Are you a temporary visa holder in Australia? During your time here, have you and your partner given birth to a child? Has your child lived and grown up in Australia for at least 10 years?
If you’ve answered “Yes” to these questions, there is a chance that your child is eligible to apply for Australian citizenship.
Most people are familiar with two processes for Australian citizenship:
- Citizenship by Conferral – where permanent resident visa holders or eligible New Zealand citizens (and their dependents) can apply to become citizens.
This is also a pathway used by children of former Australian citizens, or people born in Australia and are stateless. - Citizenship by Descent – where children of Australian parent(s) who were born overseas can apply to become citizens of Australia.
However, there also exists a pathway for children who were born in Australia to become citizens, and this is called the “Evidence of Citizenship and Certificates” application. This option is available to children of temporary visa holders who were born in Australia on or after 20 August 1986, provided they have been ordinarily resident in Australia for the first 10 years from their birth. This is the case where both parents are temporary visa holders, as well as if one of the parents is a temporary visa holder and the other is a permanent resident/citizen of Australia. Children born in Australia to New Zealand parents can also apply for this process, but the parents would need to meet certain residency requirements.
On their 10th birthday, the child will be eligible for citizenship and must apply through this pathway to obtain evidence of their citizenship. Evidence of their 10-year residence in Australia would need to be provided, as well as evidence of the parents’ statuses at the time of birth. This excludes children born to foreign diplomats.
Would you like to confirm if your child is eligible for this application? Do you have any more questions about this process? Feel free to send us an enquiry or call our offices to book an appointment with one of our registered migration agents.