Jack Bauer 12 Report post Posted August 14, 2018 I have heard its an 18 month wait ?? Surely not? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ali 189 Report post Posted August 14, 2018 They are taking a lot longer at the moment and certainly, in excess of 12 months isn't unusual. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
phil 14 Report post Posted August 15, 2018 18 months would sound about right. Found out the hard way when had to also shell out for Resident Return Visas when leaving the country for a holiday. grrrr. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jack Bauer 12 Report post Posted August 15, 2018 22 hours ago, ali said: They are taking a lot longer at the moment and certainly, in excess of 12 months isn't unusual. Cheers guys In this day and age, how do they justify this? Is this now the norm does anyone know or a short term thing? And I am guessing that its then another wait for the actual ceremony? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
phil 14 Report post Posted August 15, 2018 I think they justify it because, well, there's no competition. And yes to a long wait for the ceremony. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ali 189 Report post Posted August 15, 2018 2 hours ago, Jack Bauer said: Cheers guys In this day and age, how do they justify this? Is this now the norm does anyone know or a short term thing? And I am guessing that its then another wait for the actual ceremony? Might be the number of applicants has risen? More time consuming to do all the checks they need to do. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bristle 16 Report post Posted August 16, 2018 The website is saying that processing from lodgement to ceremony takes 14 months in 75% of cases and 17 months in 90%. I have seen recently that someone from Darwin completed their citizenship in 7 months so there seems to be no real system as people who lodged earlier are still awaiting a test appointment.We lodged at the end of December and are awaiting a test date. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
phil 14 Report post Posted August 16, 2018 News article on it today https://www.sbs.com.au/news/demand-for-australian-citizenship-at-record-high It mentions they may look at extending the PR requirement to 4 years. I thought it was that long anyway. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Warnbro 27 Report post Posted August 18, 2018 On 17/08/2018 at 00:58, phil said: It mentions they may look at extending the PR requirement to 4 years. I thought it was that long anyway. It's already four years of residence as you rightly say. It was three years but that changed in 2007. Maybe the key word is PR? When we arrived in 2007, it was three years residence with at least 12 months as a PR. If they change the PR requirement to 4 years, you could have lived here on a 457 for a few years but still have to wait a further 4 years after your PR was granted? Who knows? My Citizenship (2011) took only few months from application through to ceremony and back then, you had the option to have your ceremony fast tracked (in the offices in Perth without all the fuss). My wife did this as she had to go back to the UK for a visit so she only waited 3 weeks from application to full citizenship. The kids and I waited for the next Rockingham Town hall ceremony. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
verystormy 85 Report post Posted August 19, 2018 On 17 August 2018 at 00:58, phil said: News article on it today https://www.sbs.com.au/news/demand-for-australian-citizenship-at-record-high It mentions they may look at extending the PR requirement to 4 years. I thought it was that long anyway. No. At the moment, it is four years of holding a substantive visa, one of which has to be PR. For example, if someone arrived on a working holiday visa and stayed two years, at the end of which was granted a 457/TSS, then one year later gained PR, they would be eligible for citizenship after one year of holding the PR visa providing they meet the resident rules which are that they haven't spent more than 12 months outside of Australia in the last four years and no more than 90 days outside in the 12 months prior to applying (though there are exceptions to this) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ali 189 Report post Posted August 19, 2018 18 hours ago, Warnbro said: It's already four years of residence as you rightly say. It was three years but that changed in 2007. Maybe the key word is PR? When we arrived in 2007, it was three years residence with at least 12 months as a PR. If they change the PR requirement to 4 years, you could have lived here on a 457 for a few years but still have to wait a further 4 years after your PR was granted? Who knows? My Citizenship (2011) took only few months from application through to ceremony and back then, you had the option to have your ceremony fast tracked (in the offices in Perth without all the fuss). My wife did this as she had to go back to the UK for a visit so she only waited 3 weeks from application to full citizenship. The kids and I waited for the next Rockingham Town hall ceremony. We arrived in 2007, luckily before the rule change, meaning that we got our Citizenship after 2 years. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jen78 95 Report post Posted August 21, 2018 We're only 18 months in and will be applying for citizenship as soon as we can. A longer wait means we'll have to pay a few terms of uni as we can't apply for hecs without being a citizen I think? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
