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Residency

Australia — Residency: Citizenship

Australian citizenship by conferral is open to permanent residents who meet residence, character, language and knowledge requirements; the Home Affairs residence calculator sets the general rule as having lived in Australia on a valid visa for the four years immediately before applying, holding a permanent visa (or Special Category subclass 444 visa) for the last 12 months, and being absent for no more than 12 months in those four years, with no more than 90 of those days in the last 12 months. Any time as an unlawful non-citizen in the four years means the general residence requirement is not met, apart from limited discretions such as administrative error. Applicants must be permanent residents at both application and decision, aged 18 or over and generally under 60, likely to live in Australia and of good character, and sit the citizenship test. The sources do not describe any payment-based route to citizenship.

VerifiedGovernment / official sourceDepartment of Home Affairs — Residence Calculator and citizenship by conferralLast reviewed: 2026-10-23

Key facts

  • General residence rule: four years living in Australia on a valid visa immediately before applying, a permanent visa for the last 12 months, and no more than 12 months absent in the four years (no more than 90 days in the last 12 months).
  • Time as an unlawful non-citizen in the four years means the requirement is not met, with limited discretions such as administrative error.
  • Applicants must be permanent residents at application and decision, aged 18 or over and generally under 60, likely to live in Australia and of good character.
  • Conferral also involves a citizenship test and English-language requirements.
  • The Home Affairs sources describe no payment-based pathway to citizenship.

Steps

  1. Eligibility and Application — The process involves meeting the eligibility criteria and submitting an application, but the details of the application process are not clear.
  2. Test and Interview — It is not clear if a test or interview is required as part of the citizenship application process.
  3. Oath or Affirmation — The applicant must take an oath or affirmation of allegiance to Australia, but the specifics of this process are not well understood.

Common mistakes

  • Counting time on a temporary visa as qualifying residence for the 12-month permanent-visa requirement.

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