Australian diaspora will be able to reclaim their Australian citizenship from 1 July 2007.

The Australian Citizenship Act 2007 received Royal Assent on 15 March 2007 after passing through Federal Parliament last month.

“Thousands of people in the Australian expatriate community around the globe have been waiting for this legislation for a very long time. This legislation represents a more inclusive approach to Australian citizenship towards the Australian diaspora than anytime previously in Australia’s history,” said John Macgregor, Australian Coordinator of the Southern Cross Group.

Those who voluntarily acquired another citizenship before 4 April 2002, in effect ‘forfeiting’ their Australian nationality, will now be able to resume their citizenship without declaring that they will return to Australia within three years, as was previously the case.

From 1 July, the only requirement for resumption will be that the candidate is of a good character, as evidenced by an official police clearance certificate.

Groups to benefit most from the new Act are Australian ‘war brides’ who married US servicemen during and post WWII and have since acquired US citizenship; and minors who lost their Australian citizenship when their parents acquired another citizenship. 

Furthermore, those who ‘formally renounced’ their Australian citizenship will now be eligible for resumption. Such is the case for many Maltese immigrants who were born in Australia and then returned to Malta later in life, where until early 2000, Maltese law did not allow dual citizenship.

Children born to parents who ‘forfeited’ their Australian citizenship will also be eligible for resumption, although this does not extend to those who ‘formally renounced’ their citizenship.

The Southern Cross Group estimates that approximately 25,000 individuals forfeited their Australian citizenship under the old Section 17.

Anyone born outside Australia on or after 26 January 1949 will be eligible to become an Australian citizen if one or both of their natural parents was an Australian citizen at the time of their birth. If the parent was not themselves born in Australia, then the parent must have been present in Australia for at least 2 years prior to the application.

For more information:

www.citizenship.gov.au/law-and-policy/legislation/index.htm

[Copyright Expatica news 2007]