Are You an Australian Citizen if Born in Australia?

Are you an Australian citizen if born in Australia? The answer is Yes, provided certain specific questions are answered. Many people having relocated to Australia and acquiring their Permanent Residency there and subsequently, their citizenship often wonder if having children born their automatically makes them Australian citizens. Hence, the question arises if they become an Australian citizen if they are born in Australia. It is true that the children born in Australia acquire Australian citizenship automatically until the 20 August 1986, when all the children born in the country were categorized as Australian citizens. Due to the high influx of migrants to Australia, this rule was changed and now children born in Australian become citizens but only if certain demands are met. The right of the child born to foreign parents settled in Australia to become an Australian citizen would largely depend on the kind of visa the parents hold. However, this is granted only on certain grounds which include:

1. One of the parents must be an Australian citizen or hold a permanent residency visa at the time of the birth of their child, for the child to acquire citizenship or PR in Australia. On the birth of the child, the parents should submit an application for Australian passport as soon as the birth certificate is issued.
2. In the case of both parents holding Permanent Residency in Australia, the new born child gets the citizenship of Australia.
3. If both the parents are on a particular type of visa, then the child will also automatically be granted the same visa as that of the parents. It is necessary for the parents to contact the Department of Immigration, and inform them of the birth of the child. The department then will attach the same visa to the passport of the child.
4. Parents holding a temporary study visa on applying for a permanent visa once the requirements are fulfilled, can expect their new born child also to be granted permanent visa once the parents are granted the permanent visa.
5. Parents who separate after the birth of a child, especially if one of the parents is an Australian citizen, the case can be quite complicated making it very traumatic for the parent without the Australian citizenship. The reason is that the parent who is a foreigner will have to leave the country as he or she does not have the legal right to continue to stay in the country. In such a scenario, the child is bound to suffer as the child is considered to be an Australian citizen and thereby has the right to continue staying in Australia. However, the Immigration Minister has the right to take a decision on whether citizenship or permanent residency visa could be granted to the foreigner.
6. The child born out of the country to Parents who are Australian citizens is eligible to citizens by descent, provided either one of the parents or both parents are citizens of Australia. The birth of the child should be registered for Australian Citizenship by Descent by the parents before the child becomes 18 years old.

When receiving the Australian passport for the child, the parents as well as the child should be present.

Therefore, it is clear that the answer to the question, “Are you an Australian citizen if born in Australia?” is well understood. The particular law that governs this answer is self –explanatory. It states, that “Only children born to Australian citizens and permanent residents in Australia acquire Australian Citizenship by birth.”