Australian citizenship for Brits: when you can apply, the test and keeping your British passport

Most Brits who settle in Sydney can become Australian citizens about four years after they arrive, and they keep their British citizenship when they do.

The short version

• The general residence requirement: four years living in Australia on a valid visa immediately before you apply, including the last 12 months as a permanent resident, with no more than 12 months away in total and no more than 90 days away in the last year [1].
• The application fee for the standard adult route (form 1300t) is AUD 595 (about £310), or AUD 85 (about £44) with a Pensioner Concession Card [2].
• You sit a 20-question citizenship test in English, based on the booklet Australian Citizenship: Our Common Bond [5]. You need 75% overall and all five values questions right [1][3].
• Dual nationality is fine on both sides. The UK doesn't make you give up British citizenship [4].
• A child born in Sydney is automatically Australian if a parent is an Australian citizen or permanent resident at the time of the birth.

Pound conversions in this guide use the Bank of England spot rate of 5 November 2026 (£1 = AUD 1.9363), rounded.

Who can apply, and when

Most Brits come in on a temporary visa, then move to permanent residence, then apply for citizenship. The clock is the bit people get wrong. You need four years' lawful residence in total, and at least the last 12 months of that on a permanent visa [1]. Time on a working holiday, student or Skills in Demand visa counts towards the four years, as long as you were in Australia on a valid visa.

Source: form 1300t, design date September 2026 [1].

Time spent in Australia without a valid visa doesn't count [1]. If you've been away a lot, work forward from your PR grant date and count your days carefully before you pay the fee. Your passport stamps won't tell the whole story, so keep your own travel record.

You'll also need to show you're of good character, which means police checks and full disclosure of any convictions, in Australia or the UK. And you must intend to live in, or keep a close and continuing link with, Australia.

Other routes

• Partners of Australians apply on the same general residence requirement once they hold a permanent partner visa (100 or 801). Our guide to partner visas in Australia for Brits explains how to get there.
• Children under 16 can be included on a parent's application [1]. Teenagers of 16 or 17 apply on their own form [1].
• People with an Australian parent may be able to claim citizenship by descent instead (form 118, AUD 380, about £196) [2]. That's a different process with no residence requirement.

The fee and the application

Applications are made online through ImmiAccount. The fees from the Department of Home Affairs' fee list (form 1298i, design date July 2026) [2]:

Fees are indexed every 1 July [2]. Health Care, Student and Senior Health Cards don't qualify for the concession [2].

Applicants aged 18 to 59 normally sit the test. You'll book an appointment, bring your original photo ID (copies aren't accepted) and sit the test on a computer [1].

The citizenship test

Think of it as a pub quiz you have to pass, with 45 minutes on the clock [1]. It's 20 multiple-choice questions drawn from Australian Citizenship: Our Common Bond. You need at least 75% overall, and you must get all five questions on Australian values right [3]. Fail and you can try again.

The booklet covers Australia and its people, democratic beliefs, rights and liberties, government and the law, and Australian values [5]. Brits sometimes find the government section easier than expected, because the Westminster system, the King as head of state and the Governor-General feel familiar. The trickier parts are federal versus state powers, the Senate, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander history. Don't wing it because it's "basically the same as home".

An assisted test gives 90 minutes and help with reading, for people with limited literacy [1].

The ceremony and after

Once you're approved, your local council invites you to a citizenship ceremony. Citizenship is granted when you make the pledge at the ceremony, not when your application is approved. Many Sydney councils hold ceremonies on Australia Day, 26 January, and on Australian Citizenship Day in September.

After the ceremony:

1. Enrol to vote. Voting is compulsory for citizens in Australia, which surprises Brits used to staying home on polling day.
2. Apply for an Australian passport if you want one. You can't use the citizenship certificate to travel.
3. Keep your British passport valid. The FCDO says dual citizens travelling to the UK need a valid British passport or a certificate of entitlement [4]. An Australian passport alone means applying for an ETA like any other Australian visitor. Our guide to renewing a British passport from abroad covers the process from Sydney.
4. Keep your UK vote. Becoming Australian doesn't affect your right to vote in UK general elections from abroad; see voting from abroad.

Keeping your British citizenship

Australia has allowed dual citizenship since 2002, and the UK has never required Brits to renounce British citizenship when they naturalise elsewhere. The FCDO's Living in Australia guide confirms you don't have to give up your British citizenship [4]. The British High Commission can't help with Australian citizenship applications, so questions go to the Department of Home Affairs [4].

If you hold another nationality as well, for example Irish or Polish, check that country's rules separately.

Children born in Australia

This one catches out new parents in Sydney.

• If either parent is an Australian citizen or permanent resident when the baby is born, the child is automatically an Australian citizen. You can apply for evidence of citizenship (form 119) or go straight for a passport.
• If both parents are on temporary visas, the child isn't automatically Australian at birth. A child born in Australia who is ordinarily resident here for their first ten years becomes a citizen on their 10th birthday. Otherwise, the child generally follows the parents' route to permanent residence.
• British citizenship usually passes to a child born abroad if a parent is British otherwise than by descent, for example born in the UK. That child is then British by descent and normally can't pass it on to their own children born abroad automatically. Our guide to registering a child born abroad and British citizenship by descent has the detail.

So a Sydney-born baby with a British mum and an Australian dad can be British and Australian from day one. Plenty of members of our community group for Brits in Australia have done both sets of paperwork and are happy to share what took longest.

Sources

1. Department of Home Affairs: Form 1300t – Application for Australian citizenship, general eligibility (design date 09/26)
2. Department of Home Affairs: Form 1298i – Citizenship application fees (design date 07/26)
3. SBS News: Australia has announced a new citizenship test. Here's how it will work (the values questions in force since November 2020)
4. GOV.UK (FCDO): Living in Australia (last updated 11 December 2025)
5. Department of Home Affairs: Prepare for the citizenship test

Keep reading

• Moving to Sydney as a Brit: visa and residence routes
• Skilled work visas in Australia for Brits
• Partner visas in Australia for Brits with an Aussie partner
• Registering a child born abroad and British citizenship by descent