Who can apply

Australian citizenship can be conferred to a foreign resident who meets general eligibility requirements which are the following:
- you passed the naturalisation test prior to your application
- you are aged 18 years or over at the time the application is submitted
- you are a lawful permanent resident at the time of aplication
- you satisfy the residence requirement (new under Australian Citizenship Act of 2007, see below)
- you are likely to reside, or to continue to reside, in Australia or to maintain a close and continuing association with Australia and
- you are of good character.

The new residence requirements for Australian citizenship in the Australian Citizenship Act 2007 mean that applicants will need:
- four (4) years lawful residence in Australia immediately prior to making an application for Australian citizenship with at least 12 months as a permanent resident, and
- absences from Australia of no more than 12 months in total in the four (4) years prior to application, and no more than three (3) months in the 12 month permanent residency period prior to application.

The test requirement is not applied if
- you are aged under 18 years or are aged 60 years or over, or
- suffer from a permanent loss or substantial impairment of hearing, speech or sight, or
- have a permanent physical or mental incapacity that means you are not capable of understanding the nature of the application.
In such cases you still need to meet certain eligibility requirements before applying.

Note: The new residence requirements will only apply to people who become permanent residents on or after 1 July 2007.
People who became permanent residents before 1 July 2007 need only meet the old residence requirements (presence in Australia as a permanent resident for periods amounting to two (2) years in the last five (5) years including one (1) year in the last two (2) immediately prior to making the application) provided they applied within three (3) years from the day the legislation commences.

If you were born outside Australia and one of your parents held Australian citizenship at your date of birth, then you are eligible to be registered as an Australian citizen. The registration must be done at an Australian consulate or embassy overseas. Note that previously, this registration had to occur before you reached a certain age - however, this restriction has been removed as of the 1st of July 2007.