Dual citizenship

Guest Blogger: John

Something to consider when applying to become an Australian citizen: Can you be a holder of duel citizenship?

Whilst Australia says 'yes' to you becoming an Aussie and keeping your 'right' to remaining a citizen of you country of birth, your country of origin may not. Not all countries will allow you to have multiple citizenships -easily, if at all.

France for example, accepts no more than 2 citizenships whereas Germany, by default, accepts only one.

German citizens who'd like to apply for Australian citizenhip need to loose their German one or apply for an exemption.

While it is apparently slightly easier these days to obtain such an exemption, it is not given systematically... far from it.
In order to be successful, one needs to demonstrate major links with the homeland and major reasons why the additional citizenship is required.

Links with the homeland can be:

• Strong family links


• Strong financial links


• Strong work links

Reasons for the additional citizenship can be:

• Difficulty or impossibility to develop a career in your field


• Major discount(s) in student's fees


• Family with Australian citizenship, especially children

The more links and the more reasons the better.

Australia on the other hand allow some form of dual citizenship as per the interesting article here:

http://www.aph.gov.au/library/pubs/CIB/2000-01/01cib05.htm

Sharks not far off shore.......Bondi beach that is.

An Australian costal website just posted these images of hundreds of sharks cruising around Bondi Beach REALLY CLOSE TO SHORE.......If you are thinking of immigrating to Australia to live in Bondi, you might not want to see this.....

http://australiancoastalwatch.com.au/news/bnshark14432tx.article.html

Ask not what Australia can do for You...

But what you can do for Australia... Does the skilled migration visa hint at this? Is this just typical migration conditions anywhere?


When immigrating to Australia on a skilled migration visa you come with:

• your skills/education and work experience,
• a willingness to be a self starter - find a home, job, schools, circle of friends, community/church life to connect to,
• the drive & desire to build a life,
• the ability to contribute and participate in social and community activities so as to be accepted,
• the capacity to shoulder the risk of moving,
• the stamina to cope during the unsettling early months/years until you start to feel a sense of home, (for some this can take longer than others)

In addition, you may be expected to take on a heavy work load at work. Skills are short locally you know.

You may find that you will be the one with the need for a greater social (support/friendship) network - so you initiate the social and group activities to ensure your sanity.

Let me know...what do you know?

Is taking a Citizen Test a barrier?

The new Australian citizenship test which assesses prospective new citizens on their understanding of Australian civics and the responsibilities and privileges of citizenship commenced recently.

The Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, Senator Chris Evans, said the new test is based on the pledge of commitment that new Australians make when becoming citizens.

Topics include Australia's democratic beliefs, laws and government as well as the responsibilities and privileges of citizenship.

The 20 multiple-choice questions in the new test have been written in plain English and will be conducted in English only. All test questions have been drawn from the testable section of the revised citizenship test resource book, Australian Citizenship: Our Common Bond, which was launched in September.

'The new test is not a general knowledge quiz about Australia,' Senator Evans said.

'We want people applying for citizenship to understand the values of Australian society, our democratic beliefs, our rights and our system of law and what it means to be an Australian citizen.

'All prospective citizens should understand those concepts so all of the questions in the new citizenship test focus on the commitments that new citizens make in the pledge.'

The new test was developed after an independent review of the old citizenship test last year found that it could be improved by focusing on the pledge of commitment.

People will now need to answer 75 per cent per cent or 15 of the 20 questions correctly to pass – up from 60 per cent under the old test. However, the mandatory questions have been removed to make the test fairer.

All questions are now equally important and a person can no longer answer 19 out of 20 questions correctly and still fail the test because they answered one of the three mandatory questions incorrectly.

A citizenship course is also under development to help a small group of disadvantaged people, who for a range of reasons, such as limited literacy and schooling, are likely to struggle when preparing for and sitting a formal computer-based test.

'This will ensure that we encourage people to become citizens without the test being a barrier,' Senator Evans said.

New Aussie International Student Visa Measures

New visa measures to assist international students.

The Australian Government is introducing new measures to assist overseas students affected by the closure of an international education provider.

The Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, Senator Chris Evans, said that from 1 January 2010, overseas students who require a new visa to complete their studies at another school or college will be exempt from paying the $540 student visa application charge.

Senator Evans said that although most students will be able to complete their studies on their existing student visa, some may need to enrol in a new course that finishes after their existing student visa expires and will require a new visa.

Twelve education providers have closed in 2009, affecting about 4,700 students.'In situations where an education provider can no longer offer a course, the government’s primary concern is the welfare of the student,' Senator Evans said.

'We understand that these situations are not the fault of the student and the introduction of a fee exemption will ensure they are not shouldered with an additional financial burden.'

In the interim, students will be able to apply to the Department of Immigration and Citizenship for a refund of their visa application fee if they’ve been affected by the closure of an education provider in 2009 and have had to apply for a new student visa.

Senator Evans said the government is also increasing the minimum financial requirements for overseas students to ensure they can meet their living costs while in Australia.

From 1 January 2010, prospective overseas students will need to demonstrate that they have access to at least $18 000 a year to fund their living costs in Australia, instead of the current $12 000.

The new figure better reflects student costs in Australia and is consistent with information published for international students in Australian Education International’s (the international arm of DEEWR) 'Study in Australia' guide.

Living costs are one component of the financial requirements for a student visa. Students must also have sufficient funds for tuition fees, travel costs and costs of any dependents.

'It is important that students understand these financial requirements are only the minimum amount required for a student visa,' Senator Evans said.
'International students can supplement their income through part-time work in Australia but the primary purpose of a student visa is to study and students should not rely on part-time work to meet their expenses.

'Prospective students are encouraged to conduct their own research so they can make an informed decision about what study in Australia will cost.'

DIAC will also make an assessment of whether the funds demonstrated by students will be available to them while they are in Australia.

'The Australian Government values international students and is determined to make sure they have a rewarding and successful study experience in Australia, without financial hardship,' Senator Evans said.

The latest measures will be implemented through regulation change later this month subject to approval by Parliament and the Governor-General.
The changes will support the enhanced integrity measures for the student visa program announced in August this year.

Those measures included:
upgrading the interview program to build a strong evidence base around fraud removing or restricting eVisa access for some agents where there is evidence of fraud or inactivity restricting access to eVisa for some segments of the caseload if analysis demonstrates restricted access would allow for better control of fraud.

The measures target parts of the student visa caseload in India, Mauritius, Nepal, Brazil, Zimbabwe and Pakistan.

Since these enhanced integrity measures were introduced, there has been an increase in the number of applications being withdrawn, from five per cent in July to 17 per cent in September.

And to date, more than 150 agents have had their eVisa access suspended due to evidence of fraud or inactivity.