Good character

Most applicants for Australian citizenship will need to show that they are of good character. Applicants 18 years of age and over may be required to get overseas penal clearance certificates,or overseas police checks as they are sometimes known, from each country they have visited.

Do you need an overseas penal clearance certificate?

Requirements for Australian citizenship applications

The overseas penal clearance certificate requirements for Australian citizenship applications apply to the time you have held a permanent Australian visa.

Penal clearance certificates from overseas countries are required if:

• you lived or travelled overseas since the age of 18 years or over
• you held a permanent Australian visa at that time
• the total time spent overseas added up to 12 months or more
• the time spent in any one country was more than 90 days
• requested by the department.

Provide overseas penal clearance certificates from those countries where you spent more than 90 days.

Requirement for descent, adoption or resumption applications

The penal clearance certificate requirements for applications for descent, adoption or resumption, only apply to the last 10 years.

Penal clearance certificates from overseas countries are required if, in the last 10 years you have:

• lived or travelled overseas since reaching the age of 18 years of age
• spent time overseas that adds up to 12 months or more
• spent more than 90 days in any one country
• are requested to do so by the department.

Provide overseas penal clearance certificates from those countries where you spent more than 90 days.

New Zealand applicants

New Zealand citizens who do not hold a permanent visa must provide a penal clearance certificate from New Zealand if they have left Australia since the age of 18, irrespective of destination or the amount of time spent overseas.

For more information on this particular requirement contact the Citizenship Information Line. In Australia telephone 131880 between 8.30 am and 4.30 pm Monday to Friday.

Overseas applicants

If you are overseas when applying, you should treat Australia as an overseas country. You will need to complete the Australian Federal Police National Police Check Application Form, which is available from the Australian Federal Police website.

How to obtain penal clearance certificates

Country specific information about how to obtain penal clearance certificates from an overseas government or law enforcement authority can be found in Character Requirements Penal Clearance Certificates.

Convictions

You must tell the department about any convictions you may have had in Australia or overseas.

A conviction is a criminal charge leading to a guilty verdict in a court of law resulting in imprisonment or a fine or good behaviour bond. A traffic infringement, such as an on-the-spot speeding or parking fine is not considered a conviction.

Certain circumstances relating to criminal offences prevent an application for Australian citizenship by conferral being approved. These are summarised below.

• You are in prison in Australia, or have proceedings pending against you
• You have been released from a prison in Australia for less than 2 years after a serious offence, or 10 years if you are a repeat offender
• You are subject to certain conditions set by an Australian court (such as being released on parole, good behaviour or bail) where action may be taken against you for breach of those conditions
• You are confined in a psychiatric institution in connection with proceedings for an offence against an Australian law.

If any of the above apply to you at the time you lodge your application please contact the Citizenship Information Line. In Australia telephone 131880 between 8.30am and 4.30pm Monday to Friday.

Spent convictions

You must declare all spent convictions when you complete your application form.

The spent convictions law allows people with minor convictions to disregard those convictions after a certain period of time. A conviction may be considered spent if:

• it is 10 years since the date of the conviction (or five years for juvenile offenders)
• the person was not sentenced to imprisonment or was not sentenced to imprisonment for more than 30 months
• the person has not re-offended during the 10 years (or five years for juveniles) period
• a statutory or prescribed exclusion does not apply.

The department is allowed to ask you for this information for the purpose of assessing your application.