To get Australian citizenship, most people apply through a process called conferral: you must be a permanent resident (or hold a New Zealand Special Category Visa), have lived lawfully in Australia for four years, pass a character check and citizenship test, pay a $575 application fee, and take the pledge at a ceremony. From lodging the application to walking out as a citizen, the process runs about 14 months for most applicants.
Who Qualifies
If you’re 18 or older, you need to be a permanent resident or a New Zealand Special Category Visa (subclass 444) holder both when you apply and when a decision is made. On top of that, you must satisfy a residency requirement, pass a character check, and show basic English proficiency, which normally happens through the citizenship test.
The residency rules are specific. You need four years of lawful residence in Australia immediately before applying, with the last 12 months on a permanent visa or SCV. Across those four years, your total time outside Australia cannot exceed 12 months, and in the final 12 months before you apply, absences cannot exceed 90 days.1Department of Home Affairs. Become an Australian Citizen by Conferral Home Affairs offers a free online residence calculator so you can check the numbers before you lodge anything.2Department of Home Affairs. Residence Calculator
The character assessment looks at your criminal history in Australia and overseas. You’ll generally need an overseas police clearance from any country where you spent 90 days or more after turning 18 while holding a permanent visa, provided your total time abroad adds up to 12 months or more.3Department of Home Affairs. Character Requirements for Australian Citizenship The Minister must refuse the application if an adverse or qualified security assessment is in force against you.4Australasian Legal Information Institute. Australian Citizenship Act 2007 – Section 24
If you’re 60 or older, you don’t sit the citizenship test. Your English is assessed through an interview instead.5Department of Home Affairs. Person 60 Years or Over – Become an Australian Citizen
New Zealand citizens on an SCV don’t need a separate permanent visa first. Since July 2023, time spent on the SCV counts toward the 12-month permanent residence requirement, though you still need to meet the four-year general residence rule like everyone else.6Department of Home Affairs. Pathways for New Zealand Citizens
Other Ways to Become a Citizen
Conferral is the main route, but not the only one. If you were born outside Australia and at least one of your parents was an Australian citizen when you were born, you may qualify by descent, and no Australian residency is required.7Department of Home Affairs. Become an Australian Citizen (by Descent) Children adopted in Australia by an Australian citizen parent, if already permanent residents, may acquire citizenship automatically; Hague Convention international adoptions follow their own process. And a child born in Australia to at least one citizen or permanent resident parent is automatically a citizen at birth. Children born in Australia who don’t qualify at birth become citizens automatically on their 10th birthday if they’ve lived most of their life here.
Documents to Gather Before You Apply
Assembling documents early saves weeks. Home Affairs wants documents that together prove your photo, full name, date of birth, signature, and residential address.8Department of Home Affairs. Citizenship by Conferral – Additional Guidance Plan on gathering:
- A full birth certificate showing your parents’ names. If you can’t obtain one, a family book extract, hospital records, household register, or ImmiCard may be accepted.
- Photo ID with signature, such as a valid passport, Australian driver’s licence, or national identity card.
- Proof of address, for example a utility bill, rates notice, rental agreement, or bank statement.
- Evidence of any name change since birth: an official marriage certificate, divorce certificate, or change-of-name document.
- Overseas police clearances from any country where you spent 90 or more days after turning 18, when your total time abroad on a permanent visa reaches 12 months or more.3Department of Home Affairs. Character Requirements for Australian Citizenship
Any document not in English needs a translation. Inside Australia, translations must come from a translator accredited by the National Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreters (NAATI). If you’re applying from overseas, a translator registered with an equivalent professional body in your country is accepted.
