# Australian Citizenship Email Address



## abhishek.jayakumar (Dec 6, 2012)

Hey there guys,
I applied for my citizenship recently and was approved in principle and am just waiting to attend my ceremony now. I was wondering if the citizenship department of DIAC has a contact email address to send in proof for my reasons to request an urgent ceremony. I am starting university in Germany in September this year and I wanted to sort out my citizenship before I go overseas. I cant use my passport to enter the country any more, because I applied for and was granted a Name change certificate. Changing my name on my Indian passport takes a huge amount of time as I need to publish ads here in Australian newspapers and Indian newspapers and then wait for 30 days or something after which they take like 10-12 weeks to process my application.
Thanks
With regards
Abhishek


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## jre05 (Feb 16, 2013)

abhishek.jayakumar said:


> Hey there guys,
> I applied for my citizenship recently and was approved in principle and am just waiting to attend my ceremony now. I was wondering if the citizenship department of DIAC has a contact email address to send in proof for my reasons to request an urgent ceremony. I am starting university in Germany in September this year and I wanted to sort out my citizenship before I go overseas. I cant use my passport to enter the country any more, because I applied for and was granted a Name change certificate. Changing my name on my Indian passport takes a huge amount of time as I need to publish ads here in Australian newspapers and Indian newspapers and then wait for 30 days or something after which they take like 10-12 weeks to process my application.
> Thanks
> With regards
> Abhishek


Congratulations.

Could you please tell how can you apply Citizenship within one year of your grant? Or perhaps close to one year?

Also, could you please share the procedure you did so far for that, it would be helpful for many people like me please.


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## abhishek.jayakumar (Dec 6, 2012)

jre05 said:


> Congratulations.
> 
> Could you please tell how can you apply Citizenship within one year of your grant? Or perhaps close to one year?
> 
> Also, could you please share the procedure you did so far for that, it would be helpful for many people like me please.


Thanks for that... I did my undergraduate degree in Australia (~4 years) and that counts towards meeting the residence requirement for citizenship. You can apply for citizenship after you have been resident for 3 years on any visa with 1 year as a PR. Regarding the application, you just fill an online application and if everything is in order you'll receive an invite for a citizenship test within 2 weeks. Once you pass the test, you'll be approved in principle after which you have to wait for the citizenship ceremony which can take months (can take 3-10 months depending on where you live). After this ceremony you will become an Australian citizen and be able to hold an Aussie Passport


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## cooluno (May 26, 2013)

jre05 said:


> Congratulations.
> 
> Could you please tell how can you apply Citizenship within one year of your grant? Or perhaps close to one year?
> 
> Also, could you please share the procedure you did so far for that, it would be helpful for many people like me please.


you can be on a 457 or a student visa, and that period counts towards the 4 years that you need to be in Australia before you can apply for the citizenship. The requirements are:
4 years in australia
AND
At least 1 year on PR
AND
less than 1 year been outside australia in the last 4 years
AND
less than 90 days outside australia in the last 1 year.

As long as these conditions are satisfied, it is good to go!


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## cooluno (May 26, 2013)

abhishek.jayakumar said:


> Thanks for that... I did my undergraduate degree in Australia (~4 years) and that counts towards meeting the residence requirement for citizenship. You can apply for citizenship after you have been resident for 3 years on any visa with 1 year as a PR. Regarding the application, you just fill an online application and if everything is in order you'll receive an invite for a citizenship test within 2 weeks. Once you pass the test, you'll be approved in principle after which you have to wait for the citizenship ceremony which can take months (can take 3-10 months depending on where you live). After this ceremony you will become an Australian citizen and be able to hold an Aussie Passport


just 1 correction, the requirement is actually 4 years on any visa with 1 year as PR among those 4. rest all is perfect!


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## jre05 (Feb 16, 2013)

abhishek.jayakumar said:


> Thanks for that... I did my undergraduate degree in Australia (~4 years) and that counts towards meeting the residence requirement for citizenship. You can apply for citizenship after you have been resident for 3 years on any visa with 1 year as a PR. Regarding the application, you just fill an online application and if everything is in order you'll receive an invite for a citizenship test within 2 weeks. Once you pass the test, you'll be approved in principle after which you have to wait for the citizenship ceremony which can take months (can take 3-10 months depending on where you live). After this ceremony you will become an Australian citizen and be able to hold an Aussie Passport


Awesome, so happy for you mate :yo: I hope you get your ceremony soon (I heard its generally conducted twice in an year depending on state where you apply or something, not very sure. They said, during Queen's birthday or so you will have ceremony sometime. 

I look forward for applying too in 4 years 



cooluno said:


> you can be on a 457 or a student visa, and that period counts towards the 4 years that you need to be in Australia before you can apply for the citizenship. The requirements are:
> 4 years in australia
> AND
> At least 1 year on PR
> ...


Thank you so much, here I have a slight clarification.

