emanyalpsid Posted May 9, 2021 Share Posted May 9, 2021 Hi all. Bit of a lazy post not searching the forum beforehand although what I would quite use as the search term I am not sure? Perhaps someone could steer me for what to search and I can do my own digging? I am planning to go on the Australian gov website after posting this but thought I better ask the question before I go all hung ho registering my new child. I am a dual UK AUS citizen currently residing in UK. I have recently had my first child and I would like to obtain AUS citizenship for them (once the birth registration process is complete). While doing this I wouldn't want to compromise anything that would effect future citizenship application of the mother. We are long term partners 10+ years but not married. We have an eye on moving to AUS in the medium term and would all like to be AUS citizens. Does the mother have better propects if she has a child who is already an AUS citizen or is there some quirk where it is better to register together? I anticipate people telling me this would be easier if married/civil partnership. That would not be my ideal route so would like to explore the alternative options first. Thanks in advance for any help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wrussell Posted May 9, 2021 Share Posted May 9, 2021 (edited) From what you have posted: You can apply for citizenship by descent for your child, search it. Your spouse would have to satisfy the 4-year residence requirement, search it. Her civil status is irrelevant. Edited May 9, 2021 by wrussell 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulhand Posted May 9, 2021 Share Posted May 9, 2021 (edited) To expand on Westley’s point, your partner will need a partner visa for Australia first and then need to live in Australia for 4 years before she can apply for citizenship. It will be procedurally easier to sort out your child’s citizenship first. Edited May 9, 2021 by paulhand 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted May 9, 2021 Share Posted May 9, 2021 (edited) 14 hours ago, emanyalpsid said: I am a dual UK AUS citizen currently residing in UK. I have recently had my first child and I would like to obtain AUS citizenship for them (once the birth registration process is complete). While doing this I wouldn't want to compromise anything that would effect future citizenship application of the mother. We are long term partners 10+ years but not married. We have an eye on moving to AUS in the medium term and would all like to be AUS citizens. Does the mother have better propects if she has a child who is already an AUS citizen or is there some quirk where it is better to register together? I anticipate people telling me this would be easier if married/civil partnership. That would not be my ideal route so would like to explore the alternative options first. Thanks in advance for any help. You'd be silly not to register your child as soon as you can. It will make no difference to anything else so just get it done, as it takes time. You can apply for a partner visa for the mother provided you are in a genuine de facto relationship (i.e. living together as if you were married) and have been for at least a year. It's not necessary to be married or in a UK-style civil partnership. You'll need to provide a silly amount of evidence to prove the length and genuineness of your relationship (surprisingly, a child is not enough!). The partner visa is what will enable her to move to Australia. She will have to earn citizenship herself, by living in Australia for 4 years. Edited May 9, 2021 by Marisawright 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quoll Posted May 10, 2021 Share Posted May 10, 2021 You'll just have to be prepared to travel to London if you arent already there for interviews when getting your child's passport and once registered as an Australian citizen they will have to travel on an Australian passport. Assuming you are an Australian born citizen or a citizen by descent who has lived for a while in Australia, it should be straightforward. Just having an Aussie partner and being mother to an Australian child is no guarantee but it sounds like you have a load of data to support the longevity of your relationship and she should get a partner visa without issue but, as the others have said, she will have to do the time to get her own citizenship. If she is with you on a permanent resident visa then she wont be disadvantaged. Get it all under way right now then you will have time to consider when you might leave. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emanyalpsid Posted May 10, 2021 Author Share Posted May 10, 2021 Thanks all for the replies. Very helpful. I've already visited the embassy in London a couple of times to renew my passport. I did do a bit of reading around the forum. There seemed to be an alternative for the child rather than citizen by descent but I think you had to be in Australia to apply for this? Seemed to remove the requirement for the 2 year rule for any future children of my child ie grandchildren. I might be getting ahead of myself here though. Citizenship by descent sounds the easiest route and I will go this way. Glad to hear it doesn't effect any future application by the mother negatively. I presume I have to wait to get all my UK birth registration documents sorted, i've not even registered the birth yet! How long do these applications usually take? Could the baby travel to Australia in the meantime on uk/mothers passport if this silly crisis ever subsides? Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emanyalpsid Posted May 10, 2021 Author Share Posted May 10, 2021 On another note, the fee's for citizenship for the Mother - over 7000 AUD! At least they make sure you are committed. I could buy a nice rubber dinghy in PNG for that! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quoll Posted May 10, 2021 Share Posted May 10, 2021 1 hour ago, emanyalpsid said: Thanks all for the replies. Very helpful. I've already visited the embassy in London a couple of times to renew my passport. I did do a bit of reading around the forum. There seemed to be an alternative for the child rather than citizen by descent but I think you had to be in Australia to apply for this? Seemed to remove the requirement for the 2 year rule for any future children of my child ie grandchildren. I might be getting ahead of myself here though. Citizenship by descent sounds the easiest route and I will go this way. Glad to hear it doesn't effect any future application by the mother negatively. I presume I have to wait to get all my UK birth registration documents sorted, i've not even registered the birth yet! How long do these applications usually take? Could the baby travel to Australia in the meantime on uk/mothers passport if this silly crisis ever subsides? Cheers They're not taking that long and your partner is going to have to wait longer than your child will wait for their process. If your child is a citizen by descent and had a child overseas after living in Australia for more than 2? Years before having that child, they will be able to pass down Australian citizenship to your grandchild. The child is going to need their own passport, no more travelling on mums passport, so you might as well get them one of both. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickyNook Posted May 10, 2021 Share Posted May 10, 2021 2 hours ago, emanyalpsid said: On another note, the fee's for citizenship for the Mother - over 7000 AUD! At least they make sure you are committed. I could buy a nice rubber dinghy in PNG for that! Not so. Citizenship applications cost about $285. It's the Partner visa that costs over $7k. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emanyalpsid Posted May 10, 2021 Author Share Posted May 10, 2021 51 minutes ago, NickyNook said: Not so. Citizenship applications cost about $285. It's the Partner visa that costs over $7k. Yes, although you can't have one without the other! Luckily baby doesn't need the visa to become a citizen. When looking at fees would the citizenship app and citizenship by descent come under one 285 fee or is it 285 + under 16 citizenship by descent fee (220ish from memory)? Then presumably plus passport fee which i see is for 5 years at this age, presumably more expensive because your doing it from UK a bit like the adult fee? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bowbow Posted May 10, 2021 Share Posted May 10, 2021 (edited) 12 hours ago, Quoll said: You'll just have to be prepared to travel to London if you arent already there for interviews when getting your child's passport and once registered as an Australian citizen they will have to travel on an Australian passport. Assuming you are an Australian born citizen or a citizen by descent who has lived for a while in Australia, it should be straightforward. Just having an Aussie partner and being mother to an Australian child is no guarantee but it sounds like you have a load of data to support the longevity of your relationship and she should get a partner visa without issue but, as the others have said, she will have to do the time to get her own citizenship. If she is with you on a permanent resident visa then she wont be disadvantaged. Get it all under way right now then you will have time to consider when you might leave. The Australian High Commission is (at least temporarily) processing certain passport applications by post rather than needing to go there in person. We have recently applied for our daughter's Australian passport that way (having obtained her Australian citizenship by descent a month or two ago). Edited May 10, 2021 by bowbow 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bowbow Posted May 10, 2021 Share Posted May 10, 2021 3 hours ago, emanyalpsid said: Yes, although you can't have one without the other! Luckily baby doesn't need the visa to become a citizen. When looking at fees would the citizenship app and citizenship by descent come under one 285 fee or is it 285 + under 16 citizenship by descent fee (220ish from memory)? Then presumably plus passport fee which i see is for 5 years at this age, presumably more expensive because your doing it from UK a bit like the adult fee? Citizenship by descent application for our daughter cost us $220 AUD. Then, using the citizenship by descent extract we were sent having completed this application, her Australian passport has cost £130. This was done by post (which I think they are only doing in the current circumstances) - I don't know if it's more or less when/if you have to go in person. