It’s been a while since I’ve written a blog, and I actually started writing this blog on the 11th of October 2020, so that means there was 7 months of inactivity. This post lay dormant for 7 months before I decided to come back to it, and that actually reflects the topic that I”m writing about today - the slow processing of Australian citizenship applications.
The processing time for Australian citizenship is anywhere from 3 months to 3 years. There’s no logic behind how the Department of Home Affairs processes citizenship applications. They say on their website that they’re processed in the order that they’re received and while that may be true to an extent, I think there’s more to it that the general public doesn’t know but Home Affairs will never reveal that information.
An Australian citizenship applicant can’t even get information on their citizenship application without submitting a freedom of information (FOI) request which takes 30 days to process.
There are however forums online where citizenship applicants can post and discuss the process (yes, I’m a member of one of them). That’s how I actually found out that it’s possible to submit an FOI to find out what’s happening with your citizenship application.
As I mentioned, I first applied on the 5th of October 2020 and other than a couple of automated checks on the 8th of October 2020 my application lay dormant until the 18th of March 2021. Approximately two weeks later on the 8th of April 2021 I had received my citizenship test invitation. It was set for the 30th of April 2021 but I’d read about being able to reschedule for an earlier time if a slot was available so I did exactly that. I rescheduled for the 9th of April 2021 and got 100% in the citizenship test. I don’t remember what questions were asked but I do know it was very easy and that I was in and out of the Home Affairs office within 20 minutes. Your identity is verified and a couple of questions are asked before you’re allowed to sit the test and then afterwards you’re given a piece of paper congratulating you for passing the test and that processing will continue.
I’ve hated waiting since I first applied, actually I’ve hated waiting for my Australian citizenship since I first moved here on the 8th of April 2008. Yes, you will notice it was exactly 13 years to the day that I got my citizenship test. The processing times are anywhere from 14 months to 19 months and currently there are approximately 146,000 people in the queue. When I applied back in October it was 156,000. I’m not sure if COVID has had a bearing on the numbers but they’re out of control and people should not have to wait so long for citizenship.
The current rate to apply for Australian citizenship is a measly $285. It should be much higher. It should actually be closer to $1000. $285 is too low and could be a factor in why the citizenship queue has blown out from 30,000 under Tony Abbott to 146,000 under Scott Morrison. I think increasing the fee to $1000 would improve the legitimacy of applications and it would also allow the Department of Home Affairs the chance to invest more in citizenship officers. I’ve done the calculations and they’d be able to hire about 500 new staff members if it increased this month. They only actually need 100 staff members to clear the backlog within a reasonable time (though 6 months time to get the test is actually one of the better timeframes I’ve known of, some people wait three years which is excessive), but the wait for approval could be another 6 months on its own and then I have to wait another 3-4 months due to the City of Sydney Council’s current backlog.
I don’t think I’ll have to wait that long but it’s starting to drive me crazy (this is not helped by the fact that my apartment looks directly onto the citizenship office - it's 1km exactly from my apartment). When I received the email for the citizenship test appointment it wasn’t on my mind at that particular point in time and I was busy with acting (the one time I wasn't thinking about it so I was shocked to receive it) but given I’m much closer to Australian citizenship I’m checking the Immi portal obsessively now.
It would be more reasonable if the time from citizenship application lodgement to the ceremony was 6-8 months rather than 14-19 months (though that does depend on how often you travel overseas and the documents you supply - I supplied 39 documents and added an extra 10 documents this week for a total of 49 documents because one additional document was requested at the citizenship interview. The application form itself is 21 pages as well. That is for a simple citizenship application. I can’t imagine how many pages it is for a complicated application.
Anyway, it would be reasonable if it was say 3 months to get your citizenship appointment then no more than a month for approval and then no more than 2 months for your ceremony. The process needs to be more streamlined with case officers allocated applications from certain countries, and people should have the option to pay an extra fee for prioritisation if they want. Yes, a lot would take up this option but if it was say $500-$1000 extra for priority processing it would be okay. There’s priority processing for visas and for an Australian passport so why not for citizenship? Why should people be prevented from paying the government extra money for faster processing?
In my research on forums (and let’s be honest, I’m trying to distract myself by reading about citizenship and I like hearing about other people’s stories) the fact is that some migrants are disingenuous. By that I mean they do not plan to live in Australia long term, but the majority of applicants, such as myself are putting their lives on hold while they wait for approval. For example, when your citizenship application is being processed by the department you can’t leave the country after your test. Legally you can of course BUT, if you do then you will be pushed to the back of the queue and given how many are in the queue it’s just not worth the risk.
So some people might wonder why citizenship is so important if you can live indefinitely in a country.
There are so many reasons and these are just a few.
- Belonging.
- Carrying an Australian passport.
- Applying for public sector jobs.
- Standing for parliament.
- Voting.
When you become a citizen of a nation you are officially part of that nation and pledge your allegiance. In Australia you do not actually become a citizen until you say the pledge at the ceremony, which you can do under God, but it is not mandatory. If you are already a citizen you can reaffirm your commitment to Australia at a citizenship ceremony however it has no legal standing. A lot of people don't realise but while you're in the process of waiting for citizenship you're in this weird limbo land where you legally belong to your country of birth but you don't legally belong to your new country.
As a citizen you have the right to carry an Australian passport. This means that you are recognised overseas as being Australian and if you were stranded overseas the Australian government would help you. You would be recognised as one of its people and if you’ve built a life who wouldn’t want that.
You can apply for public sector jobs which can open up opportunities and advance your career. It also gives you the chance to give back to the Australian public.
Standing for parliament at local, state or federal level becomes an option when you’re a citizen. You must be enrolled to vote and on the electoral roll to stand for parliament. Permanent residents have no democratic voice (unless you write to MPs or complain to government departments - I’ve actually never written so many letters to MPs as when I haven’t had the right to vote).
And that brings me to the most important reason to become a citizen. You have the right to vote. You have a voice. I have missed two federal elections, two state elections and one local council election. I need my citizenship to be approved in the next few weeks to vote in this year’s Sydney City Council election. Given the time between approval and the ceremony if I’m not approved this month then I run the risk of missing out on voting in this year’s Sydney City Council election and I am at risk of missing next year’s Federal election however the chances are very slim that I will not be able to vote by then. Political participation and the importance of voting is another blog post all together though.
And that concludes my rant about the Australian citizenship processing times, and much like the Australian government, I took my sweet little time in writing this post.
