3.2.2 Loss of Australian Citizenship
Description
This article is from the soc.culture.australian FAQ, by Stephen Wales with numerous contributions by others.
3.2.2 Loss of Australian Citizenship
Australia provides in its own citizenship law that an Australian
citizen, who is 18 years of age or over, who does an act or thing, the
sole or dominant purpose of which is to acquire the citizenship of
another country, ceases to be an Australian citizen from the date he
or she becomes a citizen of that country.
If you marry a citizen of a foreign country you may, under the law of
that country, automatically become a citizen of that country. Under
these circumstances you will not lose your Australian citizenship
provided you are not required to take any further action yourself (eg.
registration) to acquire your spouse's citizenship.
If you lose Australian citizenship as a result of doing an act or
thing to acquire another citizenship, you can apply to regain it by
grant any time after 12 months from the date of loss, provided you are
in Australia and have been present there as a resident for 12 months
in the 2 years immediately prior to lodging your application.
Alternatively, you can apply to resume Australian citizenship by
making a declaration to the Minister for Immigration, Local Government
and Ethnic Affairs that at the time you did the act or thing:
o you did not know that by doing it you would cease to be an
Australian citizen; or
o if you had not done it, you would have suffered significant
hardship or detriment.
The person making the declaration must:
o have been legally present in Australia for a period, or periods,
amounting in aggregate to not less than 2 years; and
o intend to continue to reside in Australia or, if living overseas,
intend to return to reside in Australia within 3 years of making the
declaration; and
o have maintained a close and continuing association with Australia
whilst abroad.
If the Minister believes the statement is true, he may register the
declaration and you may become an Australian citizen again.
Persons needing up-to-date information should consult the Department
of Immigration, Local Government and Ethnic Affairs or an Australian
mission overseas.
A child under 18 years of age loses Australian citizenship if his/her
responsible parent or guardian ceases to be an Australian citizen, and
o he/she possesses another citizenship at the time, and
o his/her other responsible parent is not an Australian citizen
at the time.
Should you lose Australian citizenship before your 18th birthday, as a
result of a responsible parent ceasing to be an Australian citizen,
you can, within one year after your 18th birthday (or later if special
circumstances apply), make a declaration that you wish to resume
Australian citizenship on the date the declaration is registered.
Anyone who loses Australian citizenship is no longer entitled to hold
an Australian passport. If you think you may acquire another
nationality in some way, you should seek advice about the effect this
would have on your Australian nationality from Australian authorities.
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