Citizenship

Depending on your circumstances, some other pathways by which one can acquire Australian Citizenship are as follows :

You can become a “Citizen by Birth” if you were born in Australia & one or both of your parents were Australian citizens or permanent residents when you were born. Citizenship by Birth would also be applicable if you were born in Australia & were subsequently ordinarily resident in Australia for the next 10 years.

You can apply for “Citizenship by Descent” if you were born outside Australia to a parent(s) who is/are an Australian Citizen. You must have been born outside Australia on or after 26th January 1949 or through an international surrogacy arrangement. If your adoptive parents became an Australian by descent or adoption, they must have been lawfully in Australia for at least 2 years before you apply. You will need to meet the “Character Requirement”.

You can apply for “Citizenship by Adoption” if you were adopted outside Australia by an Australian Citizen under the ‘Hague Convention’ or a bilateral arrangement. At least one of your adoptive parents must have been an Australian Citizen at the time of your adoption. If your adoptive parents became an Australian by descent or adoption, they must have been lawfully in Australia for at least 2 years before you apply. You will need to meet the “Character Requirement”.

If eligible under certain circumstances, you could apply to resume your Australian Citizenship if you were previously an Australian citizen. Whether or not you are eligible to resume your Australian citizenship will depend on the reason for cessation of your previous Australian citizenship. If you are not eligible to resume your Australian citizenship, you may be eligible to apply for Australian “Citizenship by Conferral”.