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- Citizenship
You can become a citizen of Australia in different ways. You must meet the criteria before you apply. Conferral and descent are the most common ways to apply.
Citizenship by conferral
You must:
- Be a permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen upon application
- You must be of 'good character' if you are 18 years or over
- Meet the general residence requirement. At the time you apply you must have been:
- living in Australia on a valid visa for the past 4 years
- a permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen for the past 12 months
- away from Australia for no more than 12 months in total in the past 4 years, including no more than 90 days in total in the past 12 months
Children under 16 do not need to meet the general residence requirement but must be permanent residents
Citizenship by conferral
You must have been:
- Born outside Australia on or after 26 January 1949. You may be eligible if you were born outside Australia and one or both of your parents at the time of your birth, was also an Australian citizen; or born outside Australia through an international surrogacy arrangement
- You must be of 'good character' if you are 18 years or over