Citizenship - Residence Requirement - Gap OK or not

[Zeni]

Hi All,

One of the Australian citizenship (by conferral) eligibility requirement is "living in Australia on a valid visa for the past 4 years" If I wanted to apply for Australian citizenship in Jan 2023 - does my 4-year count start on Mar 2018 OR only on Jan 2021 because I have a gap in holding a valid visa? Basically am I eligible to apply for citizenship in Jan 2023 assuming I meet all other non-residence requirements?

Mar 2018 - Mar 2020 on 457/TSS visa
Apr 2020 - Dec 2020 on no visa (left Australia after applying for SC190 visa)
Jan 2021 - Dec 2022 on PR

Thanks!

[Collie]

I'm open to correction but I think it's 4 years as a PR.

When I did mine (2007), it was 2 years as a PR, any time out of the country was tacked on at the end ie I had 3 weeks overseas hols and my eligible date to apply was after 2 years 3 weeks).

I think there is a website which will tell you when you can apply.

[rammygirl]

Only one of the 4 years needs to PR.  I think the time without a visa may well have re set the clock.  If you try to complete the application and input your passport details it will not let you continue if you don’t meet the criteria, not sure if the calculator on the website can do this.  You can ring the citizenship helpline and ask, I think they can use your passport details to check.