AUSTRALIAN CITIZENSHIP TIMELINES 2020-2021

[PTSydney]

Did the Citizenship ceremony yesterday with my son:

total time from the application to ceremony = 363 days

which is equivalent of ~19% of all my time living in Australia

During the citizenship process more than 70% of the time was waiting for the test, and approval was on the same day

North Sydney

[Melbournian]

WOW Congrats Mates.  happy for you... 

Could you please share detail of events from "the time you got invite in your mailbox" and after two days of ceremony ?

Do council start sending letters to you after the ceremony , for enrolments etc

[LMC]

Hi All,

Applied Citizenship   01/07/2020

Current  citizenship    United Kingdom

State                           Victoria

Invitation                    07/05/2021

Test Date                    13/05/2021 (passed)

Approval                    13/05/2021

Ceremony                  Awaiting

On the final hurdle now

Edited May 13, 2021 by LMC

[Kenlau]

I am so thrilled today as I received an email, applied 7th Apr and my interview/test date on 1st July.

[Sanji]

Hi,

I applied for citizenship on 2/01/2021

I have received the invitation for the interview and the test on 07/06/2021 at Parramatta NSW office.

I have changed my address recently and got married too. I havent updated my immi account with my new address and marital status. If I change them now Would it affect my application or is it ok if I change them now? please let me know,

Thanks  

[Randall]

11 minutes ago, Sanji said:

Hi,

I applied for citizenship on 2/01/2021

I have received the invitation for the interview and the test on 07/06/2021 at Parramatta NSW office.

I have changed my address recently and got married too. I havent updated my immi account with my new address and marital status. If I change them now Would it affect my application or is it ok if I change them now? please let me know,

Thanks  

You can change on the day of the interview now, when the interviewer check your documents. Just make sure they are updated with your new address. Bring a utility bill too. 

[Sanji]

7 minutes ago, Randall said:

You can change on the day of the interview now, when the interviewer check your documents. Just make sure they are updated with your new address. Bring a utility bill too. 

Thank you very much

[Naberlan!]

Hello everyone, I’m new in this forum, 

I applied for the Australian citizenship on 28 January 2021, Sydney, parramatta office. 
still waiting for invitations, 

any idea how long approximately waiting time ? I can see too many variables, some people get in 3-5 months where’as some still waiting for up to 2 years... 

 

 

is there anything that we can process the time faster ? 
If I could have it by before September 2021, would be great to start uni with vet student helps.. 

 

any feedback or advise would be greatly appreciated.. 

[Natoskiii22]

22 hours ago, Yvonnej said:

approved eventually 11/05/2021

Congratulations, i hope mine will get approved soon as well 

[Chocheese]

Hello! Sharing my application timeline below:

Applied: 22 Oct 2020

Received Citizenship Letter from Case Officer Requesting Overseas Penal Clearance: 29 Mar 2021

Test Invite: 14 April 2021

Test Date: 14 May 2021 (Parramatta NSW)

Approved Status: 14 May 2021

Ceremony Invite (Penrith Council): Pending

Citizenship Ceremony: Pending

[Chelsearoxanna]

Hey guys. 
applied 15/08/2020 cairns

moved to Darwin 8th October and changed address on immi

invite to test jan/feb time 2021

test 9th March 2021

approved april 6 weeks later 

inv to ceremony 14th may for July

[Skaur]

On 13/05/2021 at 19:31, Kenlau said:

I am so thrilled today as I received an email, applied 7th Apr and my interview/test date on 1st July.

Which state are you from?

[LeJJ4]

4 hours ago, Chelsearoxanna said:

Hey guys. 
applied 15/08/2020 cairns

moved to Darwin 8th October and changed address on immi

invite to test jan/feb time 2021

test 9th March 2021

approved april 6 weeks later 

inv to ceremony 14th may for July

How did you receive the invitation?

[Sanji]

On 14/05/2021 at 06:29, Naberlan! said:

Hello everyone, I’m new in this forum, 

I applied for the Australian citizenship on 28 January 2021, Sydney, parramatta office. 
still waiting for invitations, 

any idea how long approximately waiting time ? I can see too many variables, some people get in 3-5 months where’as some still waiting for up to 2 years... 

