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Obtain Australian Citizenship by Descent

Obtain Australian Citizenship by Descent

The legislation on immigration in Australia prescribes that foreigners can obtain Australian citizenship by descent. Of course, this procedure can be started as long as the foreigner is related to Australian citizens. The eligibility criteria take into consideration several scenarios, which will be presented in this article, where you can find out as well the papers necessary for this procedure.

If you want to obtain Australian citizenship by descent, you are also invited to address our Australia migration lawyer, who can provide more details on this subject, and who can also represent you in the procedure or explain the legal steps that you have to follow.

Who is eligible to obtain Australian citizenship by descent in 2025?

There are few categories of persons who are considered eligible for receiving citizenship by descent in Australia. One can apply if at least one of the parents was an Australian citizen at the moment when the applicant was born (in the case of overseas births). The legislation on immigration in Australia also provides this right to persons who were adopted by Australian citizens.

 Quick Facts  
 When can a person apply for citizenship by descent   A person can obtain Australian citizenship by descent if he or she has at least one parent who, at the moment of the applican’s birth, was an Australian citizen.  

 Forms available for citizenship by descent  

 Form 118 

 Application fee  

 $345 – standard fee (and $145 for another sibling applying for citizenship at the same time with the first applicant) 

 Categories of citizenship by descent   The procedures to obtain Australian citizenship by descent are divided based on age (applicants of an age of 15 years old and younger and applicants with an age of minimum 16 years old).  
 Institution in charge with the application process  

 The Department of Home Affairs 

Documents required for the application  

– identity documents (such as an ID and/or passport);

– birth certificate;

– any other document that attests a change of name throughout the life of the applicant (it can be the case of adopted children);

– a recent photo;

– signature specimen;

– evidence on the current residential address.  

 Dual citizenship allowed (yes/no) 

Yes 

 Law regulating citizenship by descent 

Foreigners can obtain Australian citizenship by descent following the rules of the Australian Citizenship Act 2007.   

 How can an application be submitted  

 Through the ImmiAccount, on the online platform of the Department of Home Affairs. 

 Certification/authentication required (yes/no)   Yes
 Documents to be issued after citizenship is granted 

The Australian citizenship certificate and the Australian passport.  

 Costs of Australian identity documents  

 $175 (passport issued for persons with an age below 16 years old or above 75 years old) and $346 (passport issued for adults with an age above 16 years old to 75 years old). 

 Validity of Australian identity documents  

5 years (for children below 16 years old and adults above 75 years old) or 10 years (for adults above 16 years old).   

 Passport accelerated issuance procedure (yes/no)  

Yes 

 Law governing the issuance of Australian identity documents   The Australian Passports Act 2005  

Besides the citizenship by descent, a foreigner can also apply for Australian citizenship obtained through marriage. The spouses of Australian citizens must first apply for visas issued for this specific purpose, and there, they have 2 main visa categories:

  1. temporary partner visas;
  2. permanent partner visas (these allow the right to apply for citizenship when the person meets the residency requirements).

For residence in Australia on a permanent basis, the highest number of visas is available for the work stream. The second most important category is the family stream. For instance, for the year 2022-2023, there were 52,500 visas available. The same number of visas is maintained for the financial year of 2023-2024 and for 2024-2025.

Please mind that although the rules for citizenship by descent in 2025 in Australia have not been changed, the immigration law does provide certain novelties for various categories of visa holders. For instance, starting with 1 July 2023, foreigners who arrived here under a post-graduate visa will benefit from a 2 year extension on their current visa.

The partner visa stream represents the majority of the visas, accounting for 40,500 visas, while the next is the parent visa stream (with 8,500 visas).

Below, we will present the main things that you should take into consideration if you want to apply for Australian citizenship in the case in which one of your parents was an Australian citizen at the moment of your birth, and if the birth took place outside Australia:

  • you will be required to pay a processing fee of AUD 360 (fees were increased for the period of 2024-2025);
  • in the case in which you have other siblings who want to obtain Australian citizenship by descent at the same time with you, a fee of AUD 150 will be required for each sibling;
  • in the case in which you have an age above 18 years old, you must make proof of having good character;
  • persons with an age below 16 years old must have their application signed by their parents;
  • in order to apply, you will need to complete the Form 118, a document that must be submitted with the Department of Home Affairs.

If you were born outside Australia from Australian citizens (or at least one Australian citizen), you can be eligible for citizenship if you were born on 26 January 1949 or after this date. You should also know that you do not have to be related by blood with an Australian citizen in order to obtain the right to apply for Australian citizenship.

You can also be an adopted child of an Australian citizen, as long as the adoption was done following the protocols of the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption or another bilateral agreement legally recognized in Australia. You can refer to our immigration lawyer in Australia if you need legal advice on the international adoption treaties recognized here.

Our team can answer questions regarding those who had a parent who was a permanent resident in Australia before acquiring citizenship, as well as on the rights of the children, according to the moment when they were born.

Below, you can watch a short presentation on how to obtain Australian citizenship by descent:

How can a person obtain citizenship by birth in Australia?


The citizenship legislation applicable in many countries stipulate that a child can automatically obtain citizenship of a given country only through the act of being born on the respective territory, without taking into consideration the nationality of the parents.

