Significant increase in Australian citizenship grants

The number of migrants receiving Australian citizenship is on the rise, with the number of applications being finalised almost doubling in the first five months of this migration year compared to the same period last year.

Between July and November 2018, more than 58,400 Australian citizenship applications have been finalised, up 97 per cent compared to the same period last year.

This includes more than 50,600 approvals since July.

Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs 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.

“A vast majority of these conferrals will occur on Australia Day [January 26th], which is by far the most popular day for people to attend a citizenship ceremony,” Coleman said.

A task force has been established within the Department to focus on complex Australian 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.

All citizenship applications are processed against a range of strengthened integrity measures, introduced from 2015.

“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 added.

Article published 3rd January 2019