The citizenship by Marriage law that took effect in New South Wales last week is set to hit the Australian community with an impact far beyond the immediate areas of family, employment, and healthcare.
While the bill is expected to have a huge impact on the lives of some citizens and citizens of the Commonwealth, the law is expected also to have wide-reaching effects on the rights of other Australians.
The law allows for an ‘admission’ by the Minister of the Crown to a Commonwealth citizenship by birth, marriage, or other marriage, as well as the ‘admissions’ of a Commonwealth citizen by descent.
The Minister can grant citizenship by descent for children born to Commonwealth citizens and a Commonwealth resident.
The law also grants citizenship to citizens who have served in the Australian Defence Force, who are a resident of Australia, or who have a Commonwealth spouse and who are living in Australia.
But it does not confer citizenship on those who have been resident in the Commonwealth for more than two years, or those who are not Australian citizens and are not citizens of another Commonwealth.
It also does not recognise any Commonwealth citizen who has died, been declared bankrupt or been adjudged incapable of bearing a Commonwealth identity.
Under the legislation, those who apply for citizenship can only be granted citizenship if they meet certain criteria.
They must be at least 18 years old, a resident in Australia for at least two years and have been a citizen of Australia for one year.
They also have to be in good health.
Anyone who meets the criteria will not be eligible to apply for Commonwealth citizenship until they are at least 21 years old.
The citizenship laws will affect the citizenship status of non-citizens who have applied to become Australian citizens, including children of Commonwealth citizens.
As a result, children of Australian citizens who apply to be Australian citizens will no longer be able to become Commonwealth citizens, but they will be able claim Commonwealth citizenship and become Australian citizenship holders for the life of the child, even if they do not have the birth certificate of their mother or father.
This could have implications for those children, as many of them will now have an Australian parent who has been deemed incapable of being Australian.
A spokesman for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said the citizenship law was designed to ensure that Commonwealth citizens were recognised and recognised as Australian citizens.
“The legislation is aimed at ensuring that citizens who are citizens by birth are recognised as Australians and are able to apply to become citizens by descent,” the spokesman said.
“There are no restrictions on the citizenship of those born in Australia, and the laws are intended to protect the rights and freedoms of Australians who are born overseas.”
The Department of Justice said the changes would not impact on Commonwealth citizens’ rights to have children in Australia and will not affect the ability of Commonwealth nationals to have an overseas child.
“These changes do not affect Commonwealth citizens who wish to adopt children overseas,” the department said in a statement.
“All Commonwealth citizens can adopt overseas children, whether they have been born in the country or not.”
The law is designed to make sure that Commonwealth citizenship is recognised and respected by those who come to Australia to apply, according to the spokesman.
The laws will not apply to the Commonwealth citizens of other Commonwealth countries.