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emanyalpsid Posted May 10, 2021 Author Share Posted May 10, 2021 3 hours ago, bowbow said: Citizenship by descent application for our daughter cost us $220 AUD. Then, using the citizenship by descent extract we were sent having completed this application, her Australian passport has cost £130. This was done by post (which I think they are only doing in the current circumstances) - I don't know if it's more or less when/if you have to go in person. Do you think in light of current events I'd be better off delaying passport app? We have no immediate plans to travel there I can't see travel being normal until late 22 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quoll Posted May 10, 2021 Share Posted May 10, 2021 5 hours ago, bowbow said: The Australian High Commission is (at least temporarily) processing certain passport applications by post rather than needing to go there in person. We have recently applied for our daughter's Australian passport that way (having obtained her Australian citizenship by descent a month or two ago). That’s good to know. Normal practice in non COVID times is for a face to face interview and damned inconvenient that is too! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parley Posted May 10, 2021 Share Posted May 10, 2021 (edited) 2 hours ago, emanyalpsid said: Do you think in light of current events I'd be better off delaying passport app? We have no immediate plans to travel there I can't see travel being normal until late 22 No point getting a passport until planning for a trip. Otherwise just wasting years on the passport. Child passports only last 5 years too. Get citizenship now though. Edited May 10, 2021 by Parley 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
welljock Posted May 11, 2021 Share Posted May 11, 2021 15 hours ago, emanyalpsid said: Yes, although you can't have one without the other! Luckily baby doesn't need the visa to become a citizen. When looking at fees would the citizenship app and citizenship by descent come under one 285 fee or is it 285 + under 16 citizenship by descent fee (220ish from memory)? Then presumably plus passport fee which i see is for 5 years at this age, presumably more expensive because your doing it from UK a bit like the adult fee? No quite true, you can have the Partner Visa without the citizenship, but you can't get citizenship until you've had the partner visa for 4 years (currently). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted May 11, 2021 Share Posted May 11, 2021 15 hours ago, emanyalpsid said: Yes, although you can't have one without the other! Yes you can. She'll be holding the partner visa on its own for several years before she's even eligible to apply for citizenship. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emanyalpsid Posted May 11, 2021 Author Share Posted May 11, 2021 4 hours ago, welljock said: No quite true, you can have the Partner Visa without the citizenship, but you can't get citizenship until you've had the partner visa for 4 years (currently). 4 hours ago, Marisawright said: Yes you can. She'll be holding the partner visa on its own for several years before she's even eligible to apply for citizenship. The point is, for my partner there is no route to citizenship without spending over 7k AUS. I'm pretty sure people knew what I meant you're arguing over semantics now. I'm not even saying it's particularly expensive, I have no idea how other countries fees compare for the visas? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted May 11, 2021 Share Posted May 11, 2021 47 minutes ago, emanyalpsid said: The point is, for my partner there is no route to citizenship without spending over 7k AUS. I'm pretty sure people knew what I meant you're arguing over semantics now. I'm not even saying it's particularly expensive, I have no idea how other countries fees compare for the visas? Not semantics, it's just that you mentioned citizenship instead of partner visa in your very first post so I think we were both concerned you were misunderstanding hw it worked. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
welljock Posted May 11, 2021 Share Posted May 11, 2021 It wasn't semantics. If you want semantics: you can't have one if you have the other Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nemesis Posted May 11, 2021 Share Posted May 11, 2021 8 hours ago, emanyalpsid said: The point is, for my partner there is no route to citizenship without spending over 7k AUS. I'm pretty sure people knew what I meant you're arguing over semantics now. I'm not even saying it's particularly expensive, I have no idea how other countries fees compare for the visas? Unfortunately in the world of visas and immigration, one has to be very precise with the terms used or one can end up in a horrible mess. Best to always be clear and exact when it comes to the world of visas. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.