AUSTRALIAN CITIZENSHIP TIMELINES 2018-2019

[dodziu 26]

On 15/06/2020 at 16:04, elderberry said:

I don't think anyone knows right now, but you, me and lots of other people are wondering the same thing! Mind you I'm under Chairman Andrews control down here in Vic so it's likely to be after Christmas!

I hope they will restart soon, got cancelled 4 days before my test date back in March.

Anyone here from NT? 

[jess6 194]

Hi Everyone,

Just updating my info, I just had my virtual Citizenship Ceremony. It was very quick and easy.

I had sent an email on 27/04/2020 but I had not followed up with documents or anything as I do not think my circumstances were particular (I am pregnant but I do not believe it is relevant). So I think that it should be indicative for anyone having been approved in December 2019. Hope that helps!

Citizenship Application lodged online: 09/05/2019 (aknowledgement received on the same day)

Citizenship Email for the test received: 19/07/2019

Citizenship Test on:  19/12/2019 (results: 100%)

Citizenship Application approved 20/12/2019

Citizenship Approval letter received: 08/01/2019

EOI received: 23/06/2020

Invitation received: 26/06/2020

Citizenship Ceremony: 30/06/2020

Council: City of Port Phillip (Melbourne, Victoria)

[IndianzinOZ 10]

https://www.change.org/p/alan-tudge-restarting-citizenship-test-interview/exp/cl_/cl_sharecopy_23162805_en-GB/3/1022533028?utm_content=cl_sharecopy_23162805_en-GB%3A3&recruiter=1022533028&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=copylink&utm_campaign=share_petition

Can forum members plz sign this petition by Abhijeet Sen.

This is to start tests.

[elderberry 101]

40 minutes ago, IndianzinOZ said:

https://www.change.org/p/alan-tudge-restarting-citizenship-test-interview/exp/cl_/cl_sharecopy_23162805_en-GB/3/1022533028?utm_content=cl_sharecopy_23162805_en-GB%3A3&recruiter=1022533028&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=copylink&utm_campaign=share_petition

Can forum members plz sign this petition by Abhijeet Sen.

This is to start tests.

Sorry IndianinOz but I am not signing this petition.

In fact I think it is quite reckless and improper to push any Government to get your citizenship at the expense of putting other (Australian) Citizens at risk for your own benefit. 

Why can't you just accept that we are in very abnormal times right now, and,  if you want to be part of this society going forward then the right thing to do for your fellow Australian citizens is to be quietly patient and wait!!!!!

[Indianinoz 26]

Hello all,

We've just heard last night here in Queensland that the state is opening its borders to people from all states(barring Victoria) from 10th July. And from 3rd of July i.e. Friday, gathering of up to 100 people is allowed depending upon the size of the premises. Until 2nd July this is 20 people.

Soon it is coming to point where it is being impossible to digest the fact that citizenship test/interviews are on hold. And even worse is the fact that we don't know when they're going to commence. This is a one on one gathering and not a public gathering anyways. Citizenship ceremony is a public gathering, but even that has now been allowed by the immigration department subject to state wise restrictions. If Citizenship ceremony has been allowed statewise, why is test/interview still being kept on hold just because of one state(Victoria). Even in Victoria, where I believe a gathering of 5 is allowed, it is beyond explanation as to why a one on one activity is not being permitted.

[Indianinoz 26]

1 hour ago, elderberry said:

Sorry IndianinOz but I am not signing this petition.

In fact I think it is quite reckless and improper to push any Government to get your citizenship at the expense of putting other (Australian) Citizens at risk for your own benefit. 

Why can't you just accept that we are in very abnormal times right now, and,  if you want to be part of this society going forward then the right thing to do for your fellow Australian citizens is to be quietly patient and wait!!!!!

Hello Elderberry,

Of course, it is your choice whether or not to sign the petition or not. BTW, I'm different to IndianinOz, so I'm not the one who posted the change.org link. But please see my above post. I agree that we were in abnormal times, and until 30th June, no one posted a petition. But now, in Australia especially, everything is pretty much back to normal(except Victoria).

[Cubiscus 11]

2 hours ago, Fisher1 said:

Can I just say that I don’t see what the problem is? As far as I’m aware the only time citizenship is better than PR (except in the emotional sense) is if you are travelling outside Australia and lets face it, none of us are doing that any time soon.  My government has just taken three months to renew my passport and I still haven’t got the new one - it’s probably going to take another month to get here. I’ve had a good whinge about that a couple of times because me and my passport don’t like to be separated, but it isn’t the end of the world, really it isn’t.  

There's quite a few benefits but it depends on your circumstances, for example the new HomeBuilder grant, voting, government jobs and if you need to leave the country for an emergency you don't need to worry about your PR travel authority expiring.

As this is a service paid for I do think its incumbent on the government to find alternate solutions which they have with the ceremonies.

[elderberry 101]

17 minutes ago, Cubiscus said:

There's quite a few benefits but it depends on your circumstances, for example the new HomeBuilder grant, voting, government jobs and if you need to leave the country for an emergency you don't need to worry about your PR travel authority expiring.

