More people from overseas are becoming Australian citizens with officials figures show that the number of applications being finalised almost doubled in the first five months of this year compared to the same period last financial year.

Between July and November 2018, more than 58,400 citizenship applications were finalised, a substantial rise of 97% compared to the same period last year and this included more than 50,600 approvals since July.

Australia Citizens

(Markus Mainka/Bigstock.com)​

Immigration and Citizenship Minister David Coleman said these numbers are expected to rise even further, with more than 20,000 people set to receive Australian citizenship over the next two months.

He revealed that a task force has been established to focus on complex citizenship cases and $9 million is being invested in the recruitment and training of extra staff to ensure citizenship applications are dealt with as efficiently as possible.

'Australian citizenship is a privilege and should be granted to those who support our values, respect our laws and want to contribute to an even better Australia,' Coleman said, adding that the Government is investing in the processing of citizenship applications, boosting resources within the Department of Home Affairs to meet growing demand.

He also pointed out that the increase in resources is occurring alongside an enduring focus on the security and integrity of Australia's immigration and citizenship programmes and a range of measures have been introduced since 2015 to ensure the integrity of the programme and the good character of those seeking Australian citizenship.

'At the same time, the Government is working to make the citizenship processing system as functional and effective as possible for legitimate applicants, and these efforts are showing good results,' he added.

He believes that the increase in finalisations and approvals of citizenship applications against a backdrop of increased integrity measures, a record number of applications and an increase in complex cases, is a sign that the new measures are working

'We are investing heavily to meet this demand, while also protecting the security and integrity of the system to ensure only legitimate applications are approved. Australian citizenship is a privilege and should be granted to those who support our values, respect our laws and want to contribute to an even better Australia,' he concluded.