled overseas easily and even lived back in UK for a time and were able to just move back to Australia when they wanted to.

Basically though, I just thought that if Australia was the country I wanted to live permanently in, I should become a Citizen.  

My parents had lived here for 30 years before they applied for Citizenship and it was only me doing so that spurred them on to it.

[rammygirl]

6 hours ago, SWMOY04 said:

So...just a quick question... I went for years without taking on British citizenship... i travelled frequently on the Indefinite Leave to Remain visa...

Does this mean the 189 (and other permanent visas) dont allow me to travel for holidays and return to Aus without a RRV?

The travel portion only lasts for 5 years from grant of PR. After that you can remain here but if you want to leave and return you need an RRV or citizenship. 

Yes the citizenship form is a pain to complete but worth it. I did three as I knew my husband and son would never get round to it otherwise!

My eldest doesn’t yet qualify and has had to get an RRV (1 year). And will probably need another before citizenship as the process is taking so long these days and he has to travel for work. At least he will get a 5 year RRV next time. 

[Saurer Pfirsich]

I've toyed with taking out citizenship once or twice during my time residing in Australia, but it's not something that sits comfortably with me.

I'd do it if it looked like the rules around PR might change and citizenship was required in order to get around any possible complications for my family. Otherwise, it feels a bit unethical to me, a bit like pretending to be someone you're not. 

I see taking out citizenship (of any country) as an expression of a deep-seated commitment to that country. I don't feel committed to Australia in the same way that other Brits generally are. Don't get me wrong, I have a lot of respect for the place and as a family we've had a good life here, but it's not my country and I know that I'll go home one day. In that respect I'm more an ex-pat than an immigrant, if you know what I mean?

Maybe that lack of a deeper connection with the place, along with strong ties to the UK is at the heart of it?

Anyway, as I say, I'd never rule it out entirely, but at this stage taking it out looks unlikely. 

[MacGyver]

Like others I felt that gaining citizenship was the last step in a long journey rather than a significant moment in life. I joked with Australian friends about the process and the questions in the citizenship test and thought that it wouldn't change much afterwards.

But after attending the citizenship ceremony, quite unexpectedly something felt different. I felt more connected to Australia and felt like a dual citizen rather than a migrant. Rather than an outsider adapting to Australia I felt like part of the team as cheesy as that sounds and I'm very proud to have my AustralIan passport.

Maybe it's the security of the passport, maybe it's being accepted with open arms...whatever it is I'm glad I did it and it definitely enhanced my connection to Australia.

Edited March 27, 2019 by MacGyver

[ali]

1 hour ago, Saurer Pfirsich said:

I've toyed with taking out citizenship once or twice during my time residing in Australia, but it's not something that sits comfortably with me.

I'd do it if it looked like the rules around PR might change and citizenship was required in order to get around any possible complications for my family. Otherwise, it feels a bit unethical to me, a bit like pretending to be someone you're not. 

I see taking out citizenship (of any country) as an expression of a deep-seated commitment to that country. I don't feel committed to Australia in the same way that other Brits generally are. Don't get me wrong, I have a lot of respect for the place and as a family we've had a good life here, but it's not my country and I know that I'll go home one day. In that respect I'm more an ex-pat than an immigrant, if you know what I mean?

Maybe that lack of a deeper connection with the place, along with strong ties to the UK is at the heart of it?

Anyway, as I say, I'd never rule it out entirely, but at this stage taking it out looks unlikely. 

The reasons you suggest are the reasons we took out citizenship.  We do feel that we belong here that when we think of home - it's here.  

We applied as soon as we were eligible (which was 2 years).

[Johndoe]

13 hours ago, s713 said:

 Plus, what do I get out of it?

Likely wasting typing time here but:

"ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country."

Those who don't consider it to be "your country" are welcome to continue "as is" but please bugger off as soon as means afford

Edited March 27, 2019 by Johndoe

[Phoenix16]

We gained citizenship as soon as we were eligible and proud to do so! But, it also gave us the final piece of security in our journey and means that we can always live in the same country as our child, no matter what happens in the future and not having crystal balls that gives us piece of mind. I know I will get shot down in flames for this example but being an avid ‘real housewives of....’ viewer (I know I’m sad, just my secret pleasure ), there is a guy on the New Jersey franchise who moved to USA with his parents  aged 1,  never took out USA citizenship, committed mortgage fraud 40 years later and got 4 years, he’s just completed his sentence and has now been removed to a deportation centre and is being deported back to Italy.  His wife, 4 children, parents, siblings, extended family etc are all staying in the USA, he cannot speak Italian and has no family there.  It is sad, and all of this for mortgage fraud... no one can ever know what the future holds, or how laws change, but I’m guessing this guy really wishes he’d just filled in his citizenship forms when he had the chance!! As I say, shoot me down In flames for my bad taste in TV !

[SteveandKirsty]

1 hour ago, Phoenix16 said:

We gained citizenship as soon as we were eligible and proud to do so! But, it also gave us the final piece of security in our journey and means that we can always live in the same country as our child, no matter what happens in the future and not having crystal balls that gives us piece of mind. I know I will get shot down in flames for this example but being an avid ‘real housewives of....’ viewer (I know I’m sad, just my secret pleasure ), there is a guy on the New Jersey franchise who moved to USA with his parents  aged 1,  never took out USA citizenship, committed mortgage fraud 40 years later and got 4 years, he’s just completed his sentence and has now been removed to a deportation centre and is being deported back to Italy.  His wife, 4 children, parents, siblings, extended family etc are all staying in the USA, he cannot speak Italian and has no family there.  It is sad, and all of this for mortgage fraud... no one can ever know what the future holds, or how laws change, but I’m guessing this guy really wishes he’d just filled in his citizenship forms when he had the chance!! As I say, shoot me down In flames for my bad taste in TV !

All true though!

There have been several similar examples from within Australia over the years too.

Citizenship and whether to or not is a matter of personal choice, but really if you are long term settled in a/the country then becoming a citizen is surely part of that process.  

[JetBlast]

2 hours ago, Phoenix16 said:

We gained citizenship as soon as we were eligible and proud to do so! But, it also gave us the final piece of security in our journey and means that we can always live in the same country as our child, no matter what happens in the future and not having crystal balls that gives us piece of mind. I know I will get shot down in flames for this example but being an avid ‘real housewives of....’ viewer (I know I’m sad, just my secret pleasure ), there is a guy on the New Jersey franchise who moved to USA with his parents  aged 1,  never took out USA citizenship, committed mortgage fraud 40 years later and got 4 years, he’s just completed his sentence and has now been removed to a deportation centre and is being deported back to Italy.  His wife, 4 children, parents, siblings, extended family etc are all staying in the USA, he cannot speak Italian and has no family there.  It is sad, and all of this for mortgage fraud... no one can ever know what the future holds, or how laws change, but I’m guessing this guy really wishes he’d just filled in his citizenship forms when he had the chance!! As I say, shoot me down In flames for my bad taste in TV !

You have a point. I have come across someone who had a "scuffle" with a burglar in his garden. He got convicted for assault as the burglar was outside of his house.  I also know someone with a conviction of indecent exposure - in his uni days he took a jimmy riddle in a park on a night out. Although I don't expect to do that I guess there is always the chance of a good person being convicted of something. It will make things more secure being a citizen.