As this is a service paid for I do think its incumbent on the government to find alternate solutions which they have with the ceremonies.

You pay for lots of things and have to wait.

Maybe its just me, but I'd say just be grateful to be in a country with such low levels of coronavirus right now (and it would be even lower if everyone did the right thing) and do all you can in the short term to have a better long term. Immediate fulfillment of your needs isn't that important compared to life and death.

Sadly, I think younger people (I'm nearly 50) may be more driven by their desires right now - to have no impact on their freedoms and lives, rather than taking the overall community into account. 

 

 

[garrychandi 39]

4 hours ago, Fisher1 said:

Can I just say that I don’t see what the problem is? As far as I’m aware the only time citizenship is better than PR (except in the emotional sense) is if you are travelling outside Australia and lets face it, none of us are doing that any time soon.  My government has just taken three months to renew my passport and I still haven’t got the new one - it’s probably going to take another month to get here. I’ve had a good whinge about that a couple of times because me and my passport don’t like to be separated, but it isn’t the end of the world, really it isn’t.  

I guess it depends on your circumstances. In my case , i can't access student loan so   have to put my degree on hold until i get the citizenship. It could have been good time to be at Uni considering current economic downturn

[Aquarian_86 3]

Hello Everyone, Finally my journey to citizenship comes to an end (well..almost).I just attended my virtual  ceremony (Brisbane City). Took about 5 minutes  . 

Signature updated with timelines.

Cheers

 

 

[Fisher1 1,843]

8 hours ago, garrychandi said:

I guess it depends on your circumstances. In my case , i can't access student loan so   have to put my degree on hold until i get the citizenship. It could have been good time to be at Uni considering current economic downturn

Oh sorry I didn’t realise - that must be a real drag.

[Fisher1 1,843]

10 hours ago, Cubiscus said:

There's quite a few benefits but it depends on your circumstances, for example the new HomeBuilder grant, voting, government jobs and if you need to leave the country for an emergency you don't need to worry about your PR travel authority expiring.

As this is a service paid for I do think its incumbent on the government to find alternate solutions which they have with the ceremonies.

Fair enough

[ramot 5,039]

We have applied for citizenship as soon as we were eligible. We have made Australia home so citizenship is the next natural step for us, but as we haven’t lived in UK for 27 years we are happy to have dual citizenship.
We have been quite moved when we attended both our children’s citizenship ceremonies by the strong emotions displayed by new Australians. My daughter   said after her ceremony she had been surprised by how emotional she felt, she wasn’t expecting that as she thought she was just getting citizenship because it was the sensible thing to do.

As an older person I genuinely don’t know the answer to this, but I wonder if there is more help available if you are a citizen rather than PR as you age?

[Netbg 18]

Well I was in this for the long haul!!! 27 months!!! I have no idea why my application took so long (I thought it was fairly straightforward). They never asked me for any extra documents or told me they were waiting for anything. I was just one of the unlucky ones

Citizenship App: 21 April 2018
Test Invitation: 
Test Date: 30 June 2019
Approval: 14 January 2020
Ceremony: 3 July 2020 (Online)
Council: Brisbane city council, QLD 

Edited July 3, 2020 by Netbg

[Fisher1 1,843]

On 02/07/2020 at 21:35, ramot said:

We have applied for citizenship as soon as we were eligible. We have made Australia home so citizenship is the next natural step for us, but as we haven’t lived in UK for 27 years we are happy to have dual citizenship.
We have been quite moved when we attended both our children’s citizenship ceremonies by the strong emotions displayed by new Australians. My daughter   said after her ceremony she had been surprised by how emotional she felt, she wasn’t expecting that as she thought she was just getting citizenship because it was the sensible thing to do.

As an older person I genuinely don’t know the answer to this, but I wonder if there is more help available if you are a citizen rather than PR as you age?

I’m not sure of the answer to that either Ramot ... like you we intend to apply for citizenship ASAP becaus it seems the natural next step. I think there’s a small benefit in not having to pay for residents return visas when you leave the country. For me I’d just feel that I didn’t properly belong here without it. (Also, having neglected to get Luxembourgish citizenship decades ago because there didn’t seem any need, I’m now kicking myself for that omission!). Seriously though, it seems right and sensible.

[Marisawright 6,536]

On 02/07/2020 at 05:44, IndianzinOZ said:

 DoHA's decision of not starting tests till now is definitely unacceptable. 

Has it occurred to you that DoHA must be frantically busy dealing with the visa chaos caused by Covid, and citizenship is low on their priorities?

It's true that if you want to take a government job where you need citizenship.   I wasn't aware that Permanent Residents couldn't get HECS - wow, do migrants arriving with a university-aged child know that?  However, those things affect only small percentage of the whole population and I can understand why other things are taking priority for government departments.

 

Edited July 4, 2020 by Marisawright

[ali 16,172]

On 02/07/2020 at 11:14, IndianzinOZ said:

Hi patrons,

We have also put a petition with the APH. Once it gets approved by parliament office, forum members can sign it. Will provide the link.

