Citizenship

[Humbleness]

Hi everyone

Hopefully is coping well in this new Covid19 normal.

I looking to find out how long does the process of renouncing my Australian citizenship takes, that is from the day that Department of Home Affairs receives the application. Can't seem to find anything on the website. Also, from the 128 form (pg 8), it is noted a statement from a relevant authority is needed as evidence of foreign citizenship. What does this mean?

Thanks for your time everyone, Much obliged.

 

[Tim W]

A couple of questions...

1. Why do you want to renounce?

Most often, people renounce because they already have, or can immediately acquire,
citizenship elsewhere, and/or because they need to renounce as a conditi on of becoming a citizen elsewhere.
Thing is, the Department will not process your application if the effect of doing so
is to render you stateless.
Nor will it process an application if the intent behind it is help the applicant (try to)
evade Australian jurisdiction in some way, or if there is some other public interest in hanging on to you.

2. Do you actually need to renounce?

As a citizen, if you want to leave, to go and live permanently somewhere else,
(which can include, say, your birth country), or
if you want to go and work somewhere else for an extended period,
then you don't need to do anything - you can just leave.

3. Are you yourself the applicant?

I ask because children can't generally can't renounce (it's complicated and conditonal).
Also, because sometimes, a dual citizen parent will try to renounce on behalf of their citizen children,
with the idea that they can take them abduct them overseas by departing on a non-Australian passport.
(That may not be you in this case, I just mention it for the benefit of others who read this later - it crops up sometimes in Family law)

 

[Humbleness]

A couple of questions...

1. Why do you want to renounce?

Most often, people renounce because they already have, or can immediately acquire,
citizenship elsewhere.
But, the Department will not process your application if the effect of doing so
is to render you stateless.
Nor will it process an application if the intent behind it is help the applicant (try to)
evade Australian jurisdiction in some way, or if there is some other public interest in hanging on to you.

2. Do you actually need to renounce?

As a citizen, if you want to leave, to go and live permanently somewhere else,
(which can include, say, your birth country), or
if you want to go and work somewhere else for an extended period,
then you don't need to do anything - you can just leave.

Thanks for the additional questions but do you know how long will the processing take?

 

[Tim W]

Thanks for the additional questions but do you know how long will the processing take?

It's not really possible to say.

Renunciation is not a typical or high volume transaction.
|Each application is examined individually, and in detail.
This can include waiting on information sharing from, or commentary by,
Commonwealth agencies other than Home Affairs, and by State Government(s).
That can take as long as it takes. Often, months.

As to the website - the department doesn't always publish processing times
where the number of applications is so few, and/or the individual application(s) so complex,
that the bare number of processing days doesn't mean much.
Renunciation is one of these.
Further, even if the department deals with an application in a timely way,
because renunciation is a matter of Ministerial discretion, it can also be delayed
simply by how long it takes just to get the papers onto the Minister's desk.