Every application also needs a completed Identity Declaration (Form 1195). It must be signed by an Australian citizen who has known you for at least one year, works in an approved profession, and is not related to you by birth, marriage, or de facto relationship. The same person endorses your photograph.9Department of Home Affairs. Identity Declaration (Form 1195) Approved professions include doctors, dentists, nurses, pharmacists, lawyers, police officers, justices of the peace, full-time teachers, registered migration agents, members of parliament, and bank officers with five or more years of service, among others. Applying from outside Australia and don’t know an Australian citizen? A citizen of your country of residence who meets the same professional and relationship criteria can sign instead.
Submitting the Application and Paying the Fee
Applications go in online through the Home Affairs portal. You upload documents, complete the form, and pay at submission.
The standard fee for citizenship by conferral is $575 (AUD). A concession rate of $80 applies for holders of a Pensioner Concession Card issued by Services Australia or the Department of Veterans’ Affairs. Children under 16 included on a parent’s application pay nothing.10Department of Home Affairs. Citizenship Application Fees (Form 1298i) Fees are indexed to the consumer price index each 1 July, so expect a small annual bump.
After you submit, Home Affairs may ask you to provide biometrics or attend an in-person interview. They’ll contact you if that’s needed.
Passing the Citizenship Test
Applicants between 18 and 59 sit a computer-based, multiple-choice test with 20 questions drawn from the official booklet Australian Citizenship: Our Common Bond. The booklet covers Australian values, history, government structure, and national symbols, and is free to download from Home Affairs.11Department of Home Affairs. Australian Citizenship – Our Common Bond
You need an overall score of at least 75%, and five of the 20 questions cover Australian values specifically. All five values questions must be answered correctly. The test runs 45 minutes.12Department of Home Affairs. Learn About the Citizenship Test
If you fail, Home Affairs books another sitting at no extra cost. The values questions catch out a lot of applicants, so read the booklet closely between attempts. If you haven’t passed after three attempts, Home Affairs may refuse the application outright.
How Long It Takes
As of early 2026, 75% of citizenship by conferral applications receive a decision within six months and 90% within nine months. Once approved, 75% of applicants attend a ceremony within five months and 90% within six months. End to end, 90% complete the process within about 14 months.13Department of Home Affairs. Citizenship Processing Times
Ceremony waits depend on your local council. Higher-demand areas run longer than the national average. Home Affairs publishes council-level wait times so you can check yours.14Department of Home Affairs. Ceremony Wait Times
The Ceremony and the Pledge
The ceremony is where citizenship becomes official. Adult applicants must attend in person; there’s no remote option and no skipping it. You make a pledge of commitment to Australia, choosing between two versions:15Department of Home Affairs. Australian Citizenship Pledge
From this time forward, under God, I pledge my loyalty to Australia and its people, whose democratic beliefs I share, whose rights and liberties I respect, and whose laws I will uphold and obey.
The second version is identical but omits “under God.” Both are equally valid. After the pledge, you receive your Certificate of Australian Citizenship, the official document proving your status. You’ll need it to apply for an Australian passport.
After You Become a Citizen
With your certificate, you can apply for an Australian passport. A standard 10-year adult passport applied for within Australia costs $422 (AUD).16Australian Passport Office. Fees Passport fees adjust periodically, typically each March.
Australia allows dual citizenship, so becoming Australian doesn’t automatically require you to give up your existing nationality.17Department of Home Affairs. Travelling as a Dual Citizen Not every country reciprocates, though. Some require you to renounce other citizenships, so check with your home country’s embassy before you apply.
If Your Application Is Refused
A refusal isn’t necessarily final. You can seek merits review from the Administrative Review Tribunal (ART), an independent body that re-examines the facts, the law, and any new evidence you supply. The ART can overturn the Department’s decision.18Administrative Review Tribunal. Immigration and Citizenship
The deadline is tight. You have 28 days from receiving the refusal notice to lodge a review application. Extensions are possible but not guaranteed; you’ll need to explain in writing why you missed the deadline, and the Department gets 14 days to oppose the request. Your refusal letter confirms whether ART review is available for your decision type. Once the 28 days close, your options narrow sharply.