Do I need to sit the citizenship test for citizenship by descent?

No. Home Affairs states that for citizenship by descent you do not need to attend an interview or sit the citizenship test.

Is there an age limit?

No. Home Affairs lists the age for this application as any age. If you are 18 or over you must be of good character, and a parent must sign the application of anyone aged 15 or younger.

What if my parent also became a citizen by descent?

Your parent will need to have spent at least 2 years lawfully in Australia before you apply. Home Affairs asks for evidence such as school records, employment records or documents from an Australian government agency.

How long does it take?

Home Affairs says 90% of applications for citizenship by descent are processed within 4 months, according to its processing times page last updated on 16 October 2026. Your own application can take longer.

Australian Citizenship by Descent: Who Can Apply

Q: How do I get an Australian passport?

Applying for a passport is a separate step. Home Affairs says you can apply for an Australian passport after you receive evidence of citizenship from it.

Australian citizenship by descent is for people born outside Australia who have a parent who was an Australian citizen when they were born. It is a different route from citizenship by conferral, which is the route most of this website is about. There is no citizenship test and no interview. This guide summarises what the official Home Affairs pages say, step by step.

Who may be eligible

Home Affairs says you may be eligible if you were born outside Australia on or after 26 January 1949 and one or both of your parents, at the time of your birth, was also an Australian citizen. Its list of people who may be eligible also names people born outside Australia or New Guinea before 26 January 1949, people born through an international surrogacy arrangement, and adopted people whose biological parent was an Australian citizen when they were born. This guide covers the main case, a person born outside Australia to an Australian citizen parent. For the other cases, read the Home Affairs eligibility criteria.

The 2 year rule for some parents

Your parent needs to have spent at least 2 years lawfully in Australia before you apply if they became an Australian citizen by descent themselves, or by adoption outside Australia under the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption or a bilateral arrangement. Home Affairs asks for evidence of this residence, such as school records, employment records or documents issued by an Australian government agency. You do not need to give this evidence if you have always been stateless.

Good character, no test, no interview

If you are 18 or over when you apply, you must be of good character. Our guide to the good character requirement explains how Home Affairs assesses it. For citizenship by descent, Home Affairs states that you do not need to attend an interview or sit the citizenship test. The residence requirement is a rule for people applying by conferral, and the by descent page does not list it. Home Affairs lists the age for this application as any age, and a parent must sign the application of anyone aged 15 or younger.

How to apply

You can apply online in ImmiAccount, using the application that Home Affairs calls Form 118. You can apply from inside or outside Australia. Home Affairs says you must use a paper application if you are eligible for a concession fee, work in the Australian Defence Force, are a stateless person, do not have a current or expired passport, or have not travelled in or out of Australia since July 1990. You pay the fee when you lodge. Siblings can each complete their own application by following the same process, and Home Affairs offers a reduced fee for each sibling who applies at the same time. Home Affairs cannot grant you a bridging visa for this application.

Documents you need

Home Affairs asks for evidence of your identity from birth to the present. You give 3 documents that together show your birth name, date of birth and sex, a photograph, your signature and your current residential address. For date of birth, birth name and sex it asks for a full birth certificate, with other options if you cannot give one. For evidence of identity in the community, it asks for Form 1195 Identity Declaration with a passport-sized photograph. You also give supporting documents: evidence that your parent was an Australian citizen when you were born, such as a full Australian birth certificate or a citizenship certificate, and a photo of you that meets the photo requirements. Documents not in English need an English translation. In Australia the translator must be accredited by NAATI, and you provide both the original and the translation. For an online application you scan documents in colour and attach each only once. You do not need to have documents certified.

Police certificates if you are 18 or over

If you are 18 or over, Home Affairs needs documents to assess good character. If you have spent any time in Australia since turning 18, it requests an Australian police check for you through the National Police Checking Service. You give an overseas penal clearance certificate if, in the last 10 years, you lived or travelled outside Australia since turning 18, spent a total of 12 months or more outside Australia, and spent 90 days or more in any one country. If New Zealand is one of those countries, do not get a New Zealand police certificate yourself, because Home Affairs requests it from the New Zealand Ministry of Justice.

Fee

Home Affairs publishes the fees for citizenship applications in Form 1298i, which the by descent page points to. The version we checked (design date 07/26) shows $380 for Form 118, citizenship by descent, and $160 for the second and each later sibling applying at the same time. It says fees are in Australian dollars, can change, and are indexed on 1 July each year. The text of the by descent page itself still shows older amounts, AUD230 and AUD95, so treat Form 1298i as the current list and check the amount again when you pay in ImmiAccount. Our page on the cost of citizenship covers the fees for citizenship by conferral.

Processing time

The Home Affairs processing times page, last updated on 16 October 2026, says that 90% of applications for citizenship by descent are processed within 4 months. Its table, counted from the date of application to the decision, shows 34 days for 25% of applications, 37 days for 50%, 70 days for 75% and 4 months for 90%. The by descent page itself still says 75% within 3 months and 90% within 5 months, so use the processing times page for the latest figures. Home Affairs says an application can take longer if it is filled in incorrectly, lacks documents, or needs more time to verify information. It may also invite you to voluntary DNA testing to confirm a claimed biological parent-child relationship, at your own cost, and asks you not to start any test before it sends instructions. See also our page on processing time for citizenship by conferral.

After the decision: certificate and passport

Home Affairs tells you its decision in writing. If it approves your application, you become an Australian citizen on the day it approves the application, and it posts your citizenship certificate by registered post. For applicants in Australia, Home Affairs says to allow an extra two weeks for printing and postage, and about six weeks if you are outside Australia and gave no Australian postal address. Check your name and date of birth on the certificate. A passport is a separate application: Home Affairs says you can apply for an Australian passport after you receive evidence of citizenship, and it points to the Australian Passport Office for details. If an application is refused, the letter gives the reasons and says where to ask for a review by the Administrative Review Tribunal. The Home Affairs processing times page lists citizenship by descent among the applications for which it prints and posts the certificate, instead of giving it at a citizenship ceremony. Our guide to the pledge explains who does not have to make it.

Dual citizenship and related guides

Australia does not ask you to give up another citizenship, but the other country decides for itself, as explained in our guide to dual citizenship. If you have children, read about children and Australian citizenship. If you live in Australia as a permanent resident, compare your options in permanent resident vs Australian citizen. This page is general information and not legal or migration advice. If your family history is complicated, ask a registered migration agent or lawyer.

Australian Citizenship by Descent: Who Can Apply, Documents, Fee and Processing Time