Citizenship Amendments

[Guest Leomagicmerlin]

Dear Sir,

According to the recent changes in acquiring the Australian Citizenship

The residence requirement is based on the time you have lived in Australia and the time you have spent outside Australia.

If you became a permanent resident before 1 July 2007, and apply on or before 30 June 2010, you must:

•have been living in Australia for two years as a permanent resident in the five years immediately before applying, including one year in the two years immediately before applying.

 

Now, This new act states, if you became resident before 1st July 2007, Previous rules apply. How come this new date for deadline is in the picture now which I didnt see before ( apply before 30th june 2010)....I belive it shud be atleast 5 years. Resident visa is valid for 5 years when granted.

It seems very unfair?

Any answers would be appreciated from anyone on the forum??

Thanks

[Guest Guest31881]

Dear Sir,

According to the recent changes in acquiring the Australian Citizenship

The residence requirement is based on the time you have lived in Australia and the time you have spent outside Australia.

If you became a permanent resident before 1 July 2007, and apply on or before 30 June 2010, you must:

•have been living in Australia for two years as a permanent resident in the five years immediately before applying, including one year in the two years immediately before applying.

 

Now, This new act states, if you became resident before 1st July 2007, Previous rules apply. How come this new date for deadline is in the picture now which I didnt see before ( apply before 30th june 2010)....I belive it shud be atleast 5 years. Resident visa is valid for 5 years when granted.

It seems very unfair?

Any answers would be appreciated from anyone on the forum??

Thanks

 

I may be wrong, but this is the way I understand it.

 

if you were a PR before 1st July 2007, you only had to wait 2 years to become a citizen, and to claim this 'right' you must apply before 30th June 2010. after this date you will come under the 4 year rule where you cannot apply for citizenship until you have been here 4 years. So if you have not applied by 30th June 2010 you will have to wait another 12 months (depending on when you arrived) before you can apply for citizenship.

 

You do not have to apply for citizenship if you dont want to.

[Guest Leomagicmerlin]

Thanks for your reply Colin. My query is little bit different. Maybe I cudnt put it across in a understandable manner.

I got my PR in march 2007. and before that I lived for 4 years in Australia other legal visas. So I was supposed to finish 2 years as permanent resident including 1 year continious before applying.

 

In july 2007 New Citizenship rules turned up.

As I got PR before july 2007 hence previous rules were applicable to me as seen on the website and it was no where mentioned at that time that I have to apply before july 2010 to get adavantage of previous rules.

This added feature came within last year I guess.

I went overseas to acquire some new skills in science and Technology and worked in Biotech firm in Denmark for more than a year. Now as I'm planning to come back to Australia in few weeks.

Before moving to Denmark I was working In one of the Australian firm for around 1.5 years as permanent resident. If new rules wud have been applicable to me then I was eligible to apply for citizenship. But I wasnt allowed to apply under new scheme.

 

So now I see that I have to apply before before july 2010 which isn't possible as I wont be able to satisfy 1 year comntinous residence just before applying.

and I cant apply under new citizenship laws as I lived outside Australia for more than one year.

I'm in a loose loose situation.

 

Dont know how come they do it so unfairly without taking things righty into consideration about 5 year resident visa permit. when I got my PR, only old rules were applicable to me. And I wont be able to apply for citizenship for next 4 years.

I have lived in Australia since 2003 and was absent for only 1.5 years in total in that time ????

This is my Dilemna. Sorry for this long text.

I appreciate your reply Colin.

If you or someone can help???

Can i challenge this legislation???

Thanking you in anticipation

[ali]

I don't believe that you will be able to challenge the legislation. Having to apply before 2010 under the new rules has been there for a while and not just recently added. I was aware of this having arrived in Aus in 2007. We chose not to leave the country for 2 years in order to meet the residency requirements for citizenship. The goal posts for Visa's etc., seem to be changing all the time at the moment

[sharon h]

I may be wrong, but this is the way I understand it.

 

if you were a PR before 1st July 2007, you only had to wait 2 years to become a citizen, and to claim this 'right' you must apply before 30th June 2010. after this date you will come under the 4 year rule where you cannot apply for citizenship until you have been here 4 years. So if you have not applied by 30th June 2010 you will have to wait another 12 months (depending on when you arrived) before you can apply for citizenship.

 

You do not have to apply for citizenship if you dont want to.

Just a quick query, if i go back to the Uk to live for a period of time does my permanent residency expire or have i got it for life.

[Guest Guest31881]

Just a quick query, if i go back to the Uk to live for a period of time does my permanent residency expire or have i got it for life.

 

I think the PR visa lasts 5 years, you are allowed to come and go as often as you like in those 5 years, After the 5 yrs expires, if you leave the country you need a 'Residents return Visa' or citizenship. I suppose it would depend on how long you have been away from Australia to qualify for the RRV.