 

 

is there anything that we can process the time faster ? 
If I could have it by before September 2021, would be great to start uni with vet student helps.. 

 

any feedback or advise would be greatly appreciated.. 

Hi,

its a pretty much waiting game,

I applied on 02/01/2021 and I received the test invitation letter in 4 months. I didnt call them or email them, I was just waiting . I think since you are still in the time line better keep waiting and see. hopefully they will arrange your test soon. we cant really push them.

good luck

[smithkt87]

Just wondering everyone’s thoughts on this:

But first my history:

Moved to Australia from the UK in 2011. Where I’ve been a teacher this whole time. ALL family are Australian Citizens except me. 

Skilled visa was only approved in December 2019.

Applied for Citizenship in December 2020.

Took test (100%) in March. The lady said “wow, you’ve done everything, I only need to see your drivers licence”. Also “okay you’ll have your approval within the next few days after the police check”. (I’d included a brand new police check in my paperwork however they said they had to do one regardless, also I’ve never been in trouble). I was also the last in and first out of the room, while I could hear lots of “oh, you’ve not submitted xyz” elsewhere. 

Still waiting for approval...

I called and explained I was concerned I’d missed something as I’d been told it would be approved within the week, however, I was told I might have had extra screening. 

Note: the Lady on the phone expressed “why do the test centres keep saying that to people, it’s different for everyone”. She also explained that the extra screening could take months. I can’t imagine why I’d have been picked unless it’s either: Random, hence people not understanding the vastly different waits, or, someone else with similar details has red flags. She also suggested that once you’ve been selected for screening, you’re in a pile waiting to be screened, much like the visa wait.
 

I’m just confused and a little down. It’s been 10 years of screening and my entire family are Australian. I’ve taught here for years and now I’ve missed a Government promotion because I wasn’t a Citizen in time. 
 

Also thought this info might help others. 

Edited May 14, 2021 by smithkt87

[Kenlau]

18 hours ago, Skaur said:

Which state are you from?

Western Australia 

[MrsHzp]

Hubby’s citizenship test happened today 

got approved today Aswell 

just requested to upload birth certificate . Rest officer asked for photo IDs ( passport , nicop and drivers license )

now ceremony wait starts 

[Chelsearoxanna]

17 hours ago, LeJJ4 said:

How did you receive the invitation?

Invite was my email, however the approval was on my immi account with no email 

[Randall]

14 hours ago, smithkt87 said:

Just wondering everyone’s thoughts on this:

But first my history:

Moved to Australia from the UK in 2011. Where I’ve been a teacher this whole time. ALL family are Australian Citizens except me. 

Skilled visa was only approved in December 2019.

Applied for Citizenship in December 2020.

Took test (100%) in March. The lady said “wow, you’ve done everything, I only need to see your drivers licence”. Also “okay you’ll have your approval within the next few days after the police check”. (I’d included a brand new police check in my paperwork however they said they had to do one regardless, also I’ve never been in trouble). I was also the last in and first out of the room, while I could hear lots of “oh, you’ve not submitted xyz” elsewhere. 

Still waiting for approval...

I called and explained I was concerned I’d missed something as I’d been told it would be approved within the week, however, I was told I might have had extra screening. 

Note: the Lady on the phone expressed “why do the test centres keep saying that to people, it’s different for everyone”. She also explained that the extra screening could take months. I can’t imagine why I’d have been picked unless it’s either: Random, hence people not understanding the vastly different waits, or, someone else with similar details has red flags. She also suggested that once you’ve been selected for screening, you’re in a pile waiting to be screened, much like the visa wait.
 

I’m just confused and a little down. It’s been 10 years of screening and my entire family are Australian. I’ve taught here for years and now I’ve missed a Government promotion because I wasn’t a Citizen in time. 
 

Also thought this info might help others. 

Don't stress over it. Mine took 6 weeks to be approved. My partner's took 8 weeks. 

There have been changes to processing times recently as well. Hang in there. 


