Get Your Australian Dream by Applying for Australia Citizenship

Are you eager to fulfill your Australian dream? How to get Australia citizenship? Becoming an Australian citizen can be done in many ways. However, you must first meet the criteria set before the registration process.

Conferral and descent are the most common ways to apply. What does that mean?

Conferral

Conferral means bestowing an award where one’s achievement, which could be academic or other accomplishments that may have benefited a certain country, is publicly recognized and acknowledged. When one gets Australian citizenship this way, that means they get offered to be a permanent resident.

In this case, one may have stayed in the country for more than four years and held minimum permanent residency for 12 months.

Descent

Descent means the origin or background of a person in terms of family and nationality. This means that the person gets Australian citizenship due to his or her lineage to a native Australian family member or more. For example, one of his or her parents is Australian by birth or he or she is legally married to an Australian citizen, but he or she is originally from another country.

This also applies if the person is born in Australia while their parents are there, even when the parents are not Australians.

What if you are none of the above? What if you have no achievements or relation to an Australian family? Can you still fulfill your Australian dream by getting citizenship? The requirements below are the answers.

Requirements for Foreigners to Get The Australian Citizenship

Foreigners who are already Australian permanent residents (through official living permits issued by the Australian government) are allowed to apply for Australian citizenship.

Foreigners who are more than 18 years old can be Australian citizens by conferral after residing in the country legally for over four years and holding a minimum of 12-month permanent residency. To get a permanent residency, one must apply for and be granted a permanent visa which allows them to stay in the country indefinitely.

If foreigners are 15 or 16 years old but have parents or legal guardians willing to apply for Australian citizenship, they may also apply.

Of course, permanent residency is valid for five years, but one must stay for at least two years. You may even move into the country along with your family during that period. If, after four years, you would like to apply for Australian citizenship, you may do so with your PR visa.

Other requirements include having a good character and an adequate knowledge of your responsibilities and privileges as a citizen. There are fees to pay as well, so please consult with immigration and naturalization services in Australia, like Australian Immigration Law Services, Australian Migration Services, or Hope Immigration Services.

The Australian Citizenship Test

Thankfully, there are 20 test questions on how to get Australia Citizenship. The questions include five of the Australian values. The five values include:

• Freedom of Speech.
• Mutual Respect.
• Equality of Opportunity.
• The Importance of Democracy.
• The Rule of Law.

These five questions have been added to the test since November 15, 2022. Since then, these are the five questions you must answer correctly among the rest of the 20. If you are 75% correct, then you are qualified to earn citizenship.

What Happens If You Fail Your Australian Citizenship Test?

Many have described the test on how to get Australia citizenship as one of the hardest tests to pass. According to DailyMail, every year, there are thousands of applicants who fail the tests. Over 1,200 of them failed the test at least once before finally succeeding the second time and earning citizenship.

So, what happens if you fail your test?

If you still have a valid permanent visa, then failing the test will not affect that or stop you from living in Australia. You will need to retake the failed portions of the test no later than 60 to 90 days after the initial interview and test date. Since it is mentioned that you will only retake the failed portions, you may not have to do everything from the beginning.

However, here is the catch: you can only take the Australian citizenship test twice!

Unfortunately, if you fail this test the second time, the government denies your request for naturalization. You can still be a permanent resident as long as you renew your visa every five years. Failing the test will not lead to extreme deportation if you still have it.

So, are you serious about fulfilling your Australian dreams for real? Make sure that you prepare everything on how to get Australia citizenship.

Related: Get Employer Sponsored Visas for Better Jobs in Australia