Resuming Australian citizenship
I lost my Australian citizenship a long time ago. Can I get it back?
You can resume your Australian citizenship if you ceased to be an Australian citizen:
- by applying for and acquiring the citizenship of another country
before 4 April 2002
or - by renouncing Australian citizenship to retain or acquire another citizenship or to avoid significant hardship
and - you are of good character, if aged 16 or over at the time of application.
See: Good character
If you had children under 16 years at the time you lost your Australian citizenship they may have lost their Australian citizenship, unless their other parent was an Australian citizen at the time. Children under 16 can be included in your resumption application. Children over 16 must apply for resumption in their own right.
How do I apply?
To resume your Australian citizenship you must complete the five steps in the table below:
| Step | Action |
|---|---|
| 1 | Check that you are eligible to resume Australian citizenship. |
| 2 | Fill in Form 132, Application to become an Australian citizen again and send it with the fee and supporting documents to our office. See: Form 132 Application to become an Australian citizen again (221KB PDF file) |
| 3 | Include all supporting documents. See: Documentation requirements for people resuming Australian citizenship See also: Form 132 Application to become an Australian citizen again (221KB PDF file) |
| 4 | If you have lived in any country for a total of 1 year or more in the last 10 years (except Australia), you must get a penal certificate from the authorities in that country. Penal certificates are not required for persons under the age of 16 years. Refer to Form 47P. See: Form 47P - Character requirements penal clearance certificates (141KB PDF file) |
| 5 | Check the website of our nearest office for lodgement details. See: Contact us Note: There is a fee of AUD$65 as listed on Form 1298i. See: Form 1298i Citizenship Fees (58KB PDF file) It can take five to ten weeks to process your application. |