 

Edited May 15, 2021 by Randall

[Randall]

On 14/05/2021 at 19:05, Chelsearoxanna said:

Hey guys. 
applied 15/08/2020 cairns

moved to Darwin 8th October and changed address on immi

invite to test jan/feb time 2021

test 9th March 2021

approved april 6 weeks later 

inv to ceremony 14th may for July

We got the approval on the same date. Hopefully they'll invite me for the ceremony next week

 

Edited May 15, 2021 by Randall

[LeJJ4]

6 hours ago, Chelsearoxanna said:

Invite was my email, however the approval was on my immi account with no email 

Emailed by the DOHA?

[Chelsearoxanna]

3 hours ago, Randall said:

We got the approval on the same date. Hopefully they'll invite me for the ceremony next week

 

Good luck. Hopefully you get the same as me. I’ve got the last one before the mayor goes on holiday. If you don’t get in end of July you may get the next one in September.  

[sj88]

Off topic (slightly) but there is a petition doing the rounds to have the government recognise parents of permanent residents and citizens as immediate family so they can enter/visit Australia. Petition closes in a couple of days. If you haven't already please sign and share so we might be able see our family soon. 🥰

https://www.aph.gov.au/e-petitions/petition/EN2535?fbclid=IwAR16KpSbyzr_cNc03saib2VAQ_uAAKwdYnIrc0BmsAQ-G6CeWwwO1fGfwD4

Edited May 16, 2021 by sj88

[Melbournian]

https://www.aph.gov.au/e-petitions/petition/EN2535?fbclid=IwAR16KpSbyzr_cNc03saib2VAQ_uAAKwdYnIrc0BmsAQ-G6CeWwwO1fGfwD4

Petition Reason

Australia is a multicultural country where many of it’s citizens and permanent residents (PR) migrated from overseas. Therefore, thousands of Australian’s and PR have parents living abroad. Currently parents are unable to to travel to Australia to be reunited with family because they are not classed as ‘immediate family’. Parents are essential and connection with family is equally as important to migrants as it is to families living in Australia. Australians and PR have not seen their parents for a significant amount of time due to the travel ban and a strict exemption criteria which prevents people from obtaining exemptions unless they have a ‘compelling reason’. Covid-19 has impacted many Australians, however, being apart from parents for an extended period of time without an indication of when they will be reunited puts unrealistic expectations on those desperate to see family. This has had a profound impact, mental health has significantly declined, children have not met grandparents, people have had to give up work due to limited support and families are having to re-evaluate their lives in Australia and have had to leave despite being here for many years. Citizens and PR have jobs and responsibilities with they cannot leave for 3 months or more.

Petition Request

We therefore ask the House to add parents as an exemption category. If exemptions cannot be obtained for parents coming to Australia please consider allowing exemption for people with family overseas to travel. Reunification with family should be a compelling and compassionate reason.

[andrewajp002]

7 minutes ago, Melbournian said:

https://www.aph.gov.au/e-petitions/petition/EN2535?fbclid=IwAR16KpSbyzr_cNc03saib2VAQ_uAAKwdYnIrc0BmsAQ-G6CeWwwO1fGfwD4

Petition Reason

Australia is a multicultural country where many of it’s citizens and permanent residents (PR) migrated from overseas. Therefore, thousands of Australian’s and PR have parents living abroad. Currently parents are unable to to travel to Australia to be reunited with family because they are not classed as ‘immediate family’. Parents are essential and connection with family is equally as important to migrants as it is to families living in Australia. Australians and PR have not seen their parents for a significant amount of time due to the travel ban and a strict exemption criteria which prevents people from obtaining exemptions unless they have a ‘compelling reason’. Covid-19 has impacted many Australians, however, being apart from parents for an extended period of time without an indication of when they will be reunited puts unrealistic expectations on those desperate to see family. This has had a profound impact, mental health has significantly declined, children have not met grandparents, people have had to give up work due to limited support and families are having to re-evaluate their lives in Australia and have had to leave despite being here for many years. Citizens and PR have jobs and responsibilities with they cannot leave for 3 months or more.

Petition Request

We therefore ask the House to add parents as an exemption category. If exemptions cannot be obtained for parents coming to Australia please consider allowing exemption for people with family overseas to travel. Reunification with family should be a compelling and compassionate reason.

Thanks for the link, have signed and sent on to some others. 

As for my Citizenship, I got approved on 19th Jan and still waiting, hopefully not too much longer.  (Melbourne)