During 2020 and 20921, almost no citizenship applications were granted, as we struggled to navigate covid 19, so clearly we are willing and able to shut down our borders.
It is also clear that you want to hold Australian citizenship if there is a more serious pandemic, so you can get into a country which has no country on its border.
Australia is now catching up on lost time, and the current processing times for Australian citizenship by conferral applications, from the date of approval to ceremony, are as follows:
- 4 months for 25% of applications
- 6 months for 50% of applications
- 9 months for 75% of applications
- 11 months for 90% of applications
Whilst the processing times of the Department of Home Affairs / Australian Government depend on various factors, in our experience, which now spans two decades (we were established in 2002), there are three solid “truisms” in migration law:
- Ensure your application is prepared professionally to the highest quality – make it easy for the Department to process and the process will be easier and quicker for everyone.
- Engage a legal representative – you would not try to build a car engine , you’d get a mechanic – so give your migration dreams the same priority and get an expert. It is not a simple process.
- Apply ASAP – the rules just get harder and more strict so don’t risk waiting. If we hit another pandemic, we will see similar disruption to the visa process.