There are several paths to citizenship, accommodating different backgrounds and circumstances.

Permanent residents or New Zealanders (under 60)

Individuals must reside in Australia at the time of the application, have spent time in the country, and intend to stay in Australia or maintain a permanent connection to the country.

A child under 15 years may be included with this application at no additional cost.

Permanent residents or New Zealanders (over 60)

This is a similar citizenship path to the under 60 option, but less expensive. It does not require the citizenship test.

Parent was a Citizen

A child born overseas to an Australian citizen may apply for citizenship.
Children under 15 will need parental approval.

Individuals over 18 must be of good character.

Parent was a former Australian citizen

A child of a former Australian citizen may apply for citizenship if they can provide evidence of their parent’s former citizenship.

Child under 15 years

A child under 15 years can apply for citizenship even if the parent is not a citizen or does not intent to become a citizen. There may need to show reason for application. i.e.: the child will be disadvantaged by not being a citizen.
If the parent does become a citizen then the child may be included in the parent application.

Papua Citizen

A person born in Papua before the 1975 independence (16 Sep 1975) with an Australian parent may apply for Australian citizenship if they can support the claim.

Former Australian Citizens

A former Australian citizen may apply to resume citizenship, depending on the reason why they ceased to be a citizen.
A former citizen may also apply for general citizenship by conferral.

Immigration lawyers Sydney

Use a registered immigration lawyer to make sure you have the best legal chance of immigration to Australia or acquiring citizenship.

To stay in Australia You must either:

• Be an Australian Citizen
• Have a valid VISA – which has not expired.
• Be briefly visiting with an ETA (Electronic Transfer Authority), 3 months maximum.

Check your VISA to know when it expires.

Also check the conditions of the VISA.  Some VISAs have a condition that prevents you from staying further. Some currant VISAs will not let you stay while applying for a new VISA; you must organize a new VISA well in advance.

You must either leave Australia before your VISA expires, or take the right steps to leave.

Waiting to leave the country.

If your VISA expires while you are waiting to leave the country, if you have already make arrangement to leave, then you should apply for a bridging VISA. This allows you to lawful stay in the country while waiting to depart.

Leaving without a Valid VISA

If you leave Australia without a valid VISA you will find it very difficult to get a new Australian VISA in the next three years.

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The immigration law can be complex, and law changes with changing political circumstances. Consult a lawyer for the best chance of immigration, permanent residency

Due to the festive season and the number of people vacationing over Christmas there may be longer than normal delays with Visa and immigration process. The Department of Home affairs has more applications than usual during this part of the years, so processing takes longer.

We recommend:

• Lodging any Visa application well in advance of your travel date; at least two months in advance is recommended.
• Make sure all forms are complete and all necessary documents are attached.
• A medical exam is needed for some visas. Have this conducted a week before you submit your completed application.
• Have the application and all details checked by a professional.

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Immigration rules are complex, and mistakes on applications can cause considerable delay. There can even be severe penalties if the mistake is seen as deliberate dishonesty.

Have your Visa, permanent residency or citizenship looked after by a lawyer who specializes in immigration.

The government announced some changes to the working holiday VISAs in early November.  These changes are designed to help ease a shortage of farm and agriculture labour in rural areas.

Visitors to Australia on subclass 417 and 462 visas will be able to stay in the country for up to three years if they undertake regional agricultural employment. They are also allowed to continue working for up to 12 month with the same regional employer. Previously they had to change employer ever 6 month.

These 417 and 462 VISA holders can apply for a second and third VISA if they meet all the conditions for their previous working holiday VISA.

There are now more area that qualify as regional agricultural employment. Visitors can gain valuable work experience in several areas of agriculture.

Applicants for these working holiday VISAs must be between 18 and 30 (18 and 35 if from Canada or Ireland), without accompanying children. Of course they must have a valid passport for Australian travel.

Expect more changes in the not too distant future

While these changes will benefit visitors to Australia they are really intended to help understaffed Australian farmers. ‘“We will work to establish an agriculture visa. That is the long-term solution,” Mr Morrison’, the Australian Prime Minister, claims. [1]

Backpacker Tax Abolished.

