Guest erik83 Posted January 11, 2011 Share Posted January 11, 2011 Hi all I m a 27 year old British citizein and have just found out about Australian citizeinship by descent. My mother is entitled to this as both her parents are australian (she was born and is a citizein of the uk only ) . And i was hoping i would be entitled to it too once she gets her oz citizeinship since i am her son, however it would seem that since she had not gone through this process at thte time of my birth i may not be entitled to it... could anyone clarify this point for me please? does anyone here have any experience of this? thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest30038 Posted January 11, 2011 Share Posted January 11, 2011 Hi allI m a 27 year old British citizein and have just found out about Australian citizeinship by descent. My mother is entitled to this as both her parents are australian (she was born and is a citizein of the uk only ) . And i was hoping i would be entitled to it too once she gets her oz citizeinship since i am her son, however it would seem that since she had not gone through this process at thte time of my birth i may not be entitled to it... could anyone clarify this point for me please? does anyone here have any experience of this? thanks Not sure exactly, but they brought in a ruling that you had to have spent so many years living in Oz to claim it. It wasn't a retrospective law so if you were born before, you didn't need this requirement...........sorry i don't know the date but I think it may have been 89 ie anyone boren after that date would have to fulfill the residential time in Oz requirement Good Luck kev Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RockDr Posted January 11, 2011 Share Posted January 11, 2011 If you were born outside australia, I'm pretty sure sure can only get citizenship by descent if your parent is a citizen "not by descent", and I think they have to have been a citizen at the time of your birth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest30038 Posted January 11, 2011 Share Posted January 11, 2011 If you were born outside australia, I'm pretty sure sure can only get citizenship by descent if your parent is a citizen "not by descent", and I think they have to have been a citizen at the time of your birth. My wife was born a Brit born here (to Brits) in 1960 and only spent the first 3 months of her life here but both our children are citizens by descent. We emigrated in 95 after applying for PR as we thought that due to the law I've stated above, she wasn't entitled to citizenship. They refused our PR as they stated that she was a citizen and that they couldn't apply the new law retrospectively. I assume that what is stated above may well be correct as my wife was considered "naturalised" and not "by descent" kev kev Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuddysMum Posted January 11, 2011 Share Posted January 11, 2011 I am a citizen by descent. My son (born in 1997) can become a citizen once I have lived here two years - so this time next year!!! Poor OH has to wait two further years! :-(( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest erik83 Posted January 11, 2011 Share Posted January 11, 2011 brilliant thanks guys i guess my specific question is: my mother was not a citizein by descent at the time of my birth, she is in the process of applying now, she will of course get it as she is of good character and two australian parents, also she did live in australia for over two years when she was a child. would that make me entitled although she wa not a citizein at the time of my birth? thanks! Eric Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peach Posted January 11, 2011 Share Posted January 11, 2011 I don't think you will be entitled to citizenship by descent, because as you say your mother was not a Aussie citizen at the time of your birth. From the official website: The Australian Citizenship Act 2007 contains no age and time limitations for registration of citizenship by descent. The only requirements for people applying to become an Australian citizen by descent are that: at least one (1) of their parents was an Australian citizen at the time of the person's birth the person is of good character, if 18 years or over. It is also a requirement that if a parent of the person acquired Australian citizenship by descent, that parent must have spent a total of two (2) years in Australia as a lawful resident at any time before the person makes the application. People born overseas before 26 January 1949 to a person who became an Australian citizen on 26 January 1949 are also eligible. The only requirement is that they are of good character. Australian Citizenship – Descent Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peach Posted January 11, 2011 Share Posted January 11, 2011 Also, have you tried the citizenship wizard : Australian Citizenship Wizard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4lan Posted January 11, 2011 Share Posted January 11, 2011 Also, have you tried the citizenship wizard : Australian Citizenship Wizard Bah, I was expecting a magical-mini-spellcaster to grant me mine! Oh well, back to the 176 application then... - 4lan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuddysMum Posted January 12, 2011 Share Posted January 12, 2011 I don't think you will be entitled to citizenship by descent, because as you say your mother was not a Aussie citizen at the time of your birth. From the official website: The Australian Citizenship Act 2007 contains no age and time limitations for registration of citizenship by descent. The only requirements for people applying to become an Australian citizen by descent are that: at least one (1) of their parents was an Australian citizen at the time of the person's birth the person is of good character, if 18 years or over. It is also a requirement that if a parent of the person