Welcome
Welcome to the website of the Migration Branch of the Australian High Commission in London. We are an overseas office of the Department of Home Affairs. We service clients who are usually resident in the United Kingdom, Andorra, Ascension Island, Belgium, Canary Islands, Falkland Islands, France, Gibraltar, Republic of Ireland, Luxembourg, Monaco, Portugal, Saint Helena, Spain and Ukraine.
You should not book flights or make travel commitments until you have a visa to travel to Australia. The department will not be liable for any financial loss incurred by clients whose visa application was finalised later than expected or was unsuccessful.
Travelling to Australia for the summer?
Submit your Australian visa application now and you’ll avoid peak processing period delays. When submitting your visa application for Australia, remember to use the online document checklist. This will ensure you submit a decision ready application. More information can be found at: www.homeaffairs.gov.au
Applying for Citizenship by Descent
Citizenship by Descent
A person can obtain Australian citizenship by descent if one of their parents was an Australian citizen at the time of their birth. Citizenship by descent applicants must be registered as such before they apply for an Australian passport.
If the applicant’s parent also acquired their Australian citizenship by descent or through adoption, the parent must have been present in Australia for periods totalling two years at some time in their life in order for the applicant to now be registered as an Australian citizen by descent.
How to apply
Citizenship by descent applications can be lodged online which is the preferred method via the Department of Home Affairs website.
It is possible to apply by paper and information on how to send your application can be found here.
Who can apply to the London office?
The London office processes citizenship by descent applications for clients residing in the UK, Ireland and the following countries:
Albania, Andorra, Armenia, Ascension Island, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Faeroe Islands, Falkland Islands, Finland, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, France, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Greenland, Hungary, Iceland, Israel, Italy, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Kyrgyz Republic, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Saint Helena, San Marino, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Vatican City.
Application fee
Information about the application fee and how to pay can be found here.
Submitting supporting information
Applications can be lodged online and all supporting documents should be clear scanned copies uploaded to your application via your ImmiAccount.
Details of documents required for a citizenship by descent application, along with guidance on how to attach documents to your application, can be found on our website.
All documents that are not written in English must be translated into English by an accredited translator (this includes all identity documents and proof of address). Multilingual documents that include English do not need to be translated.
Please read the below tips on submitting supporting documents prior to lodging your application:
- All copies of supporting documents, whether lodging online or by paper, must be clear and legible.
- Do not send any original documents unless you are requested to do so by your case officer.
- If the Australian parent holds or has held citizenship of any other country, they must provide evidence of how and on what date they acquired that citizenship. A foreign passport is not acceptable as it does not state on what date they acquired that citizenship. Examples of acceptable documents include a naturalisation certificate or a full birth certificate that states the names of both parents.
- Please ensure that any proof of address is dated within the last 6 months.
- When providing birth certificates, please ensure that details of both parents are included on the certificate.
- Please ensure that form 1195 is completed in full if applying online. If applying by paper, please sure the identity declaration is included in the citizenship form. More information on identity documents can be found here
- Documents not in English must be accompanied by a translation.
- If you lodge a paper application by mail to the Australian High Commission in London, copies of your supporting documents should be certified.
Before you make an application you must ensure you have all of the required documents. If all the documents are not provided with the application form, the application may be deemed invalid and returned to the applicant with no further processing.
Good character documents
Citizenship by descent applicants aged 18 years or older are required to provide good character documents, including submitting penal clearance certificates.
Please note that if you are aged 18 years or older and have spent any amount of time in Australia since turning 18, you will need to provide an Australian police clearance.
For further information on good character documents and penal clearance certificates visit the Department of Home Affairs website.
Processing times & receiving the certificate in the mail
The Department of Home Affairs publishes monthly global processing times online.
Actual processing times are dependent on a number of factors, such as:
- whether you have provided all necessary supporting documents when you lodge your application
- how well and how promptly you respond to any requests for additional information
- how long it takes to complete any required checks on information you have provided to support your application
- volumes of applications received at any one time.
If your application is finalised and citizenship by descent is acquired, our office will print a certificate and mail it to the postal address provided. Postal times may take 10 business days depending on your country of residence. If your address changes, please update your details through your ImmiAccount.
Please note that you should not book flights or make travel commitments until you have an Australian visa or Australian passport to travel to Australia. The department will not be liable for any financial loss incurred by clients whose visa or citizenship by descent application was finalised later than expected or where an application is unsuccessful.
