Australian Citizenship (by Descent)

No. The General Residence Requirements and successful completion of the Citizenship Test only applies to Citizenship (by Conferral) Applications.

The Applicant will need to provide a satisfactory combination of the following documents:

• Their Current Passport.
• Their Previous Passports.
• Their Birth Certificate.
• Their Parent’s Passport at the time of the Applicant’s Birth.
• Their Parent’s Birth Certificate.
• Their Parent’s Australian Citizenship Certificate.

Additional documents may be required if they do not have at least some evidence of their Parent's Australian Citizenship the day the Applicant was born.

Applicants must be of good character to visit or live in Australia. This means you must pass the character test, and remain of good character.

You must always disclose all of your criminal history when applying for Australian Citizenship (by Descent) if you are 18 years old or older. 

If you fail to disclose anything that may be on your record, and your application is approved, the DHA may cancel this Citizenship when they find out.

No. Health Examinations are not required for Citizenship Applications.

Australia does not require new Australian Citizenship Applicants to renounce their current Citizenship.

Whether an Applicant loses their current Citizenship when they become an Australian Citizen does not depend upon Australian Citizenship law, but upon the Citizenship laws of the other country. 

A number of countries allow their citizens to keep their original Citizenship.

We recommend that all prospective Australian Citizenship Applicants contact their nearest Consulate or Embassy to get the latest information.

The 4 most common reasons for Citizenship (by Descent) application refusals are as follows:

• Failure to provide evidence of the Parent's Citizenship at time of the Applicant's date of birth.
• Failure to respond to Requests for More Information (RFIs) from the Department of Home Affairs (DHA).
• Failure to meet the Character Requirements.
• Failure to prove the Identity Requirements.

You can find out more in our dedicated video explaining this in our Video Library.

Becoming an Australian Citizen entitles you to several rights and privileges, including: 

• Applying for an Australian Passport.
• Once obtaining an Australian Passport; having the ability to enter 100+ countries without a Visa and another 50+ with a Visa on arrival.
• Having the freedom to enter and leave Australia without a Visa.
• Seeking assistance from Australian diplomatic representatives while overseas.
• Working in the Australian Public Service.
• Serving in the Australian Defence Force.
• Voting in Australian elections and referendums.