Let us sign the petition and get the citizenship tests started ASAP. Lets us all support this good cause.

It's usually forum etiquette to ask permission from admin before posting petitions requesting the membership to sign.

[t.t 9]

Hi guys and girls, 

GOOD NEWS, FINALLY BECAME AN AUSSIE

I've been a long time silent viewer of this forum. I wana thank everyone for all their posts and for all the genuinely good information that was provided. 

Here the timeline... 

First week of December 2019 citizenship application lodged (im in Perth, WA) 

Email received in second week of January 2020 for for a test and interview for April 2020.

Rescheduled the test to last week of January 2020 and passed the test and was approved the same day (i guess i was one of the lucky ones to avoid Covid related cancelations). 

Received the EOI email for a virtual ceremony from SA( Adelaide) in last week of july 2020 and did the ceremony 4 days after receiving the email. 

Did it on Phone app, It was over in 5 mins and lady was very friendly and nice. 

Received the certificate in mail yesterday and my happiness cannot be expressed in words. 

Again thank you very much for all for these posts. 

Cheers

 

 

[t.t 9]

2 minutes ago, t.t said:

Hi guys and girls, 

GOOD NEWS, FINALLY BECAME AN AUSSIE

I've been a long time silent viewer of this forum. I wana thank everyone for all their posts and for all the genuinely good information that was provided. 

Here the timeline... 

First week of December 2019 citizenship application lodged (im in Perth, WA) 

Email received in second week of January 2020 for for a test and interview for April 2020.

Rescheduled the test to last week of January 2020 and passed the test and was approved the same day (i guess i was one of the lucky ones to avoid Covid related cancelations). 

Received the EOI email for a virtual ceremony from SA( Adelaide) in last week of july 2020 and did the ceremony 4 days after receiving the email. 

Did it on Phone app, It was over in 5 mins and lady was very friendly and nice. 

Received the certificate in mail yesterday and my happiness cannot be expressed in words. 

Again thank you very much for all for these posts. 

Cheers

 

 

Oops correction Received the eoi in last week of june 2020

[The Pom Queen 5,775]

On 02/07/2020 at 13:14, IndianzinOZ said:

Hi patrons,

We have also put a petition with the APH. Once it gets approved by parliament office, forum members can sign it. Will provide the link.

Let us sign the petition and get the citizenship tests started ASAP. Lets us all support this good cause.

@IndianzinOZ Admin here: I do not mind ONE post with your petition (although it may have been nice to ask first) I cannot permit you flooding every forum/thread with it. I have just deleted a large number of them tonight.  I will now remove a number of them in this thread and allow one to remain.

[The Pom Queen 5,775]

1 hour ago, t.t said:

Hi guys and girls, 

GOOD NEWS, FINALLY BECAME AN AUSSIE

I've been a long time silent viewer of this forum. I wana thank everyone for all their posts and for all the genuinely good information that was provided. 

Here the timeline... 

First week of December 2019 citizenship application lodged (im in Perth, WA) 

Email received in second week of January 2020 for for a test and interview for April 2020.

Rescheduled the test to last week of January 2020 and passed the test and was approved the same day (i guess i was one of the lucky ones to avoid Covid related cancelations). 

Received the EOI email for a virtual ceremony from SA( Adelaide) in last week of july 2020 and did the ceremony 4 days after receiving the email. 

Did it on Phone app, It was over in 5 mins and lady was very friendly and nice. 

Received the certificate in mail yesterday and my happiness cannot be expressed in words. 

Again thank you very much for all for these posts. 

Cheers

 

 

Congratulations that is wonderful news 🥳🥳

[VS01 10]

Submitted my citizenship application and attached front photo instead of rear endorsed photo. What to in this case? Not able to see any option to attach it again

[garrychandi 39]

Those of you in WA, test resumed on 6th July

In-person citizenship interviews and citizenship tests have recommenced in Western Australia only from 6 July 2020.  Eligible individuals will be contacted and invited to attend a citizenship interview or test.   There is no need to contact the Department about your citizenship interview or test.

We will gradually restart interviews and citizenship tests in other states and territories when it is safe to do so.

[Hex 557]

Hey guys

Does anyone here (who's going through Sydney council) have any updated timelines / stories of ceremonies etc. 

I'm not complaining, just curious as we (family of 4) applied in November and have still not heard anything.

- I understand these things take a long time, was just wondering if it's just me. I'm sure the COVID situation has messed around with tons of timelines. 

Regards 

[elderberry 101]

16 hours ago, garrychandi said:

Those of you in WA, test resumed on 6th July

In-person citizenship interviews and citizenship tests have recommenced in Western Australia only from 6 July 2020.  Eligible individuals will be contacted and invited to attend a citizenship interview or test.   There is no need to contact the Department about your citizenship interview or test.

We will gradually restart interviews and citizenship tests in other states and territories when it is safe to do so.

I might be waiting a while then in Melbourne.