Australian Citizenship Limits

Old Jan 14, 2023, 5:25 am
  #1  
HB7
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: London, UK
Programs: BA Exec Club, SIA KrisFlyer, Qantas FF, Emirates Skywards
Posts: 1,848
Australian Citizenship Limits

Hi All,

I'm not sure if FlyerTalk is the right place to ask this, but this has something to do with passports and there are plenty of smart heads here who may have the right answer.

If someone holds Australian citizenship (and passport), how many other nationalities can that person have in addition to the Australian citizenship? I've read online that it is unlimited - but I can't find an official Australian Government page saying this.

Can anyone help with this info or where I should go to confirm this?

Thanks
HB7 is offline  
Old Jan 14, 2023, 7:49 am
  #2  
 
Join Date: May 2018
Location: FRA
Programs: LH SEN
Posts: 1,455
Australia does not care about dual- nor multi-citizenship.

Australian citizens may also hold the citizenship of another country or countries if the laws of those countries allow.
​​​​​https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/citi...ustralian.aspx
HB7, CPMaverick and GUWonder like this.
supine is offline  
Old Jan 14, 2023, 8:27 am
  #3  
HB7
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: London, UK
Programs: BA Exec Club, SIA KrisFlyer, Qantas FF, Emirates Skywards
Posts: 1,848
Originally Posted by supine
Australia does not care about dual- nor multi-citizenship.



​​​​​https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/citi...ustralian.aspx
Thanks for that info Supine - exactly what I was looking for.
HB7 is offline  
Old Jan 14, 2023, 10:48 am
  #4  
:D!
Hilton Contributor BadgeIHG Contributor Badge
 
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: NW London and NW Sydney
Programs: BA Diamond, Hilton Bronze, A3 Diamond, IHG *G
Posts: 6,321
Until 2002, if an Australian citizen chose to become a citizen of another country, they lost their Australian citizenship.
:D! is offline  
Old Jan 14, 2023, 3:12 pm
  #5  
FlyerTalk Evangelist
 
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: RSE
Programs: AA Exp|VA Platinum
Posts: 15,480
Dont worry. I misread something.

Last edited by bensyd; Jan 14, 2023 at 3:36 pm
bensyd is offline  
Old Jan 14, 2023, 7:32 pm
  #6  
 
Join Date: Jan 2016
Posts: 2,618
Also if you want to be an MP they don't like you being a dual citizen. Or did they change that after a bunch of MPs also had automatic NZ citizenship through parents?
nzkarit is offline  
Old Jan 14, 2023, 7:49 pm
  #7  
FlyerTalk Evangelist
 
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: MEL CHC
Posts: 20,920
Originally Posted by nzkarit
Also if you want to be an MP they don't like you being a dual citizen. Or did they change that after a bunch of MPs also had automatic NZ citizenship through parents?
My understanding is the non dual citizen requirement is only for Federal Parliament (both houses). But not for state or territory parliaments.

Wikipedia-->https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2017%E...ibility_crisis
Most had UK links. The unluckiest was Larissa Waters born in Canada and left at ~11 months old. Apparently Canada changed its laws not long after, so if she had been born ~1 year later she would not have been considered a Canadian citizen.
Very likely were some former federal parliamentarians who were not eligible under section 44. But no one noticed at the time or checked.
Mwenenzi is offline  
Old Jan 14, 2023, 11:01 pm
  #8  
FlyerTalk Evangelist
 
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: RSE
Programs: AA Exp|VA Platinum
Posts: 15,480
Originally Posted by nzkarit
Also if you want to be an MP they don't like you being a dual citizen. Or did they change that after a bunch of MPs also had automatic NZ citizenship through parents?
That change would require a referendum. A referendum that would be highly unlikely to pass.

Originally Posted by Mwenenzi
My understanding is the non dual citizen requirement is only for Federal Parliament (both houses). But not for state or territory parliaments.
I don't know about other states, but The New South Wales Constitution allows dual citizens to be MP's, but does not allow sitting MP's to become citizens of another country.


(1) If a Member of either House of Parliament—

(a) fails for one whole Session of the Legislative Council and Assembly to give his attendance in the House of which he is a Member, unless excused in that behalf by the permission of that House entered upon its journals,

(b) takes any oath or makes any declaration or acknowledgment of allegiance, obedience or adherence to any foreign prince or power or does or concurs in or adopts any act whereby he may become a subject or citizen of any foreign state or power or become entitled to the rights, privileges or immunities of a subject of any foreign state or power,

(c) becomes bankrupt or takes the benefit of any law for the relief of bankrupt or insolvent debtors,

(d) becomes a public defaulter, or

(e) is convicted of an infamous crime, or of an offence punishable by imprisonment for life or for a term of 5 years or more, and is the subject of the operation of subsection (2),

his seat as a Member of that House shall thereby become vacant.
:D! likes this.
bensyd is offline  
Old Jan 15, 2023, 5:12 am
  #9  
:D!
Hilton Contributor BadgeIHG Contributor Badge
 
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: NW London and NW Sydney
Programs: BA Diamond, Hilton Bronze, A3 Diamond, IHG *G
Posts: 6,321
Originally Posted by Mwenenzi
The unluckiest was Larissa Waters born in Canada and left at ~11 months old. Apparently Canada changed its laws not long after, so if she had been born ~1 year later she would not have been considered a Canadian citizen.
No, everyone born in Canada is automatically a citizen, unless both parents are foreign and one or more is a diplomat.

