Dual for Aussies wife and son?

[doriansmummy]

Hi,

My hubby is a aussie. We have been married 5.5 years!
We have been back in the states for 5 years now.
I lived in oz for a year 1/2.
We have a 4 year old son and I was wondering about how to go about getting dual for myself and our son.
Is it an easy process? I know it was quite easy for my hubby to come over here since we were married in oz.

Thanks for your time!

[Mommabelle]

I have the same situation as you. It was very easy for the children. DH just took their birth certs to the consulate and it was all done. Well they called me to make sure I "knew" about it and asked some questions..standard stuff. I still do not have any sort of permanent visa for Aus at all. I hope to at some point. If you find out let me know.

[doriansmummy]

Wow, thats awesome it so easy for the kids!
I wonder if that means if they live over there they get free medical and I wonder if uni is free? That would be great!

I am wondering if I have to live over there and apply there to get dual?

Thanks for the info!

[cee3]

I'm an American citizen living in Australia with my Australian husband (and dual citizen kids). I have one son born in the U.S. and one born in Australia. Getting dual citizenship was quite easy for them. Go to the Australian consulate website and there will be a link on how to obtain Australian citizenship. Just some forms to fill out, a few pictures, and a fee. We had to go to the consulate in person to get DS's passport. (Incidentally, we had to do the opposite process for my son who was born in Australia and it was equally as easy.)

For you, it is a little more difficult. First, you have to have permanent residency in Australia for at least two years (but hurry...there is a bill in Parliament now to get this changed to three years). At that point, you can apply for citizenship. You must be domiciled in Australia at the time you apply. It costs A$120 and takes about two months to get approval. After that, you have to go to a citizenship ceremony.

Your kids will be covered under Medicare as citizens. Also, you would be covered if you are a permanent resident. I had my son 5.5 months ago as a public patient in the Australian healthcare system. I don't know a lot about the university fee system, but I do know that it's not quite free. I know this because we just paid off the last of my husband's HECS (students loans) debt. Whew!

We're heading back to the U.S. a couple months.