You mentioned 4 years minimum stay for eligibility you said, but less than one year in last 4 years means, say, I can stay in Australia for 3 years 2 months for example and still eligible? I will ensure I wont go more than 90 days outside Australia in the last one year. So, total of 3 year 2 months in this case means eligible?


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## tara.jatt (May 15, 2012)

Hi Abhishek,

I believe every state have a DIBP office which accepts requests for Urgent ceremonies. I can see different addresses for every state on the urgent ceremony forms available on different city council websites. You should look for your council's website and there should be some information about urgent ceremony. Just looking at your location as Sydney, this is what I found on some NSW local council's website:

Please send your request to: 
NSW Citizenship Ceremonies 
Department of Immigration and Citizenship 
GPO Box 9984 
SYDNEY NSW 2001 
Telephone: 131 880 



abhishek.jayakumar said:


> Hey there guys,
> I applied for my citizenship recently and was approved in principle and am just waiting to attend my ceremony now. I was wondering if the citizenship department of DIAC has a contact email address to send in proof for my reasons to request an urgent ceremony. I am starting university in Germany in September this year and I wanted to sort out my citizenship before I go overseas. I cant use my passport to enter the country any more, because I applied for and was granted a Name change certificate. Changing my name on my Indian passport takes a huge amount of time as I need to publish ads here in Australian newspapers and Indian newspapers and then wait for 30 days or something after which they take like 10-12 weeks to process my application.
> Thanks
> With regards
> Abhishek


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## abhishek.jayakumar (Dec 6, 2012)

cooluno said:


> just 1 correction, the requirement is actually 4 years on any visa with 1 year as PR among those 4. rest all is perfect!


Yeah you are right. Sorry about that.


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## tara.jatt (May 15, 2012)

You have to complete 4 years in Australia in order to become eligible, even if you never went outside country during that time. However, you are allowed to be out for 12 months out of those 4 years and 3 months for the last year before you apply. 



jre05 said:


> So, total of 3 year 2 months in this case means eligible?


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## abhishek.jayakumar (Dec 6, 2012)

jre05 said:


> Awesome, so happy for you mate :yo: I hope you get your ceremony soon (I heard its generally conducted twice in an year depending on state where you apply or something, not very sure. They said, during Queen's birthday or so you will have ceremony sometime.
> 
> I look forward for applying too in 4 years
> 
> ...


Thanks once again dude. Citizenship ceremonies are held more than twice per year. In fact every suburb council holds it. Some of them even have multiple ceremonies in a month. Unfortunately the area where I live in (Parramatta), there is a huge backlog for ceremonies and as a result the ceremony wait times can take around 10 months. This is inspire of Parramatta council holding ceremonies every two weeks or so.


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## abhishek.jayakumar (Dec 6, 2012)

tara.jatt said:


> Hi Abhishek,
> 
> I believe every state have a DIBP office which accepts requests for Urgent ceremonies. I can see different addresses for every state on the urgent ceremony forms available on different city council websites. You should look for your council's website and there should be some information about urgent ceremony. Just looking at your location as Sydney, this is what I found on some NSW local council's website:
> 
> ...


Thanks a lot for that dude. I think its a good idea to send in the university offer letter along with an enclosing letter detailing my circumstances and thus request for an urgent ceremony.


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## tara.jatt (May 15, 2012)

That would be your best shot than the Name change thing. You have valid passport, you have valid Visa to reenter, you have perfectly good health so you can return after say a semester abroad to attend ceremony, so the passport trouble you mentioned may not be that urgent. The University start date and not able to travel back on short notice might be more reasonable argument for your case.

All the best. 



abhishek.jayakumar said:


> Thanks a lot for that dude. I think its a good idea to send in the university offer letter along with an enclosing letter detailing my circumstances and thus request for an urgent ceremony.


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## cooluno (May 26, 2013)

jre05 said:


> Thank you so much, here I have a slight clarification.
> 
> You mentioned 4 years minimum stay for eligibility you said, but less than one year in last 4 years means, say, I can stay in Australia for 3 years 2 months for example and still eligible? I will ensure I wont go more than 90 days outside Australia in the last one year. So, total of 3 year 2 months in this case means eligible?


Actually, what the rules means is that once your stay in Australia starts, whether on a 457, or a student visa, you can only apply for citizenship after 4 years of that. In between you could have taken 1 year(in 1 shot, or in parts) break, and still managed to come back. As long as that is fulfilled, along with the other criteria, you should be good to go! 

Hope this helps!


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## cooluno (May 26, 2013)

abhishek.jayakumar said:


> Thanks once again dude. Citizenship ceremonies are held more than twice per year. In fact every suburb council holds it. Some of them even have multiple ceremonies in a month. Unfortunately the area where I live in (Parramatta), there is a huge backlog for ceremonies and as a result the ceremony wait times can take around 10 months. This is inspire of Parramatta council holding ceremonies every two weeks or so.


