Gaining an Australian Citizenship is a chance to commit to the Australian community and the place where you have made a life for yourself. It also gives you greater rights than being a permanent resident, including not having to worry about visa cancellation and being able to participate in elections.
If you were born in Australia to a citizen or permanent resident, you will acquire Australian citizenship automatically.
In most other cases, you must apply for Australian citizenship. There are two major streams for gaining Australian citizenship which this page will discuss, and several other pathways for people with very specific circumstances.
You may be eligible for Australian citizenship by descent or adoption if:
If your Australian citizen parent gained their citizenship through descent/adoption, they must have been present in Australia at some point for at least 2 years
The government announced changes to eligibility for Australian citizenship by conferral on 20 April 2017, but the new rules are not in place yet. The old eligibility rules still apply right now and they are:
The general residency requirement is that you have been in present in Australia for four years. There are many exceptions to this, including:
Other ways to be eligible for Australian citizenship include: