Become an Australian Citizen
Our Services
Citizenship & Other Visas
Citizenship
Become an Australian citizen through conferral or descent. For conferral, be a permanent resident or New Zealand SCV holder. For descent, if your parent(s) were Australian citizens at your birth, you may be eligible.
Bridging Visa
A bridging visa allows you to stay in Australia or travel while your substantive visa application is processed. It covers Bridging Visa A (BVA), B (BVB), and C (BVC) options.
Refugee & Protection
Refugee visas (subclasses 200, 201, 203, 204) and Protection visa 866 allow you and your dependents to live, study, and work in Australia indefinitely if facing persecution.
Resident Return Visa
Subclass 155 and 157 visas let you return to Australia as a permanent resident if your travel validity expires. Apply for this visa before returning if your travel facility has expired.
Citizenship
The most common way to become an Australian citizen is by conferral. You must be a permanent resident or a New Zealand citizen holding a Special Category (subclass 444) visa (SCV) when you apply. If you are 59 years or younger, you can include a dependent child 15 years or younger at no extra cost. The child must be a permanent resident.
Most applicants must sit the citizenship test. If you score 75% or more on the citizenship test, and answer all 5 questions on Australian values correctly, then you meet the knowledge requirement. If you are over 60 years old, you may have an interview to confirm your identity and show that you understand the nature of your application. You do not have to sit the citizenship test.
Our services include:
- Citizenship by conferral
- Citizenship by descent
Refugee & Protection Visa
There are four visa subclasses included in the Refugee category of the Humanitarian Program:
- Refugee (subclass 200)
- In-country Special Humanitarian (subclass 201)
- Emergency Rescue (subclass 203)
- Woman at Risk (subclass 204)
Priority is given to the most vulnerable applicants as a limited number of resettlement places are available each year. Your travel to Australia will be arranged by the Department at no cost to you. You must be outside Australia when you apply. You must also be outside Australia when a visa is granted. There is no visa application charge for this visa.
The Protection visa, Subclass 866, is for people who arrived in Australia on a valid visa and want to seek asylum.
It is important to declare all your family members, even if they will not be applying with you. If you do not declare a family member in your application, you may not be able to propose them for a refugee and humanitarian visa after you arrive in Australia.
This is a permanent visa. It lets you stay in Australia indefinitely. You become a permanent resident when you enter Australia. For citizenship purposes, your permanent residence starts on the day you enter Australia on this visa.
Resident Return Visa(RRV)
There are no limits on the number of Resident Return visas (RRV) you can apply for. If you are already in Australia as a permanent resident, you do not need to apply for this visa if you do not wish to travel. If you leave Australia after your permanent visa travel facility has expired, you will not be able to return to Australia as a permanent resident. If you wish to return to Australia as a permanent resident, you must apply for and be granted this visa before your arrival in Australia. You can be in or outside Australia when you apply for the visa but not in immigration clearance.
If you hold an RRV, you should always be aware of the expiry date of the travel facility before any travel arrangements are made. You can check this on VEVO.
Our services include both subclass 155 and 157.
Bridging Visa
All bridging visas, (BVA), B (BVB) and C (BVC), are temporary visas and are applied for automatically as part of applying for a substantive visa. You can check with VEVO if your bridging visa is in effect.
The BVA and BVC do not support return travel to Australia. A BVB allows you to leave and return to Australia within the defined travel period while your application for a substantive visa is being processed. With all three visas, you can stay lawfully in Australia until your substantive visa application is finally determined.
Our services include:
