Flexible Requirement for Australian Citizenship Application will Apply for Certain Applicants
On 14 September 2021, the Minister of Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs, Alex Hawke, announced to extend flexibility for the Australian Citizenship requirements. The extended flexible requirement will apply to certain applicants only.
The Department of Home Affairs will extend the flexible resident requirement due to the difficulties in meeting the requirement.
What is the flexible requirement, and to whom it will apply?
Current Australian Citizenship Requirements for 2021
Currently, the Department of Home Affairs set 6 general requirements for Australian citizenship application, namely:
- You must be a permanent resident or an eligible New Zealand citizen;
- You must meet the residence requirement;
- You must meet the character requirement;
- You must have knowledge of Australia;
- You must meet the language requirement;
- You must have close and continuing link to Australia.
Among these requirements, most Australian citizenship applicants face difficulties in meeting the residential requirement. It is mostly due to their work commitment or other situations that require them to leave Australia at certain times. Hence, the Department of Home Affairs provides a special residence requirement for certain applicants.
Read more: Strengthened Character Assessment Will Be Applied To Safeguard Australian Community
Special Residence Requirement for Australian Citizenship Application
The special residence requirement for Australian citizenship applies for two circumstances below.
Activities supported by particular organisations
The special residence requirement may apply to you if you want to participate in activities supported by specific organisations, such as the Australian Olympic and Paralympic Committees, Tennis Australia, Cricket Australia, or a federal government agency.
Before applying, you must have been resident in Australia for at least two years on a valid visa that provides permanent residency. You must have been lawfully present in Australia for at least 180 days during those two years, including at least 90 days in the previous 12 months.
Work that requires overseas travel
You may be subject to the specific residence requirement, if:
- You have been engaged in specific types of work;
- Your employer can show us that you worked in that occupation for at least two of the previous four years, and;
- You had to travel outside of Australia due to the work commitment.
You must have had a valid Australian visa for at least four years prior to applying, with at least one year as a permanent resident.
You must also have spent a total of 16 months (480 days) in Australia during the four years preceding your application, with at least four months (120 days) of that time in the year directly preceding your application.
Read more: How to Become An Australian Citizen
Relevant Occupations for Special Resident Requirement
Only the following occupations are eligible for the Australian citizenship special residence requirement:
- A member of a ship’s or plane’s crew;
- A worker on a resource or sea installation;
- An S&P/ASX All Australian 200 listed company’s Chief Executive Officer or Executive Manager;
- A Scientist who works for the following organisations:
- An Australian university with a PhD in their field of study and is conducting research and development that will benefit Australia, or
- The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO).
- A member of the Association of Australian Medical Research Institutes (AAMRI) that does medical research (AAMRI);
- A medical specialist who is a fellow of an organisation listed in Schedule 4- Part 1 of the Health Insurance Regulations 1975 (Cth) and holds a Suitable qualification in respect to the organisation and is worldwide known in their field;
- A writer or artist working in the visual or performing arts who currently holds or has held a Distinguished Talent Visa.
Find more about Australian Distinguished Talent Visa here.
Update on Australian Citizenship Residence Requirement
Referring to the updated information from the department on 14 September 2021, the Department of Home Affairs will extend the current special residence requirement to all distinguished talent visa holders and athletes in the Australian Commonwealth Games team.
Additionally, the current special residence requirement will apply to past, present and future distinguished talent stream visa holders.
Find more about other Australian Visa Concessions here.
What does it mean to you?
As we know, getting Australian citizenship is complex, and it is absolutely a rare privilege for some of us. Referring to the special residence requirement, it means you will have more flexibility in meeting this requirement to get your Australian citizenship! Isn’t it great?
If you wish to check your eligibility, please get in touch with us via email at [email protected] or via phone on 1300 827 159.
Are You Ready to Meet the Australian Citizenship Requirement?
If you have any concerns regarding the Australian citizenship requirement, don’t worry! ONE derland Consulting is ready to help you.
We also understand that applying for a visa to Australia is certainly very complicated. It is even more challenging during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Our visa specialists at ONE derland Consulting will help you assess your visa options. We have a 98% success rate and are one of Australia’s most highly recommended migration agents. Read our 4.9* score customer reviews.
We are complex visa specialists. As registered Australian migration agents with the Migration Agents Registration Authority (MARA), we are regulated in our professional practice and bound by the profession’s Code of Conduct issued by the Migration Agents Registration Authority.
Take the first step and get in touch with us. Our team members are professional, honest and speak various languages such as Mandarin/ Chinese, Bahasa Indonesia, Arabic, Japanese, Polish, German and Russian. Contact us through email at [email protected] or via phone on 1300 827 159. Alternatively, you may book your consultation online, and it is 100% refundable if you become our client.
