# Why Citizenship approval rate is so low?



## Andology (Jun 21, 2015)

Hi everyone,

I am about to apply to citizenship soon, and I did some study about the approval rate of citizenship. What I have gather is:

FY2012-2013: 62.9% approved 
FY2013-2014: 82.6% approved 

Which means that of 200,000 people apply, there would be on average 20,000-40,000 applications rejected

This is very strange as the only main reason I can think of that they would reject a citizenship is if one does not have good character i.e. has been convicted or did not pay taxes. These numbers should not be that high as during PR stage, they already checked character requirements. The other reason could be that people do not met residence requirements, but it could not be that high as well, because most will check their eligibility before applying. 

So how is it possible that the rejection rate is so high? Even Canada has 96.3% approval rate and they have stricter requirements. I have met the residence requirement, and never committed any crimes, but still concerned if there are other reasons for rejection.

I also find it very strange that I never came across anyone who complained that their citizenship application is rejected. 

What are you guys' thoughts about this?


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## mawaismushtaq (Aug 30, 2014)

well another factor to be taken in consideration should be the failure rate in citizenship tests...


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## Andology (Jun 21, 2015)

I also thought like that at first, but it seems that for citizenship test, the overall pass rate(include reattempt) is quite closed to 100%, and even if you failed, you can retake the test until you pass.

The citizenship statistics can be found on the citizenship.gov.au website, I cannot post the link here as I have fewer than 5 posts.

So what could be the other possible reasons? Is it related to race or ethnicity? Or they have quota for each year?


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## aspiring_singh (Nov 12, 2013)

Andology said:


> Hi everyone,
> 
> I am about to apply to citizenship soon, and I did some study about the approval rate of citizenship. What I have gather is:
> 
> ...


Interesting so where did you collect these stats from, pls share the site address.


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## Andology (Jun 21, 2015)

These are the annual reports from the DIBP website:

immi.gov.au/about/reports/annual/2013-14/performance/outcome_6/decisions_on_citizenship_status.htm

immi.gov.au/about/reports/annual/2012-13/html/performance/outcome_6/decisions_on_citizenship_status.htm

This is quite mind-blogging


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## gkvithia (Dec 9, 2013)

they might not have met the criteria in terms of timelines etc, or maybe tax issue


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## TheExpatriate (Feb 7, 2014)

Andology said:


> I also thought like that at first, but it seems that for citizenship test, the overall pass rate(include reattempt) is quite closed to 100%, and even if you failed, you can retake the test until you pass.
> 
> The citizenship statistics can be found on the citizenship.gov.au website, I cannot post the link here as I have fewer than 5 posts.
> 
> So what could be the other possible reasons? Is it related to race or ethnicity? Or they have quota for each year?


No, thanks God, Australia is not a backwards country that pretends to be a developed one yet still mentions race in ID cards. *cough* *cough*


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## Andology (Jun 21, 2015)

gkvithia said:


> they might not have met the criteria in terms of timelines etc, or maybe tax issue


Not many people have tax issue I assume as they need to maintain the PR, and most people will use the citizenship wizard to check whether they are eligible to apply, otherwise, they will be losing their application fees.

I'm not saying that Australia uses the race card, but the high number of rejection( in ten thousands) really makes me wonder.


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## gkvithia (Dec 9, 2013)

You would be surprised how many dont understand the wizard, as what counts as actual dates etc, could also be that many refugee and other subclass in the calclations.

From my understanding they do encourage citizenship as soon as you are eligible, to be honest i have yet to encounter a thread in any forums where citizenship was denied only complains i have read so far were for delay in ceremonies etc.

I have met refugees who after ten years are yet to even receive PR/Resident status.


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## ozbound12 (Mar 23, 2012)

Andology said:


> Hi everyone,
> 
> I am about to apply to citizenship soon, and I did some study about the approval rate of citizenship. What I have gather is:
> 
> ...


People can develop character issues AFTER migrating to Australia - i.e. people can commit crimes and be prosecuted for them even though they may not have had a criminal record prior to migrating.

People can also not meet the residency requirements and apply anyway, thinking that they qualify but in reality they do not.

There are also cases where DIBP discovers that the application is fraudulent or the prior visas were obtained fraudulently. Those applications are also denied.

If you meet the requirements and are not committing fraud, then you will most likely be approved. It's not complicated. As someone else stated, the Australian government strongly encourages people to apply for citizenship as soon as they are eligible. They want you to be able to vote and participate fully in Australian society. Unlike other countries that restrict citizenship to a very limited few (or otherwise make naturalization a particularly onerous task), Australian society is predicated on the notion that anyone who wishes to be a part of it and meets the minimum requirements can become a citizen.


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## Andology (Jun 21, 2015)

ozbound12 said:


> People can develop character issues AFTER migrating to Australia - i.e. people can commit crimes and be prosecuted for them even though they may not have had a criminal record prior to migrating.
> 
> People can also not meet the residency requirements and apply anyway, thinking that they qualify but in reality they do not.
> 
> ...


I agree with that, having been here since I was a student, Australia is really an open society. That's the main reason why I find it very perplexing about the approval rate when I did some research before submitting my application and no one complains about it on any forums. Guess I am overthinking too much about it, I will submit my application soon. Thanks everyone for your input


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## Maggie-May24 (May 19, 2015)

Russell Crowe claims to have been refused citizenship twice, although DIBP says he's never actually applied. I realise this doesn't impact the statistics, but perhaps any stories that may circulate about the process.


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## ozbound12 (Mar 23, 2012)

Maggie-May24 said:


> Russell Crowe claims to have been refused citizenship twice, although DIBP says he's never actually applied. I realise this doesn't impact the statistics, but perhaps any stories that may circulate about the process.


As a NZer, he cannot apply for citizenship directly no matter how long he's lived here. He needs to become a PR first.


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## TheExpatriate (Feb 7, 2014)

ozbound12 said:


> As a NZer, he cannot apply for citizenship directly no matter how long he's lived here. He needs to become a PR first.


Russel Crowe is an Eligible New Zealand Citizen (those who were in Australia on 26 Feb 2001, or lived a year out of the two years prior to that date in Australia) , which is effectively a PR and can apply for citizenship upon meeting residence and other criteria


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## ozbound12 (Mar 23, 2012)

TheExpatriate said:


> Russel Crowe is an Eligible New Zealand Citizen (those who were in Australia on 26 Feb 2001, or lived a year out of the two years prior to that date in Australia) , which is effectively a PR and can apply for citizenship upon meeting residence and other criteria


He was not resident in Australia at that time and is thus not eligible. It's been covered at length in the media. 

http://m.smh.com.au/lifestyle/celeb...ce-as-australian-citizen-20150325-1m70m7.html


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## TheExpatriate (Feb 7, 2014)

ozbound12 said:


> He was not resident in Australia at that time and is thus not eligible. It's been covered at length in the media.
> 
> Russell Crowe rejected twice as Australian citizen | smh.com.au


I thought I saw it somewhere in the media that he was ..... nvm looks like it's one of those celebrity controversies that keep on happening in the media .....


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## Maggie-May24 (May 19, 2015)

Sorry, I threw that statistic out as a tongue-in-cheek note that he's skewing the statistics


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