Applying for a Passport
Once citizenship has been granted you may wish to apply for an Australian passport. Passports are issued by the Australian passport office (not the Department of Home Affairs). Australian Passport offices are also located in Australian Embassies and Consulates. You should contact your nearest Australian Embassy or Consulate for further information about passport applications.
Clients in the UK see: Consular and Passport Office in London
Please note that the Passport Office in London does not accept applications for client’s resident outside the UK. If you are outside the UK, please click here.
Once an application for citizenship by descent has been finalised, we send the certificate by registered mail to the postal address provid. We do not send the citizenship certificate directly to the Passport Office to facilitate the issuing of an Australian passport.
Contact Us
Information on Australian visas and citizenship, as well as ways to make an enquiry, can be found on the Department of Home Affairs website. Please note that the Australian High Commission in London is unable to answer visa and citizenship enquiries.
Post Specific Information
Where an application for Citizenship by Descent involves a person born through commercial surrogacy, a DNA test will be requested after the application has been lodged.
You should NOT commence making arrangements for DNA testing until you receive a formal request to do so.
When you have received a request, the steps are as follow:
• You should engage a NATA accredited lab - See: Form 1259i - Information about DNA testing for visa and citizenship applicants;
• Once you have engaged the lab, a DNA collection kit will be sent to our accredited panel clinic in Kyiv;
• You should notify the processing office of the name of the lab sending the collection kit, and where possible, which courier company and consignment number;
• The processing office will notify the accredited panel clinic of impending courier delivery and will confirm with them receipt of the kit;
• The processing office will notify you when kit has been received by IOM;
• You should then make an appointment direct with accredited panel clinic in Kyiv, notifying DIBP London of time/date;
• The processing office will advise the Australian Embassy in Kyiv of your appointment;
• Following the appointment, you will take the sealed DNA sample collection kit to the Australian Embassy in Kyiv;
• The Australian Embassy in Kyiv will return the DNA sample collection kit by approved methods to Australia confirming with the processing office that the kit was delivered untampered.
You can view current global visa and citizenship processing times for most visa subclasses and citizenship types. Please see the product page for the specific visa subclass or citizenship type you are applying for. You can navigate to any product from Individuals and Travellers or Visa Support. On the product page, two processing times will be displayed, indicating how long it takes to finalise 75 and 90 per cent of all applications submitted globally.
Processing times apply from the date your complete application is lodged.
You can also use the Visa Finder to compare processing times for up to three different products.
Please note that applications are assessed on a case-by-case basis, and that actual processing times may vary due to individual circumstances including:
- whether the applicant has lodged a complete application including all necessary supporting documents
- how promptly the applicant responds to any requests for additional information
- how long it takes to perform required checks
- how long it takes to receive additional information from external parties, particularly in relation to health, character, national security, and Assurance of Support requirements
- the number of places available in the migration programme (for permanent migration visas)
- surges in demand and peak periods
To ensure your application falls within the published processing times, we strongly encourage you to submit complete applications. The checklists provided on ImmiAccount will assist in making sure you have included all required documents during the application process.
Immigration and Citizenship
Our Department is committed to building more efficient and effective ways of delivering accessible services through the use of digital channels as our default form of delivery.
As such, you can complete a number of services online without needing to contact the department directly. This includes:
Check status of your Australian visa online
Please note that we are unable to provide any updates on the progress of your application if it is within average global processing times.
Please ensure that any supporting documents required with your application are attached during, or by the next business day, following the lodgement of your application. A decision may be made solely on the information that you provide with your application.
Any document in a language other than English must be accompanied by an English Translation.
The Australian Department of Home Affairs is moving towards a global visa processing model. This means that any application may be processed in an office other than where it is lodged. As such it is important that all supporting documents attached to the application which are not in English, be accompanied by an English translation.
Please note that the translation does not have to be certified, however it does need to be accurate. This approach will assist in processing applications expeditiously.
Please ensure that when providing an English translation, that a copy of the original document is also provided. Failure to provide an English translation of supporting documentation may delay processing and result in the document not being considered as part of the visa application.
Departmental policy relating to supporting documentation can be found on the Department’s website: http://www.homeaffairs.gov.au/Trav/Visa/Info