It is also worth noting that the 15% backpacker tax, only recently introduced, is now being discontinued. 

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It is difficult to keep up the constantly changing immigration laws. Consult an immigration lawyer for up to date advice.

There is always debate about immigration. How will it affect the economy? Is it a benefit or a cost?

Migrants should benefit economic growth in three ways: population, active involvement and productivity. If immigrants add to our country this is a good thing.

Furthermore, everyone in Australian, other than the original aboriginals, is a product of immigration. All of us had immigrant ancestors in the last 200 years or so. Many more recently than that. About half the Australian population was either born overseas or had a parent who was.

Then why the opposition?

There are myths, misconceptions and half truths about immigrants. And there can also be plain prejudice. People worry that the influx of immigrants will somehow drag us back, that resources will be strained if there are more people in the country. But this is small minded. The immigrants are contributors, and add to the resources.

Immigrants tend to be younger than the general population. About half of all immigrants are under 35. These are people in their prime, and capable (hopefully willing) of contributing a lot.

Claims that immigrants live off welfare and strain the system are unfounded. 77% of immigrants are in the labour force, which is higher than the national average of 65%. This is at least partly because of skilled VISA admission, which requires immigrants to have a respectable skill set.

An often overlooked issue is that Australia has a moderately small population that is not being replenished by locals, which leads to an aging population. The addition of immigration changes the balance, so the population is steadily increasing rather than slowly decreasing. Adding young to middle age adults to the working population is a bonus.

Prejudice is a possible objection to immigration. Some people dislike anything that is unlike themselves, anything that is not part of their group identity. This is a small minded and unbalanced. Diversity is a good thing as long as the diverse individuals can cooperate.

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Immigration laws are complex, so matters are best handled by a professional lawyer. Talk to an expert for your best change of legal immigration.

VISAs are the official permission to enter and stay in a foreign country. In some situations an ETA (Electronic Travel Authorization) can be used for a short stay of 90 days in a foreign country without use of a VISA. Options on an ETA are limited to tourism; work and study are generally not possible.

Australians travelling overseas will basically need a VISA or an ETA for each country that they visit. This should be arranged well ahead of departure.

Arrange for a VISA by contacting the embassy of each country you will visit, using their online website. There will usually be a fee for a VISA.

It is generally a straightforward process to apply for a VISA, though there can be a considerable waiting time for VISA approval to be granted. Passport photos and other documentation are usually required for VISA processing.

Some countries will issue a VISA upon arrival, but this still requires considerable documentation and a fee. It is best to have all VISAs granted well before overseas departure.

Types of VISA

There are different types of VISA for tourism, working VISAs, study VISAs, Medical VISAs and business VISAs. These vary according to the country, with many subcategories and occasionally combination such a working holiday VISAs.

It is important to have the right type of VISA. Some countries have strict limitations and penalties, with tourists being forbidden to work unless they have the appropriate work VISA. Many work VISAs will specify and limit the type of work permitted. A VISA might be granted only for a specific job or specific employer, allowing no deviation from this position.

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A VISA does not guarantee you entry into a foreign country. You can be refused entry it:

• You have insufficient funds to support yourself during your stay.
• If you do not have a return trip booked or equivalent plan to return home.
• If you passport is not valid for at least the length of your stay. Some countries require any passport to be valid for at least 6 months or a year after arrival.
• If you intend to work on a holiday/tourism VISA. Or if you try to study with a student VISA.
• If you break any condition of a Student VISA
• You will be refused entry if you have illegal item, or at least have the items confiscated.

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Permanent residency or a work VISA needs to be handled by an immigration lawyer

If you are thinking of applying for Australian citizenship you are advised to apply soon. There ae several proposed changes to the citizenship criteria, set to change on the 1st of July 2018 (the next financial year).

The proposed changes include:

• Residence increased from 1 year to 4 years.
• Sitting an English test to demonstrate a reasonable level of fluency.
• Making the citizenship question test more stringent by adding more questions.
• Evidence that the individual has integrated into the Australian community.
• Altering the wording of the Australian Values Statements and the pledge to emphasis allegiance to the Australian Country.

