Mr. Ravenkhan

ravenkhan said:

Hi Everyone,

I am a resident of Australia with a PR and have been in Australia for nearly a year. As you know, everyone has to spend 4 years in Australia to qualify for the citizenship.

Now here is my query, I have a job offer in Australia from an IT company. As part of the job, i will be spending approximately 2 years outside Australia on multiple IT projects across Asia. I will be paid in Australia just like anyone who is living and working here which includes the taxes and Super Contribution e.t.c.

My question is, since i am working for an Australian company in Australia and also paying taxes, will the time i spend outside Australia (2 Years) count as part of my residency for the citizenship?

Regards,
RK

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There are some exemptions:

If you have been engaged in particular kinds of work and can provide evidence from an employer that shows you have worked in that occupation for at least a total of two out of the past four years and you were required to travel outside Australia for that work, the following special residence requirement may apply to you.

Requirement: You must have held a valid Australian visa for four years immediately before applying, including one year as a permanent resident immediately before applying.

You must also have been living in Australia for a total of 16 months (480 days) during the four years before you apply, with at least four months (120 days) of that time in the year immediately before your application.

The following is list of relevant occupations for this special residence requirement:

• a member of the crew of a ship or aircraft
• a worker on a resources installation or a sea installation
• a Chief Executive Officer or Executive Manager of an S&P/ASX All Australian 200 listed company
• a Scientist employed by:
• an Australian university who has attained a PhD in their field of speciality and is undertaking research and development of benefit to Australia or
• Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) or
• a medical research institute which is a member of the Association of Australian Medical Research Institutes (AAMRI)
• a medical specialist, internationally renowned in their field, who is a fellow of an organisation listed in Schedule 4- Part 1 of the Health Insurance Regulations 1975 (Cth) and holds a relevant qualification in relation to the organisation
• a person who is a writer or is engaged in the visual or performing arts and who is the holder of, or has held, a Distinguished Talent Visa.

The other exemption applies to partners of Australian citizens:

If you have spent time outside Australia as a permanent resident with your Australian citizen 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.