 

There will be someone on here who has one I am sure. When I have been here 4 yrs I am applying for citizenship, then it saves the problems of visas and stuff.

[Guest The "legdes"]

As I understand it if you are out of Oz when your permanent residency visa expires you may not ever be allowed back in...unless you have applied for and got a resident's return visa beforehand.

If you leave Oz but return before your PR expires you are fine. You don't ever have to become a citizen..you are entitled to stay forever under a PR visa....the issue only arises when you are out of the country and haven't got either citizenship, a current PR visa or a residents return visa.

[Guest Leomagicmerlin]

Thanks all who replied. Technically speaking

If a someone got PR few months before july 2007 like I got in March 2007, He gets PR visa label of 5 years and as per the citizenship rules referenced to him on the PR letter he was obliged to follow those citizenship pathways.

Later he gets to know that yes he still have the same pathways applicable but just for 3 years instead of 5 years from now onwards. It was a contradiction to what was said before.

What if you are forced to pay your mortgage in 10 years instead of 20???

when you had well worked plan for 20 years.

Does that make any sense???

 

Any legislation can be challenged I suppose...if you win or loose against it...thats a different story....I would like to know some good lawyer who wud help me to take this issue on with immigration department.

 

Thanking you all again

[Guest Guest31881]

To be honest, I don't think you stand a chance of challenging the law. They can swop and change their laws any time they want to, just look at the way they have messed about with the visa programme this year. I cannot see how you could possibly challenge this ruling, but if you feel you could, then I suggest you contact and immigration lawyer and get advice.

[Guest Leomagicmerlin]

Thanks Colin. I know howdifficult it would be to challenge....But I would face significant hardship if I'm ineligible to apply for citizenship.

My profession demands travelling and I was on a trainee exchange programme to acquire new skills in Biotech industry which has been ignored in Australia for a long time. I would face significant issues like won't be eligible to apply for government jobs.

I cant imagine me waiting for another 4 years. So I would rather take a chance and take on with them. I have few good points to argue about.

Thanks

[Guest Gollywobbler]

Hi Leomagicmerlin

 

Welcome to Poms in Oz.

 

There is nothing new about the 30th June 2010 cut off date. It was written into the draft legislation right at the start and it made its way onto the Citizenship Act which became effective on 1st July 2007. You might not have noticed it earlier but it was definitely there because I read it and worked out that my mother - who became a Permanent Resident in October 2006 - would be able to take holidays outside Australia without compromising her eligibility under the old 2 year rule.

 

It sounds to me as if you will probably have spent 730 nights in Australia in total - as a Permanent Resident - by 30th June 2010. The issue for you is that you will not be able to satisfy the "one year in the last two years" rule as well. This is not a new rule either - again, it was there right from the first draft of the Citizenship Bill.

 

My advice is don't stress about it because it won't make any practical difference to your life once you return to Australia in 2010. Why do you want to be forced to vote in the General Election in 2010? I wouldn't regard that burden as being an incentive if I were in your shoes, my friend!

 

Your PR visa gives you the right to travel to Australia at any time within 5 years of the date of the grant of the visa and to remain in Australia indefinitely once you arrive. The unrestricted travel to & from Oz element of PR only lasts for 5 years at a time.

 

If after you return to Oz in a few weeks, you then want to leave Oz again for a while there will be nothing to prevent it because my guess is that the five years will not expire until sometime in or after after March 2011. Just make sure that you spend enough time in Australia to qualify for a Resident Return Visa, I suggest:

 

Five Year Resident Return Visa (Subclass 155)

 

A dear friend of my family has lived in Australia for over 30 years. He is a doctor and he is a Citizen of Malaysia. Like a lot of other ex British Colonies, Malaysia does not permit dual Citizenship. If our friend wanted Citizenship of Australia he would have to renounce his Malaysian Citizenship first. It is not in his best interests to do that because he has assets and investments etc in Malaysia which only Malaysian Citizens can hold.

 

So he and his wife simply make sure that they spend enough of each 5 year period in Australia to ensure that they will not have problems with DIAC the next time they want another Resident Return Visa. It does not bother them one jot and it need not bother you either, my friend.

 

Merry Christmas :xmas3:

 

Gill

[Guest wanderer]

Leo,

Anytime there is new legislation passed, there'll always be some people who'll be affected in a way they wish they were not.

 

Before you head off in the NY to rack up a sizable legal bill before you probably get anywhere, I'd suggest that you put together your facts on when you've been here and when abroad and contact the Citizenship people of DIAC in the first instance for they realise there'll always be some anomalies and situations may be addressed on their merit.

 

The quick answer may be, Sorry!, that's the legislation as it is with DIAC.

But you never know if you do not ask.

 

And if the answer is initially a No, then perhaps lobbying Parliament of Australia: House of Representatives and/or your local [where resident] member may be a way of spending considerable money to no end.