Australian citizenship by descent: a child born overseas to an Australian parent

MARN 1576536

Who qualifies

A person born outside Australia is eligible for citizenship by descent where at least one parent was an Australian citizen at the time of the birth. There is no age limit on the applicant, no requirement to have lived in Australia or to intend to, and no citizenship test. The two further conditions are the two-year rule for a parent who is a citizen by descent, and good character for applicants aged 18 and over. Citizenship is not acquired at birth; it is acquired when the application is approved and the person is registered. A child adopted overseas by Australian parents is dealt with under a separate provision of the Act, not by descent.

The parent at the time of birth

The test is the parent's status on the child's date of birth, not the parent's status now. A parent who was born in Australia to a citizen or permanent resident parent, who was naturalised or conferred before the birth, or who held citizenship by descent registered before the birth, passes it. A parent who became a citizen after the birth does not, however short the gap. Where the parent's own citizenship on that date is uncertain, which happens with parents born in Australia after 20 August 1986 to temporary visa holders, or with grandparents who lost or renounced citizenship under older law, the parent's position has to be established first, sometimes by their own application for evidence of citizenship. Parent includes a biological parent and, in defined circumstances, a parent under the Act's rules on children born through surrogacy or to a parent recognised at the time of birth; those cases are not routine and are worth advice.

The two-year rule

Where the Australian parent is a citizen by descent themselves, that parent must have been present in Australia lawfully for a total of at least two years at some time before the application is lodged. The two years need not be continuous and need not be recent. The rule stops citizenship passing through generation after generation born abroad; a family whose last Australian-resident ancestor was a grandparent will often fail it, and the child's route is then a visa. The rule does not apply where the parent is a citizen by birth in Australia or by conferral.

Adults applying for themselves

An applicant aged 18 or over applies in their own right and must be of good character. The Department may ask for police certificates from countries lived in, and considers convictions, pending charges and conduct. The rest of the test is the same: a parent who was a citizen at the time of birth, and the two-year rule where it applies. Adults who discover a late claim, often when a parent dies or when an Australian passport is wanted, are the commonest adult applicants, and the work is usually in proving the parent's status decades ago.

Evidence

• The applicant's full birth certificate, issued by the country of birth, naming both parents. A short-form certificate is not enough.
• Evidence of the Australian parent's citizenship on the date of birth: an Australian citizenship certificate dated before the birth, an Australian passport valid at the birth, or an Australian birth certificate together with evidence of that parent's own parent's status if the parent was born after 20 August 1986.
• Evidence of the parent's identity and any change of name between the documents.
• For a parent who is a citizen by descent, evidence of two years' lawful presence in Australia: travel records, school or employment records, Medicare, tax.
• For the applicant: identity documents, a passport photograph, and for adults any police certificates the Department requests.
• Certified translations of anything not in English.

How to apply

The application is lodged online in ImmiAccount, from anywhere in the world, with the documents uploaded as scans. A responsible parent applies for a child under 16; from 16 the young person applies in their own name with the parent's involvement, and from 18 alone. The application fee is set by the Department and paid at lodgement, with a reduced fee for siblings applying together. Processing varies with where the application is lodged and how clear the parent's status is; an application with a clean paper trail is usually decided in months, one that needs the parent's own citizenship established takes longer. Originals may be asked for and are returned.

After approval

The applicant is registered as an Australian citizen and receives a citizenship certificate, which is the evidence used to apply for an Australian passport. Citizenship by descent is full Australian citizenship with one later consequence: a child of this person born overseas in turn will be subject to the two-year rule. Where the family intends to live abroad for a generation, that is worth knowing now rather than later.

When descent is not available

If no parent was a citizen at the time of birth, or the two-year rule cannot be met, the child is not eligible by descent and the route is a visa. For a child of an Australian citizen or permanent resident that is the Child visa, subclass 101 applied for outside Australia or 802 inside, which grants permanent residence; citizenship then follows by conferral once the residence requirement is met, with the test waived for children under 16 included in a parent's application or applying with one. For a child in Australia whose parent holds a temporary visa, the child is added to that visa. Which of these applies, and how long each takes, is the consultation.

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General information only, current at October 2026; not advice on your own case. Australian Citizenship Act 2007, sections 16 and 17, as in force at the date above; fees and forms are set by the Department of Home Affairs. Outcomes depend on the Department’s assessment of each application; no registered migration agent can guarantee a result (Code of Conduct, Migration Agents Regulations). Keshab Chapagain, MARN 1576536.