Update
18 October 2017
The Citizenship Amendment Bill (2017) will not be implemented after being struck down by the Senate today. However, the government still proposes to change the eligibility criteria for Australian citizenship.
25 April 2017
There is a lot of confusion over who may be affected by the changes to citizenship policy announced on Thursday 20 April 2017.
Please understand the policy is not law. A Bill must be tabled in Parliament to amend the Citizenship Act 2007 (Cth). That Bill probably hasn’t even been drafted yet, and may not pass.
Only permanent residents, Kiwis and non-Kiwis, who apply for citizenship on or after 20 April 2017, will be affected if the Bill is passed. Unfortunately, those who are eligible to apply now or over the coming weeks/months will be stuck in no mans land until then, and of course we’re working on preventing it from passing.
Currently you can apply for citizenship one year after the grant of your PR. But, for whatever reason, the DIBP/Government don’t appear to be complying with the law.
We suggest you write to Labor, Greens and independent MPs and Senators and make this point very clear. It is not acceptable for the Executive branch of Government to usurp the Legislative process. Australia is a democracy not a totalitarian state.