Until 14 Feb 1977, Canadian citizens born in Canada lost their citizenship if they became a citizen of another country while outside Canada.
From 15 Feb 1977 there was no more automatic loss of Canadian citizenship except in various niche circumstances.

Waters was born on 8 Feb 1977 and she was only a Canadian citizen at birth, because Australian citizenship by descent is not automatic.
Thus from the publicly available information, Waters would only have lost her Canadian citizenship automatically, if her parents brought her back to Australia, applied for Australian citizenship by descent in Australia, and had it granted, all before she was 6 days old.

If Australian citizenship by descent had been automatic in 1977, then she was a multiple citizen at birth and would not have lost Canadian citizenship regardless of the Canadian law changes. So either way she would always have had to actively renounce Canadian citizenship to meet the requirements to hold federal office in Australia.

Before 14 Feb 1977, Canadian citizens born outside Canada may have automatically lost citizenship by long residence outside Canada, or failing to notify Canada they wanted to retain citizenship, and perhaps Waters' parents mistakenly thought this applied to her.
:D! is offline  
Old Jan 15, 2023, 11:16 am
  #10  
FlyerTalk Evangelist
 
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: MEL CHC
Posts: 20,920
Originally Posted by :D!
No, everyone born in Canada is automatically a citizen, unless both parents are foreign and one or more is a diplomat.......
From wikipeda "Waters had been born to Australian parents in Canada,"

https://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo...rel/5401900%22

....................I left Canada as a baby, born to Australian parents studying and working briefly in Canada before they returned home. I have lived my life thinking that as a baby I was naturalised to be Australian and only Australian, and my parents told me that I had until age 21 to actively seek Canadian citizenship. At 21, I chose not to seek dual citizenship, and I have never even visited Canada since leaving at 11 months old...................
Mwenenzi is offline  
Old Jan 15, 2023, 7:46 pm
  #11  
 
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: HKG
Posts: 1,301
Originally Posted by Mwenenzi
From wikipeda "Waters had been born to Australian parents in Canada,"

https://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo...rel/5401900%22
Even with both parents being Australian, she would still have been Canadian before or after 1977. The only way for her to not acquire Canadian citizenship is if one of her parents was a serving diplomat.
tauphi is offline  
Old Jan 20, 2023, 4:25 am
  #12  
 
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Scotland - ABZ
Programs: Qantas LTG, BA-Blue, KLM -Gold, SAS - Silver
Posts: 2,053
Originally Posted by :D!
Until 2002, if an Australian citizen chose to become a citizen of another country, they lost their Australian citizenship.
Strictly speaking, only if Australia found out.

In the late 1990s, having lived in the UK on my Australian passport for nearly 20 years, a UK immigration official leafing through my passport asked why I didn't apply for UK citizenship.
"Because I would have to give up my Australian citizenship" I said.
"Who would tell the Australians?" he said "We certainly wouldn't"

A few years later, in 2003, another incident clarified the way things worked at that time.
I had had two Australian passports for a number of years, for business reasons.

I entered Australia, from India I think, and the immigration officials told me my passport was cancelled and confiscated it.
They told me I could still enter because "We can't deny entry to a citizen" and that I could get a new passport the following week and gave me a number to call. (It was a Friday night)
Stunned, and worried because I was meant to be going on to NZ on the Tuesday, I called the number from my hotel that night, nearly 9pm, intending to leave a message venting my frustration and worries.
To my surprise, a supervisor answered.
"Ah, yes, I can see what happened" she said. "When you renewed your second passport, they cancelled this one. Even though there is a note on your file saying 'do not cancel' . I'll just 'un-cancel' it now"
And she did, just like that.
"But" I said, "I've been going in and out of UK, Russia, India etc on this passport since it was cancelled - how does that work?"
She answered, "We only share passport info with two other countries: NZ and USA. If you had tried to enter either of those on this passport you could have been in trouble"

That will certainly have changed since 2003, especially with the Five Eyes agreement, but that's how it was then and I was very surprised .
mandolino is offline  
Old Jan 20, 2023, 5:08 am
  #13  
FlyerTalk Evangelist
 
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: RSE
Programs: AA Exp|VA Platinum
Posts: 15,480
Originally Posted by mandolino
Strictly speaking, only if Australia found out.
Strictly speaking the loss was automatic, it did not require Australia to do anything. In practice nothing would likely happen until it did. My mother was born in the UK to Australian parents in 1948, one year before Australian citizenship existed. She never considered herself anything but Australian. From the age of 3 until almost 50 she travelled on an Australian passport until one day she went to renew it and was informed that she was not actually an Australian citizen and would need to apply.
bensyd is offline  
Old Jan 20, 2023, 8:55 am
  #14  
 
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Scotland - ABZ
Programs: Qantas LTG, BA-Blue, KLM -Gold, SAS - Silver
Posts: 2,053
Originally Posted by bensyd
Strictly speaking the loss was automatic, it did not require Australia to do anything. In practice nothing would likely happen until it did. My mother was born in the UK to Australian parents in 1948, one year before Australian citizenship existed. She never considered herself anything but Australian. From the age of 3 until almost 50 she travelled on an Australian passport until one day she went to renew it and was informed that she was not actually an Australian citizen and would need to apply.
Yes, perhaps "strictly speaking" was not the right term. Your phrase "in practice" was what I meant to convey.
mandolino is offline  

Thread Tools
Search this Thread

Contact Us - Manage Preferences - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service -

This site is owned, operated, and maintained by MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Designated trademarks are the property of their respective owners.