verystormy 85 Report post Posted August 22, 2018 19 hours ago, Jen78 said: We're only 18 months in and will be applying for citizenship as soon as we can. A longer wait means we'll have to pay a few terms of uni as we can't apply for hecs without being a citizen I think? Correct. Do allow though two years for processing as like visas, processing citizenship applications has blown out. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jack Bauer 12 Report post Posted August 23, 2018 Surely they are looking at getting the wait time down again? We are due to apply next July, really was hoping for 6-8 months max Is what it is I suppose Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Livingthedream66 10 Report post Posted August 28, 2018 Hi we applied for citizenship in Oct 2017. Partner and two kids under 16. We had our interview and test yesterday 28/08/18. All was ok just waiting now to be accepted and the ceremony hopefully. Was a weird feeling after waiting that long to have finally completed it all. Hopefully won’t be too low by a wait. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bristle 16 Report post Posted August 30, 2018 Received our test dates on Tuesday, 8 months and 1 day after application. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Warnbro 27 Report post Posted August 31, 2018 5 hours ago, Bristle said: Received our test dates on Tuesday, 8 months and 1 day after application. That has dragged out a lot. My test and interview date came back after about a week. I can only assume that the vast numbers of people who arrived during the resources boom years are now qualifying and creating the backlog. Don't stress about the test. It's easy as pie and you only need to digest a few pages of information. My favourite question was about the name of the national anthem. One of the multiple choice answers offered was "Australians must advance more fairly". I wonder how many people chose that? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bristle 16 Report post Posted August 31, 2018 4 hours ago, Warnbro said: That has dragged out a lot. My test and interview date came back after about a week. I can only assume that the vast numbers of people who arrived during the resources boom years are now qualifying and creating the backlog. Don't stress about the test. It's easy as pie and you only need to digest a few pages of information. My favourite question was about the name of the national anthem. One of the multiple choice answers offered was "Australians must advance more fairly". I wonder how many people chose that? It's also due to processing of applications being halted for six months when they were trying to change the length of PR required and making the English test harder which didn't get through Parliament. People were still allowed to apply creating a huge backlog. Not worried about the test as have tried some sample ones. Will read through the necessary info nearer the time. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Warnbro 27 Report post Posted September 1, 2018 19 hours ago, Bristle said: It's also due to processing of applications being halted for six months when they were trying to change the length of PR required and making the English test harder which didn't get through Parliament. People were still allowed to apply creating a huge backlog. Not worried about the test as have tried some sample ones. Will read through the necessary info nearer the time. You sit down in front of a computer terminal and tick some boxes on the screen. I was in and out of that room in less than two minutes with a 100% score. When I did mine, there were some people who failed but they were all non native English speakers. They were given a bit of time to revise in the waiting room and then allowed to re-sit the test. The main thing to remember for the interview is to take as much paperwork with you as you can. There is a checklist on the interview appointment letter. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jack Bauer 12 Report post Posted September 10, 2018 https://www.relocatemagazine.com/immigration-australian-citizenship-application-processing-recommences Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
FOL 60 Report post Posted September 10, 2018 16 hours ago, Jack Bauer said: https://www.relocatemagazine.com/immigration-australian-citizenship-application-processing-recommences That article is nearly a year old though. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
stu4668 11 Report post Posted September 11, 2018 we applied beginning August 2018, website says 14 to 18 month wait, looks like we will have to pay for the resident return visa Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jack Bauer 12 Report post Posted September 14, 2018 On 11/09/2018 at 07:27, FOL said: That article is nearly a year old though. Oh yeah !!!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jack Bauer 12 Report post Posted September 26, 2018 Friends applied last week and were told by immi that processing time is now down to 4 months as they have ramped up staffing to get through the backlog Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bristle 16 Report post Posted October 10, 2018 On 31/08/2018 at 18:29, Bristle said: It's also due to processing of applications being halted for six months when they were trying to change the length of PR required and making the English test harder which didn't get through Parliament. People were still allowed to apply creating a huge backlog. Not worried about the test as have tried some sample ones. Will read through the necessary info nearer the time. OH and I had the test on Monday. She got 95% and I got 100%. Her application was approved the same day but I am still waiting. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
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