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Australian nationality law
The primary law governing nationality of Australia is the Australian Citizenship Act 2007, which came into force on 1 July 2007 and is applicable in all states and territories of Australia.
All persons born in Australia before 20 August 1986 were automatically citizens at birth regardless of the nationalities of their parents. Individuals born in the country after that date receive Australian citizenship at birth if at least one of their parents is an Australian citizen or permanent resident. Children born in Australia to New Zealand citizens since 1 July 2022 also receive Australian citizenship at birth. Foreign nationals may be granted citizenship after living in the country for at least four years, holding permanent residency for one year, and showing proficiency in the English language.
Australia is composed of several former British colonies founded in the 18th and 19th centuries, whose residents were British subjects. After federation as a Dominion of the British Empire in 1901, Australia was granted more autonomy over time and gradually became an independent sovereign state. Although Australian citizens ceased to be regarded as British subjects in 1984, they remain Commonwealth citizens under British law. When residing in the United Kingdom, Australians are eligible to vote in UK elections and serve in public office there.
The distinction between the meaning of the terms citizenship and nationality is not always clear in the English language and differs by country. Generally, nationality refers a person's legal belonging to a state and is the common term used in international treaties when referring to members of that polity; citizenship refers to the set of rights and duties a person has in that nation. Despite this distinction, the Australian Government uses these two terms interchangeably.
The Kingdom of Great Britain established its first colony in Australia with the founding of New South Wales in 1788. Over the course of the 19th century, the British presence expanded throughout the continent. By 1890, there were six separate self-governing territories in Australia. British nationality law applied to each of these colonies, as was the case elsewhere in the British Empire. Australians and all other imperial citizens were British subjects; any person born in the Australian colonies, the United Kingdom, or anywhere else within Crown dominions was a natural-born British subject. Aboriginal Australians and Torres Strait Islanders became British subjects as the colonies were settled throughout the continent.
British nationality law during this time was uncodified and did not have a standard set of regulations, relying instead on precedent and common law. Until the mid-19th century, it was unclear whether rules for naturalisation in the United Kingdom were applicable in other parts of the Empire. Colonies had wide discretion in developing their own procedures and requirements for admitting foreign settlers as subjects. New South Wales and Tasmania respectively enacted legislation in 1828 and 1834 enabling denization, a process that partially granted foreign citizens the rights of British subjects, most notably property rights. Denizens were not considered aliens, but could not pass subject status to their children by descent and were barred from Crown service and public office.
Naturalisation in Britain was achieved through individual Acts of Parliament until 1844, when a more streamlined administrative process was introduced. The Australian colonies emulated this system in their own naturalisation legislation, which every jurisdiction had adopted by 1871. In 1847, the Imperial Parliament formalised a clear distinction between subjects who naturalised in the UK and those who did so in other territories. Individuals who naturalised in the UK were deemed to have received the status by imperial naturalisation, which was valid throughout the Empire. Those naturalising in colonies were said to have gone through local naturalisation and were given subject status valid only within the relevant territory; a subject who locally naturalised in New South Wales was a British subject there, but not in the UK or Victoria. Nevertheless, British subjects who were locally naturalised in a colony were still entitled to imperial protection when travelling outside of the Empire.
Married women generally followed the nationality status of their husbands. Beginning with New South Wales in 1848, each colony enacted legislation that automatically naturalised foreign women who married British subjects, mirroring regulations enacted in the UK in 1844. After Britain established marital denaturalisation for British subject women who married non-British men in 1870, New South Wales adapted its rules to match this in 1875. The other Australian colonies did not adopt this in legislation but in practice, women who married foreign men were automatically stripped of British subject status throughout Australia.
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Australian nationality law
The primary law governing nationality of Australia is the Australian Citizenship Act 2007, which came into force on 1 July 2007 and is applicable in all states and territories of Australia.
All persons born in Australia before 20 August 1986 were automatically citizens at birth regardless of the nationalities of their parents. Individuals born in the country after that date receive Australian citizenship at birth if at least one of their parents is an Australian citizen or permanent resident. Children born in Australia to New Zealand citizens since 1 July 2022 also receive Australian citizenship at birth. Foreign nationals may be granted citizenship after living in the country for at least four years, holding permanent residency for one year, and showing proficiency in the English language.
Australia is composed of several former British colonies founded in the 18th and 19th centuries, whose residents were British subjects. After federation as a Dominion of the British Empire in 1901, Australia was granted more autonomy over time and gradually became an independent sovereign state. Although Australian citizens ceased to be regarded as British subjects in 1984, they remain Commonwealth citizens under British law. When residing in the United Kingdom, Australians are eligible to vote in UK elections and serve in public office there.
The distinction between the meaning of the terms citizenship and nationality is not always clear in the English language and differs by country. Generally, nationality refers a person's legal belonging to a state and is the common term used in international treaties when referring to members of that polity; citizenship refers to the set of rights and duties a person has in that nation. Despite this distinction, the Australian Government uses these two terms interchangeably.
The Kingdom of Great Britain established its first colony in Australia with the founding of New South Wales in 1788. Over the course of the 19th century, the British presence expanded throughout the continent. By 1890, there were six separate self-governing territories in Australia. British nationality law applied to each of these colonies, as was the case elsewhere in the British Empire. Australians and all other imperial citizens were British subjects; any person born in the Australian colonies, the United Kingdom, or anywhere else within Crown dominions was a natural-born British subject. Aboriginal Australians and Torres Strait Islanders became British subjects as the colonies were settled throughout the continent.
British nationality law during this time was uncodified and did not have a standard set of regulations, relying instead on precedent and common law. Until the mid-19th century, it was unclear whether rules for naturalisation in the United Kingdom were applicable in other parts of the Empire. Colonies had wide discretion in developing their own procedures and requirements for admitting foreign settlers as subjects. New South Wales and Tasmania respectively enacted legislation in 1828 and 1834 enabling denization, a process that partially granted foreign citizens the rights of British subjects, most notably property rights. Denizens were not considered aliens, but could not pass subject status to their children by descent and were barred from Crown service and public office.
Naturalisation in Britain was achieved through individual Acts of Parliament until 1844, when a more streamlined administrative process was introduced. The Australian colonies emulated this system in their own naturalisation legislation, which every jurisdiction had adopted by 1871. In 1847, the Imperial Parliament formalised a clear distinction between subjects who naturalised in the UK and those who did so in other territories. Individuals who naturalised in the UK were deemed to have received the status by imperial naturalisation, which was valid throughout the Empire. Those naturalising in colonies were said to have gone through local naturalisation and were given subject status valid only within the relevant territory; a subject who locally naturalised in New South Wales was a British subject there, but not in the UK or Victoria. Nevertheless, British subjects who were locally naturalised in a colony were still entitled to imperial protection when travelling outside of the Empire.
Married women generally followed the nationality status of their husbands. Beginning with New South Wales in 1848, each colony enacted legislation that automatically naturalised foreign women who married British subjects, mirroring regulations enacted in the UK in 1844. After Britain established marital denaturalisation for British subject women who married non-British men in 1870, New South Wales adapted its rules to match this in 1875. The other Australian colonies did not adopt this in legislation but in practice, women who married foreign men were automatically stripped of British subject status throughout Australia.