Complete Guide: Australian PR to Citizenship Conversion Process.

Australia, whose passport ranks at 7th in the world, is one of the best countries to be a citizen of. Australia has a vast natural and cultural heritage, a diversified economy, and an open and easy-going population. And as a citizen, you can and should benefit from all of them. If you are an international citizen and are wondering about the process of converting from an Australian PR to Australian citizenship, we have written this blog for you.

There are various pathways to becoming a citizen of Australia, which are:

• Citizenship by birth: If you are born within Australia's borders, you automatically become a citizen of Australia.

• Citizenship by descent: If you have one parent (at least) born in Australia, you can claim Australian citizenship through this pathway.

• Citizenship by conferral: If you meet the eligibility requirements, you can become a citizen of Australia. This is the most common pathway to citizenship used by Australian PR holders. And this blog is about citizenship through this pathway.

What are the eligibility requirements for Australian citizenship through the conferral pathway for international citizens?

If you, as an international citizen, want to be a citizen of Australia through this pathway:

You must be either:

• Australian PR holder.

• New Zealand citizen holding a CSV.

You must also meet:

1. Residence requirement

You have been living in Australia for 4 years immediately before applying.

At the same time, you must not have been outside of Australia for more than 90 days in the 12 months preceding the time of applying.

You must not have been outside of Australia for more than 12 months in total in the last preceding 4 years.

To calculate this requirement, calculate from the date you entered Australia after getting your PR, or if you were already living in Australia, from when your PR was granted.

Certain exceptions

1. If you are a New Zealand citizen who holds an Australian CSV and obtained it before 1 July 2022, you are eligible to apply for Australian citizenship. If you got your CSV on or after 1 July 2022, you are allowed to count from that date. Others, as per general residence requirements.
2. If you are a New Zealand citizen who holds a Skilled Independent visa, and you were granted your PR between 1 January 2022 and 31 December 2022, you are eligible for citizenship. If you were granted PR on or after 1 January 2023, you are eligible to apply for Australian citizenship from the date of visa grant. You are not required to hold a PR visa for 12 months before applying. And others, as per general residence requirements.
3. If you are under the age of 16, you do not meet the residence requirements.
4. If you were born to a former Australian citizen before 4 April 2002, you do not meet residence requirements.
5. If one of your parents was born in Australia and was an Australian citizen when you were born (if you were born in Papua before 16 September 1975), you do not meet residence requirements.
6. Other exceptions include the Australian Defense Force exception, Ministerial discretion, and special residence requirements.

2. You must meet good character requirements.

3. You must demonstrate your knowledge of Australia.

You must show that you have basic knowledge of the English language, an understanding of what it means to be a good Australian citizen (your responsibilities and privileges), and also understand the values of Australia based on Equality, Freedom, and Respect.

4. You must show that you meet the English language requirements set by the Australian government.

If you score at or above seventy-five percent (75%) in the citizenship test held by the Australian government, you are considered to be meeting the language eligibility requirement.

5. Connection with Australia.

The different factors, including but not limited to those that are considered for proving connection with the Australia requirement, are:

• Live in Australia,
• Have/rent houses/property in Australia,
• Have a source of income/employment/family/schooling (child(ren)) in Australia,
• Have participated in Australian communities,
• Leaving in and out of Australia, the number of those leaves, and the reason for said leave.

6. You must:

• Have an identity approved by the Australian government,
• Have a clean criminal record,
• Not to be a threat to national security,
• Not be a former Australian citizen,
• Be in the location when applying for citizenship unless exempted by the Australian government.

What is the process of applying for Australian citizenship for international citizens?

Step 1: Ensure you are eligible, according to Australian government rules and regulations. For details, please read above.

Step 2: Prepare necessary documents (Original police clearance certificate, original/scan of original documents, all the documents that help decide in favor of your case, etc.).

Step 3: You can apply for citizenship online or on paper.

Step 4: Be present for citizenship appointments.

Step 5: Patiently wait for their decision.

Step 6: Receive the outcome of this process.

Step 6: At last, attend the citizenship ceremony.

We hope this blog has provided you with all the necessary information on eligibility requirements and the process of applying for citizenship. If you have any queries regarding the conversion of an Australian PR to Australian citizenship, please reach out to us.