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If you apply for citizenship to one of the Immigration Lawyers Sydney present has then you will be assessed under the present legal requirements, which are less strict.

A few changes were made to the immigration regulations between December 20^th 2017 and 4^th January 2018.

The previously named Department of Immigration and Border Force Protection has now been renamed the Department of Home Affairs. This new department is actually an amalgamation of the Immigration agencies, federal law enforcement, National transport security and criminal justice and emergency management.

The new structure to what is now known as the Department of Home Affairs is closer to the security structure already enforced in other nations. It is expected to lead to a stricter system of assessment in Australia. Personal identity, legitimate intention for application and absolute accuracy of information will all be paramount. Intentionally false or misleading information on a VISA will entail harsh penalties.

Student Visas.

Those individuals applying for student Visas will now be required to show a higher level of sufficient funds needed for living costs when studying in Australia. This will increase according to the Australian consumer Price Index (CPI), but presently stands at just over $20,000 for a main student.

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Immigration laws and associated requirements have changed several times over the past year, with some proposed laws also being revoked. This makes the Visa application process difficult, with mistakes causing both delays and possible banning in the case of deliberately misleading information. We recommend an immigration lawyer Sydney already trusts,

IELTS stands for the International English Language Testing System. Australia has been using this test for prospective migrants since 1998.

IELTS is used for some VISA and most university applications, with higher results required for successful university and academic paths. Academic students and general applicants take a different versions of the test.

The test has four sections:

Listening

40 minutes. Answering a series of questions regarding four different conversations. The questions can be read in advance, and are in the same order as the corresponding answers in the conversations.

Reading

1 hour. Comprehending a series of written texts, totaling about 2500 words. Answers may be multiple choice, short answers, labeling diagrams, or making short summaries.

Writing

I hour. Two short writing assignments on two different topics, minimum of 150 words for the first topic, and 250 words for the second. Answers must be relevant to the topic.

Speaking

10 – 15 minutes. An interview in three sections. Talking about personal background and reasons for taking the IELTS. Talking on a topic with I minute preparation, and then answering questions about that topic with the interviewer.

The testing time is slightly less than three hours. Sometimes the speaking section is on a separate day, up to a week before or after the other sections of the test.

The IELTS test is written. This means that handwriting must be legible. Marks will be deducted for incorrect spelling or poor grammar. This is the point of a language test.

Please note that the level of English language required for a particular university course may be different from the English required for working in that same field. For example, an individual would need a 7.0 in the IELTS to study dentistry, but perhaps a 7.5 to work as a dentist after graduation.

IELTS test requires a minimum level in all sections, not an average. If your VISA requires a 7.0 in the IELTS you must gain this or better in all sections of the test.

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Different VISAs require different IELTS scores. Talk to the immigration lawyer about the best visa option, and the best language coaching for the test.

Approximately one quarter of the Australian population was born overseas. Often these foreign born people still have family in their country of origin. Visiting families overseas can be both expensive and limited by VISA conditions. It is sometimes possible to bring the family to Australia. Australian citizens, permanent residents and New Zealand citizens may be eligible to sponsor their families to live in Australia, though the condition for this are complex.

Partner Category

Individuals married to Australian citizens, or Australian permanent residents may be granted a VISA, depending on circumstances. De-facto relationships may also be eligible for VISAs.

There is an application and assessment process for the partners of Australian citizens and residents. The granting of the VISA is not a legal right and not guaranteed.

Parent Category

The parents of an Australian citizen or permanent resident may be eligible for residency in Australia if they meet family test, health and character requirements.

Australian citizens and residents may sponsor their parents to stay in Australia for five years at a time.

Dependant relative

It is sometime possible to bring an older relative to Australia if they are dependant or if they have no other close relatives.

Child and Adoption

There are several different VISA options for bringing a child to Australia.

Carer Immigration.

Individuals may be bought to Australia where there is a long-term or permanent medical condition.

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Consult our immigration lawyers to find the best process for bringing a family member to Australia.