Worry not, my friend! 

One of my friends got it about 8 months back in P'matta, with a wait of only 3 months. He was informed the council has decided to fast track the ceremonies. So there will be no arrangements(like food and drinks like they used to have), but just business. 

So they would probably get to your application soon. I am still deciding where to put my application in. Maybe somewhere like Kiama may be a good option to get it faster, ha ha.


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## abhishek.jayakumar (Dec 6, 2012)

cooluno said:


> Worry not, my friend!
> 
> One of my friends got it about 8 months back in P'matta, with a wait of only 3 months. He was informed the council has decided to fast track the ceremonies. So there will be no arrangements(like food and drinks like they used to have), but just business.
> 
> So they would probably get to your application soon. I am still deciding where to put my application in. Maybe somewhere like Kiama may be a good option to get it faster, ha ha.


Haha thankss for that dude and I sure hope they fast track the ceremony process. Also you don't get a choice where you put your application in. It depends on the council where you live and you have unfortunately no choice in the matter.


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## abhishek.jayakumar (Dec 6, 2012)

Just a quick heads up guys... I got my ceremony letter yesterday stating that my ceremony is on the 26th of June... Not too long to go now yipeeee ...I have to say I wasnt expecting them to be so blazing fast in handing out ceremony invitations. I know guys who have been waiting for months for this letter...


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## tara.jatt (May 15, 2012)

Awesome dude, All set for Study abroad !!!

We are still waiting for the ceremony invitation.



abhishek.jayakumar said:


> Just a quick heads up guys... I got my ceremony letter yesterday stating that my ceremony is on the 26th of June... Not too long to go now yipeeee ...I have to say I wasnt expecting them to be so blazing fast in handing out ceremony invitations. I know guys who have been waiting for months for this letter...


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## perfect stranger (Jun 8, 2012)

So if we stay full 3 years out of total 4 years after initial entry, we will be eligible for citizenship

Quote:
Originally Posted by indiference View Post
So effectively we need to stay for full 3 years out of total 4 years after first entry?
Yes. Look at the example below:

Initial Entry Date (left Australia the same day): 01-Jan-2015
Subsequent entry to settle permanently: 01-Jan-2016
Citizenship eligibility date: 01-Jan-2019 (provided you have no absences in the three years)

There is a calculator provided on immigration website for you to play with the dates.

https://www.ecom.immi.gov.au/citz/startIntervalCalc.do


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## jre05 (Feb 16, 2013)

tara.jatt said:


> Awesome dude, All set for Study abroad !!!
> 
> We are still waiting for the ceremony invitation.


how he got so soon.


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## tara.jatt (May 15, 2012)

Allocating Citizenship Ceremonies is what I believe the only work area of DIBP where they dont have any transparency in process and publish any information about the process. You wont find the logic about how they allocate ceremonies. At the same ceremony at any city council, there will be people who took test 7 months ago and those who took test 5 weeks ago. This process is total blackbox to applicant.



jre05 said:


> how he got so soon.


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## abhishek.jayakumar (Dec 6, 2012)

tara.jatt said:


> Allocating Citizenship Ceremonies is what I believe the only work area of DIBP where they dont have any transparency in process and publish any information about the process. You wont find the logic about how they allocate ceremonies. At the same ceremony at any city council, there will be people who took test 7 months ago and those who took test 5 weeks ago. This process is total blackbox to applicant.


Yeah true... The whole ceremony allocation thingy depends from council to council. In case of Parramatta, I think (don't quote me on this), the work load has been shared by DIBP who also have an office here and the parramatta council after the council became seriously backlogged with ceremony allocations. Could be the reason why my application was processed so quickly.


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## exotichead (Apr 29, 2014)

tara.jatt can you post your timelines ? so as to compare with mine

online application submitted - may 15 2014
date of interview/test- may 28 2014 passed.
i received the notification in mail stating eligibility after a week and to wait for notification for ceremony.

my council is glen era .


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## abhishek.jayakumar (Dec 6, 2012)

exotichead said:


> tara.jatt can you post your timelines ? so as to compare with mine
> 
> online application submitted - may 15 2014
> date of interview/test- may 28 2014 passed.
> ...


Application: 2nd May
Test: 15th May
Ceremony: 26th June


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## tara.jatt (May 15, 2012)

I applied on 17th Apr and had test on 5th May. Got approved same day, and waiting for the ceremony invite. 

Hey you also wanted to get ceremony in USA, right? Did you request it?



exotichead said:


> tara.jatt can you post your timelines ? so as to compare with mine
> 
> online application submitted - may 15 2014
> date of interview/test- may 28 2014 passed.
> ...


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## exotichead (Apr 29, 2014)

nope i havent requested it . according to the australia embassy in DC , they mentioned i need to request to my case officer and it will be considered on special basis only,how about you


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