Australian Citizenship Experience

Australian Citizenship - The Journey

I have been living in melbourne for rougly 4 years now and i got eligible to apply for citizenship during May 2013. Following are the details of my Citizenship Journey as it is going on ....

Applying for Citizenship(28-May-2013):

- Eligible to apply for Citizenship.
- I applied on the Same day.
- Did an online application with all relavent documents scanned and attached.

Reply from DIAC on online Application (04-Jun-2013):

- Got reply from DIAC.
- Citizenship test appointment date of 10th July 2013 @ 11:40 AM.

Citizenship Appointment (10-Jul-2013):

- Arrived to DIAC office in melbourne CBD at 11:35 AM.
- Notice at the front counter read "Approach the counter 5 minutes before your appointment time to get your token".
- Was at the counter at 11:35 AM. One guy was infront of me and he was requesting for an appointment on the same day as he had come from somewhere far away. The guy at the counter was really helpful and checked the cancellations on the same day and accomodated him. So if you have a valid reason, you can get appointment earlier as well.
- I provided my ID at the counter, the guy at the counter checked my name on the list and gave me a token.
- I waited in the waiting area and finally got called to counter 33 at approximately 12:15 PM.
- The lady at the counter asked me to provide all the documents. She checked my application against all the provided document. Told me about the next steps i.e. citizenship test, Citizenship ceremoney etc. She also told me that in my council there were 350 people on the waiting list (bummer).
-  I asked her if i can attend an urgent ceremoney. She said if you have a valid reason, you need to submitt an application and we will access it and make a decision. I asked her what a valid reason can be (Duhhh !!!!). She said she cant tell me that.
- After a friendly chat, she told me that if i had a sick relative that i need to visit or if i have a job that required me to have an australian passport etc.
- She than took a picture. Scanned all my documents.
- She told me that the decision on my application can take anywhere from 1 day to 6 weeks.
- She asked me to head into the test room to take the test.
- The test was really easy but i could see a lot of people sitting and scratching their heads. It took me 5 minutes to finish the test and i got 100% score.
- I came out of the room and did not need to go back to the counter again. So i left the building.

Notification of Approval (17-Jul-2013):

- I got a letter of approval from the immigration MP in canberra on the 17th July 2013 but the letter was dated 11th July 2013. So i got the approval within a day, which is pretty cool.

Requested for Urgent Citizenship Ceremony (12-Aug-2013):

- I was asked by my employer to goto Canada for a month to conduct a feasibility study on this new client that we are signing up. My current passport (Pakistani) was expiring within 6 months and this would have been an issue as most embassies require atleast 6 months on passport before visa application is put up. Passport renewal takes approx. 12-14 weeks (believe you me ... that the actual timeline from the consulate website).
- I told my employer my predicament and asked them if they would be able to provide me a letter informing DIAC that i had to travel and it would be greatly appreciated if i could attend an urgent citizenship ceremony.
- Employer sent me a letter on 12th August, I wrote a letter on top of that telling DIAC about the timelines for passport renewal and how this trip would be a stepping stone in my career progression.
- I sent the letter out on the same day with a copy of my passport (with less than 6 months validity) & employer letter. I used next day delivery option at AUSPost.
- I tracked the letter and it reached DIAC on 13th August.

Decision from DIAC (19-Aug-2013):

- I checked the post box on the way home on 19th August and i had a letter from DIAC.
- I was extremly delighted to see that DIAC had approved my application and have arranged an urgent Citizenship Ceremony on 29th August 2013 at their local office in Melbourne.
- The letter was dated 14th August, so it took them approx. a day to make a decision on the application.
- Needless to say, i am really excited and grateful to DIAC for considering the special circumstance and helping me out. Toronto here is come.
- I will keep you updated on what happened during the citizenship ceremony, so keep checking my blog.