Citizenship eligibility

The general residence requirement

When you apply you must:

• have lived in Australia on a valid visa for 4 years immediately before the day you apply
• have held a permanent visa or an SCV for the last 12 months immediately before the day you apply
• not have been absent from Australia for more than 12 months in total in the past 4 years, including no more than 90 days in total in the 12 months immediately before applying

Children under 16 do not need to meet the general residence requirement but must be permanent residents. Your residence starts on the date a permanent visa was granted while you were in Australia, or the date you first entered Australia on a permanent visa.

Exemptions

You do not need to meet the residence requirement if you are under 16, were born to a former Australian citizen who lost citizenship before 4 April 2002, or were born in Papua before 16 September 1975 and a parent was born in Australia and an Australian citizen at your birth. Some Australian Defence Force members and their families can also be exempt, and the Minister has limited discretions for cases such as an administrative error or hardship. You must give documents that support your claim.

Good character

You must be of good character, meaning the enduring moral qualities of a person, if you are 18 or over. Home Affairs considers whether you are likely to obey Australian law and keep the citizenship pledge, and may look at recorded criminal convictions, obligations to a court, association with people of concern, domestic violence, and whether you have been honest, including on visa or citizenship applications.

Knowledge of Australia and English

You must understand what it means to be an Australian citizen and have basic English and an adequate knowledge of Australia. Most applicants show this by passing the citizenship test.

Close and continuing link to Australia

Home Affairs must be satisfied that you are likely to live in Australia or keep a close and continuing link while overseas. It looks at property and where valuable items are, income and employment, family and schooling, travel patterns, community participation and close family who intend to live in Australia. Family ties alone may not be enough.

When your application cannot be approved

An application cannot be approved if identity is not established, if offence proceedings are pending, if you left prison after a sentence of 12 months or more less than 2 years ago (10 years for repeat offenders), if you are on court conditions such as parole or bail that could be breached, if you are a risk to national security, or if you lost Australian citizenship in the past 12 months. In most cases you also cannot be approved while outside Australia.