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 18 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 | Applicants will need to provide penal clearance certificates from overseas countries if, in the last 10 years:
Information about how and where to obtain penal clearance certificates
is available. |
| 5 | Check the website of our nearest office for lodgement details. There is a prescribed fee. |