Citizenship by Descent

You will be entitled to the Citizenship by Descent visa if you were outside Australia and one of your parents was an Australian citizen during that time. Before applying for this visa, make sure you read the eligibility criteria. You may apply through the Immi Account; all the relevant information is present on the Department of Home Affairs website.

That said, if you get muddled during the research process, consider contacting expert education consultancy Melbourne and free yourself from any sort of confusion in your mind. If you want to know more about the visa details, keep reading till the end to get a crystal clear idea.

This visa is best for adults aged 18-59.
Children aged 16 or 17.
Children, less than 15 years of age must apply with a parent or a guardian.
The visa is dedicated to Commonwealth Child Migration Scheme migrants.
The visa is for qualified New Zealand citizens.
The visa is for refugees and humanitarian migrants.
The visa is eligible for spouses of an Australian citizen.
This whole set of data is useful for people under 59 years old.
You are permitted to accompany a dependent child who must be under 15 years and there will be no additional fee for that.
However, if a responsible parent doesn’t apply to become an Australian citizen then the 15 years older or under child must apply and pay the fee as per the rules.
As instructed earlier, you won’t be able to accompany a child aged 16 or 17. They must follow a separate and streamlined process and they have to be an Australian resident to get eligibility.

Eligibility Criteria

When you are applying for the visa, ensure that you are a permanent Australian resident or eligible New Zealand citizen.
During the time you are applying for the visa, make sure you have been living in Australia for the past 4 years on a valid visa.
You must be a permanent resident or an eligible New Zealand citizen from the past 12 months.
You must not be away from Australia for 12 months and even the last 4 years.
Children 16 or 17 years of age put them in a highly disadvantageous position according to the rules and regulations of the Australian Govt. They are required to provide sufficient proof and must meet the general residence requirements by being a permanent resident.

Permanent Residence Calculations

Your residency dates will start as soon as you enter Australia on a permanent visa.

General Exemptions

You are bound to satisfy the requirement if:

You are under 16 years old.
You were born to a former Australian citizen but they lost citizenship before 4 April 2002.
You were born in Papua New Guinea before 4 September and one of your parents were Australian citizens before you came into this world.

Character Requirements

Depiction of good character is a must have as it allows the Department of Home Affairs to judge you whether you will be able to abide by the laws or not.
A good character gives an idea that you will be able to meet the requirements pledged through the citizenship form.

Knowledge of Australia

Ensure that you have the basic and relevant knowledge about the rules and regulations as an Australian citizen. During the time of your appointment, you must know about:

Australia and its diversified culture.
Australia Govt and law order in Australia.

Also, there’s a citizenship test conducted, and scoring above 75% on the test means passing the knowledge test requirement.

Language Requirement

English is the most popular language spoken in the Australian subcontinent. You must hold command while speaking and understanding the English language. Again scoring 75% on the test means you qualify for the language requirement.

Your visa application will only be considered if:

You own a property in Australia.
You have paid income tax in Australia.
You have a job and bank account in Australia.
Your child must be an Australian citizen.
You have spent enough time in Australia and have a partner who is an Australian citizen.

Cost

There will be no cost and fee for a child younger than 15 years of age applying with a parent.

Processing Times

Following is the whole table that involves the processing time of your visa application and whether your visa is rejected, approved, withdrawn or is invalid. Allow at least 10 days after the approval of your visa for printing and postage of your citizenship documents.

Type of Application	Duration	Time for 75% of applications	Time for 90% of applications
Australian citizenship by conferral (general eligibility and other situations)**	From the date of application to decision	15 months	21 months
From the date of approval to the ceremony	8 months	10 months
From the date of application to the ceremony	24 months	30 months
Australian citizenship by descent	From the date of application to decision*	4 months	7 months
Evidence of Australian citizenship	From the date of application to decision*	6 days	19 days

Conditions After Processing Times

Below are the reasons that significantly affect the processing time. So, if your visa is delayed or late, these factors can be one of them.

You must have submitted the complete visa application with all the required documents and accurate information.
Your response time matters when you are asked to clear documents.
The time taken to clarify and assess the authenticity of the information provided.
The time is taken to verify the character and national security requirements from other agencies.
If you have applied for citizenship by conferral, and you have undertaken citizenship requirements tests then the whole criteria is taken into consideration including the Covid-19 situation.
For your citizenship by descent visa, usually, the postage of the citizenship document takes some time.

What are the Reasons for Disapproval of your Application?

If the Australian Govt is not pleased with providing your identification documents.
If you’re not in Australia during the visa processing time.
If you are involved in any case of criminal offenses.
If you are not a former citizen anymore.

So that’s all for today! Make sure you read and understand all the requirements to grant your visa on time. For any queries, reach out to the migration consultants Australia and get your doubts cleared with the expert staff.