acquired Australian citizenship by descent, that parent must have spent a total of two (2) years in Australia as a lawful resident at any time before the person makes the application. People born overseas before 26 January 1949 to a person who became an Australian citizen on 26 January 1949 are also eligible. The only requirement is that they are of good character. Australian Citizenship – Descent I think it might be worth exploring this a bit further. It might be sufficient that your mother was eligible for Australian Citizenship at the time of your birth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest erik83 Posted January 13, 2011 Share Posted January 13, 2011 brilliant, thank you all for your replies! it seems a bit crazy that if my mother is eligible for an oz passport through citizenship by descent she could then move there and live but here son (me) would not be allowed to live there... (although in reality she doesnt want to move there). Does anyone here know where i could explore this further? The Australian high commission in London are very bad at picking up the phone. thanks erik Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest PommyKas Posted January 13, 2011 Share Posted January 13, 2011 I must admit I never realised how strict Australia was until I wanted to move here! I am in a similar position though probably less likely that OP! My grandparents were born in Africa but became Australian citizens and at the time of their death there were Australian Citizens with a passport and everything. I'm not sure if my Dad would qualify as a citizen by descent because his parents were not born in Australia and he was also born elsewhere! My Aunt is also an Australian citizen as is my great uncle and many cousins but I am a British citizen and seem like I will remain so! Would it make a difference if my entire family choose to move to Australia or because we have family elsewhere do we fail again?? Irony is both my parents some years back when they were leaving Africa were offered a visa to Australia but chose England! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peach Posted January 13, 2011 Share Posted January 13, 2011 Do you meet the eligibility criteria? (taken from form 118 - http://www.immi.gov.au/allforms/pdf/118.pdf) Step 1 – Eligibility If you were born outside Australia on or after 26 January 1949 you may be eligible for Australian citizenship by descent if at least one of your parents was an Australian citizen at the time of your birth. If your Australian citizen parent was a citizen by descent then that parent must have spent at least 2 years in Australia. If you were born outside Australia or New Guinea before 26 January 1949 you may be eligible for Australian citizenship citizenship by descent if at least one or your parents became an Australian citizen on 26 January 1949, and that parent was born in Australia or New Guinea, or was naturalised in Australia before your birth. All applicants 18 years or over must be of good character. Australian citizenship commences on the date the application is approved. You do not need to attend a citizenship ceremony. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest erik83 Posted January 13, 2011 Share Posted January 13, 2011 Do you meet the eligibility criteria? (taken from form 118 - http://www.immi.gov.au/allforms/pdf/118.pdf) Step 1 – Eligibility If you were born outside Australia on or after 26 January 1949 you may be eligible for Australian citizenship by descent if at least one of your parents was an Australian citizen at the time of your birth. If your Australian citizen parent was a citizen by descent then that parent must have spent at least 2 years in Australia. If you were born outside Australia or New Guinea before 26 January 1949 you may be eligible for Australian citizenship citizenship by descent if at least one or your parents became an Australian citizen on 26 January 1949, and that parent was born in Australia or New Guinea, or was naturalised in Australia before your birth. All applicants 18 years or over must be of good character. Australian citizenship commences on the date the application is approved. You do not need to attend a citizenship ceremony. Hi thanks for your reply. I am debating whether i meet the above criteria. The wording specifically says "if your Australian parent was a citizen by descent" and implies was at the time of your birth. I have seen it written somewhere else on the website also that your parent has to have been a citizen at the time of your birth for a person to qualify. It seem crazy though that if my mother is entitled to citizenship by descent i could then not be allowed to move there with her. Thanks eric Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peach Posted January 13, 2011 Share Posted January 13, 2011 Hi Erik, I'm guessing from your nickname that you're 27 years old? The logic is that at 27 you are no longer a dependent and therefore stand on your own two feet regarding a visa. The same logic gets applied family visas. If parents with children over the age of 18 get permanent residence in Australia through the skilled migration program, it is near impossible to bring the non-dependent kids with them. It is equally hard for the parents in the example above, if at some point they want to bring their parents to Australia too.. I've read somewhere that Citizenship only passes down one generation. In my own case, I'm British and my partner is an Australian by birth (and she grew up in Australia). When our son was born in the UK, he became entitled to be a citizen by descent. But - unless he lives in Australia for two years before he has children - any children he had in the UK would not be citizens by descent. If he had children in Australia they would be citizens by descent. Hope this helps ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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