Australian citizenship approvals plunge to 15-year low

Source: SBS, 15/11/2018

While Australian citizenship approvals have fallen to the lowest level
since 2002-03, the number of citizenship applications awaiting
processing is at a record high with migrants waiting longer than ever
before to pledge their allegiance to Australia.

Australian citizenship conferrals have plunged to a 15-year low as the
backlog of applications yet to be processed mounts to a record high,
causing longer waiting time for migrants wanting to pledge allegiance
to Australia.
In 2017-18 the number of people who were conferred with Australian
citizenship fell to 80,562 - a level not seen since 2002-03 when just
over 79,000 people received citizenship by conferral.
It comes as the Federal Government is already facing criticism for
citizenship application backlogs mounting to over 240,000, making
applicants to wait 17-19 months, some even longer.
The Department of Home Affairs has confirmed to SBS Punjabi that
244,765 citizenship applications were awaiting processing as of 30th
June 2018.
Australian citizenship by conferral from 2005-06 to 2017-18. Data-
Government of Australia
Those waiting to pledge their allegiance to Australia by becoming an
Australian citizen say the long waiting time causes them to live in
uncertainty.
“Given the circumstances and the recent events, migrants have never
felt more vulnerable,” says Atul Vidhata who is waiting for the
outcome of his citizenship application and runs social media forums
for other applicants.
“Applicants are becoming less driven by the commitment to the country
than they are seeking the safety of Australian Citizenship because of
what the government might do to them as non-citizens,” he adds.
National security
The Department of Home Affairs attributes the long processing times to
“greater national security threats” and its efforts to ensure the
safety of all Australians by additional integrity measures to verify
the identity and good character of applicants.
“These measures have been progressively introduced since 2015 and
follow the report into the Lindt Café Siege that recommended the
Department better assess the possible risks posed by individuals at
the pre-visa, post-visa and pre-citizenship stages,” a Department
spokesperson told SBS Punjabi.
The spokesperson added that a high demand for Australian citizenship
and an increase in the number of complex cases were also contributing
to delays in the processing of applications.
David Coleman - Minster for Immigration and Citizenship
Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, David Coleman, said the
Government is taking steps to boost resources to process applications.
“The Government has established a 50-person task force within the
Department of Home Affairs to deal with highly complex citizenship
applications and ensure they are dealt with as efficiently as
possible,” Mr Coleman told SBS Punjabi.
“An additional 150 staff are also being allocated to focus solely on
the processing of applications, with all additional staff expected to
be in the role by the end of the year.”

The most common reasons for Australian citizenship refusals
Over 4,000 migrants were refused Australian citizenship in 2016-17.
Here are some of the most common reasons that can have your
citizenship application knocked back.
Mr Coleman says due to these measures, more than 33,800 citizenship
were processed in the first three months of this financial year, up
from 18,700 during the same period in 2017-18.
Proposed changes in Citizenship law
The application backlog climbed to its current level from 81,000 in
June 2017, after the federal government announced an overhaul of the
citizenship legislation, proposing an increase in the general
residence requirement and a stand-alone English language test.
However, it was struck off the Senate notice paper in October last
year after the government failed to bring it for a debate.
Though the revised legislation was listed for introduction in Senate
during the Spring sitting of parliament, Mr Coleman told SBS Punjabi
earlier this month that the government was still consulting on the
elements of the Bill.
Greens Immigration spokesperson Nick McKim said the Government was
using the Citizenship Bill for political posturing and claimed it
didn`t have the numbers to pass the Bill. He told SBS Punjabi that if
the Government delayed a debate on it, his party would once again move
to have it removed from the Senate notice paper.
“The Greens aren’t prepared to just sit by and just allow this
legislation to remain on notice paper if the Government isn’t going to
bring it on,` he said.
`We will certainly consider once again to have this legislation struck
off the notice paper if we think the government is using it for
political posturing.”
Indian migrants top source of citizenship in Australia
India has emerged as the top source of Australian citizenship,
overtaking the United Kingdom, with over 118,000 Indian-born migrants
pledging allegiance to Australia over the last five years.
Indians top Australian citizenship charts
Of the 54,419 citizenship applications approved as of 28th February
this year, Indian migrants were at the top of the nationalities chart
with 10,168 Indian-born people becoming Australian citizens, closely
followed by 9,195 people from the United Kingdom.
Indian migrants have emerged as the top source of citizenship by
conferral in Australia during the last five years, overtaking the
United Kingdom.
In 2016/17, 22,006 Indians pledged allegiance to Australia, ahead of
19,617 people from the UK.
Since 2012/13, over 118,000 people Indian-born migrants have become
Australian citizens.