In other countries, including Australia, the rules are more complex, in the sense that the parents must meet certain eligibility criteria so that the child can be entitled to Australian citizenship. Before 1986, all children born on Australian territory from foreign parents were entitled to citizenship by birth in Australia.

Following the modification of the law, starting with 20 August 1986, Australia citizenship by birth can be claimed based on the residency/citizenship situation of the parents. As such, it must be noted that these children, upon their birth, will receive a birth certificate issued by the Australian authorities, which does not provide any citizenship rights.

Please know that having a birth certificate issued in Australia does not equate with the right of permanent residency in Australia, nor with the one of becoming a citizen. For these to happen, the child must have at least 1 parent who is a permanent resident or an Australian citizen.

Therefore, born in Australia citizenship pathway can be a direct one only for the latter case. Otherwise, the child is considered a temporary resident and will receive the same rights and obligations associated with temporary residents.

Considering these, for a child born in Australia citizenship can be associated with citizenship by descent. Our Australia migration lawyer can help you navigate through the legal procedures you are required to follow when applying for citizenship for a minor child.

How to apply for Australian citizenship by descent for minors under 16 years old


According to the law, a minor is any person with an age below 18 years old. Here, there are 2 main categories of procedures – the one referring to minors with an age below 16 years old and the procedure for minors above 16 years old.

For children with an age below 16 years old, the application for Australian citizenship by descent must be made under the supervision of a responsible parent. The latter term, responsible parent, is defined under the Australian legislation – the Australian Citizenship Act.

The responsible parent can be either of the following parties:

  1. a parent (biological or otherwise), who has parental rights over the child and such rights were not lost by the decision of any court;
  2. any other person who has legal responsibility over the child as per the decision of a family court;
  3. any person who has guardship rights over the child (and/or custody) following the decision of an Australian court or other international court.

The procedure for Australian citizenship by descent for minors under 16 years old requires them to provide the following documentation:

  1. documents attesting the name and date of birth;
  2. a recent photo;
  3. the current name and the decision of name changing, where applicable;
  4. the Part E – Identity Declaration, signed by the person who is the responsible parent and who represents the child in the procedure for Australia citizenship by descent.

In order to qualify for Australian citizenship by descent, the parents must also submit their documentation. Please know that the Australian authorities have the right to request DNA testing (these rules can appear in certain circumstances – Form 1259i provides information in this issue).

Of course, there are many other aspects to be taken into consideration, and these can be detailed by our lawyer, who has an in-depth expertise in working with persons who want to obtain Australian citizenship by descent. Likewise, our lawyer can offer more information on Australia citizenship by birth.

For any other matter referring to Australia citizenship by descent, do not hesitate to request legal assistance from our lawyers (on issues regarding fees, procedures, documents, applicable legislation, appeals and others).

What documents are necessary for Australian citizenship by descent?

When applying for Australian citizenship by descent, you will, evidently, have to prepare an extensive set of documents, in accordance with the requirements of the law. Firstly, the applicants have to present the original documents that attest their right to apply for citizenship by descent, as well as documents that show their moral integrity (not having a serious criminal conviction is a prerequisite of this procedure).

The application has to contain original documents that show your parents’ citizenship situation – here, Australian citizenship has to be proved and it is necessary to show that the parents (or parent) had Australian citizenship or had obtained Australian citizenship at the moment of the applicant’s birth.

In the case in which your original papers are not in English, you are required to provide a certified translation, and the persons who make the certified translations have to be registered and accredited by the National Accreditation Authority of Translators and Interpreters.

You can also use certified copies of the documents, but in particular cases, for certain types of documents; in general, one has to provide original papers. The legislation on immigration in Australia stipulates different rules based on the age of the applicant.

Thus, persons who have an age above 16 years old have to provide documents related to the following: the current residency, the date of birth, name, gender, signature and the person’s photograph.

In the case in which the applicant has changed his or her initial birth name, documents showing this modification have to be added to the application file. In the case in which the applicant does not offer sufficient documents showing the above mentioned, the application will be rejected and this is why we recommend you to address to our Australia migration lawyer when preparing the file.

The processing of the application file for citizenship by descent can be completed in a shorter period of time compared to citizenship by conferral. Those who apply in 2025 must know that 90% of the applications are processed in around 4 months (compared to 10 months for citizenship by conferral).

In practice, some of the applications (25% of them) can be processed in a very short amount of time – of only 48 days (the number of days refer to the period of time between the submission date to the issuance of a decision).

The processing time compared to citizenship by conferral can also be explained by the number of applications, not just the rules and procedures for each citizenship. Regardless of the type of citizenship a person will apply for, at the end of the legal formalities, new citizens are invited to participate in a citizenship ceremony.

These events are held in local city councils where the new citizen has his or her residential address. Please know that if you must attend a citizenship ceremony in 2025 you can’t choose the place where you’d like to have this event, as this solely decided based on the residential address, where you will receive a formal invitation.

In general, these events can take place in a period of less than 3 months since the date in which the person received an approval of the citizenship application (this rule applies to the majority of cases, but there are situations in which the ceremony can be programed in a period of 3 to 6 months since the decision).

We invite you to contact our lawyer for legal advice and assistance on any inquiry you may have referring to the issuance of Australian citizenship by descent.