[federationfreak]

Hi guys,

I am a*PR*and who's considering applying for Australian citizenship. I'm thinking of applying for citizenship and requesting for the minister to exercise his discretion as I currently do not meet the residency requirements.*

A brief background of my immigration history:

2007 to 2012 - undergraduate in Australia (returned to home country during summer and winter breaks)
September 2012 - granted*PR
September 2012 - first entry into Australia as a*PR
July 2013 - formalised de facto partnership*
June 2014 - back in Australia for a week

I was checking out the Department's website under the Ministerial Discretion section it provided:

"If you have spent time outside Australia as a permanent resident with your spouse or partner, or are the surviving spouse or partner of an Australian citizen and have a close and continuing association with Australia, then that period of time may be treated as time spent in Australia."

Does this mean that time spent outside of Australia as by a permanent resident with his or her partner/spouse, regardless of the nationality of his or her partner/spouse, may may count towards time spent in Australia as long as there's a you close and continuing connection with Australia? In that case, does that mean also that I will be eligible to apply for Australian citizenship in 2015 or 2016 if I can can show that I've been living overseas with my partner and have a close and continuing connection with Australia (I am also not very sure how the "not-absent-from-Australia-for-more-than-12-months" rule works)?*

Thanks so much!

 

[federationfreak]

At the risk of sounding pedantic, I read the paragraph to mean that if you're a permanent resident who's residing outside of Australia with your partner/spouse and you maintain a close and continuing connection with Australia, you'd be able able to invoke the Minister's discretion. The requirement of your partner/spouse having to be an Australian citizen in order to invoke the Minister's discretion only applies if you're the "surviving" partner/spouse and your partner/spouse is deceased. Any thoughts on this? Has anyone gotten a response response from the Department on queries about discretion? Thanks so much.

 

[federationfreak]

Okay thanks, CollegeGirl. I'll go read up on the ACIS and see if anything else may be gleaned from there!

 

[federationfreak]

Just a general question though, has anyone applied applied for citizenship successfully without having to meet the residency requirements as a result of invoking ministerial discretion? Thanks, guys.

 

[federationfreak]

Thanks, guys for the advice - agree that ministerial discretion will be rather tough under the current government. I'm intending to move back Oz permanently sometime next year or in 2016. I just hoping to "fast-track" the naturalisation process. Guess I'll just have to wait to fulfil the residency requirements then. Thanks once again.