Southern Cross Group: Australian Citizenship Issues for Children of War Brides

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Australian Citizenship Act 2007 Now in Force!

This means that applications for Australian citizenship under the 2007 Act can now be lodged! See our home page for links to the relevant application forms and other tips and tricks!

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Australian Citizenship Issues for Children of War Brides

This page (and the page on citizenship for Australian war brides) has been prepared to demonstrate how the new Australian Citizenship Act 2007 affects children of Australian war brides, as well as others in the Australian diaspora. Its relevant provisions came into force on 1 July 2007. The family used is fictional, but representative.

Facts: Joan Small was born in Australia in 1925. She was one of approximately 15,000 Australian women who married American servicemen during or shortly after World War II and her story is typical of many thousands of Australian war brides. In 1943 she married an America GI named Thomas Brown while he was on leave in Australia. In late 1944, Joan gave birth to a daughter Sarah in Australia. In 1946, she and Sarah moved to the United States to be with Thomas. Joan has lived in the US ever since along with Thomas and their children. A son, Peter, was born in the US in 1948. A second daughter, Patricia, was born in the US in 1950. On 3 September 1952, Joan became an American citizen. In 1954 her fourth child, a boy called Adam, was born in the US.

To read about how Joan is now able to resume her Australian citizenship since the changes came into force on 1 July 2007, click here. Joan's children are discussed below.

Sarah's Citizenship Story

Born a British subject in Australia in 1944, Sarah, like her mother Joan, became an Australian citizen on commencement of the Australian Citizenship Act 1948, i.e. on 26 January 1949. This is so despite the fact that Sarah left Australia to live in the US in 1946.

Importantly, when Joan took US citizenship on 3 September 1952 (forfeiting her Australian citizenship under Section 17), Sarah did not lose her Australian citizenship under Section 23 of the 1948 Act.

This is because Section 23 only operated to strip minors of their Australian citizenship when the responsible parent lost their Australian citizenship. Sarah's mother was not the responsible parent in the eyes of Australian law. Until 22 November 1984, "responsible parent", in relation to a child, meant the father of that child in most circumstances. Because Sarah was born in wedlock, and because her father was still alive in 1952, and because her mother had not been granted custody of her by court order, Sarah remained an Australian citizen even when her mother lost her Australian citizenship in 1952.

Sarah has in fact been a dual Australian/US citizen since birth. Even though she is now in her 60s, and has never held an Australian passport, she can apply for an Australian passport at any time because she is an Australian citizen.

NOTE: If Sarah had decided, as an adult, to naturalise in a third country (e.g. Canada, the UK), and did that before 4 April 2002, she would have automatically forfeited her Australian citizenship at the date of that other naturalisation. Also, Sarah could have freely knowingly divested herself of her Australian citizenship as an adult, if she had wanted to, by going to an Australian embassy or consulate and filling in a form, and signing it, to formally renounce her Australian citizenship under Australian law (Section 18 of the 1948 Act). Since she has done neither of these things, she has remained an Australian citizen.

ALSO: If when her mother naturalised in the US in 1952, Sarah's father had been dead, or her mother had been given custody by virtue of a court order, or if she had been born out of wedlock, then she would have lost her Australian citizenship under Section 23 along with her mother on 3 September 1952.

If your scenario is similar to Sarah's, i.e. if you were born in Australia and then moved abroad as a child with your Australian mother, please contact us for specific legal advice on your particular situation. Your overseas-born children may have a right to Australian citizenship by descent as well.

We wrote to Australia's Minister for Immigration and Citizenship on 14 May 2007 about the citizenship status of Australian-born children of war brides and their children. Read that letter here. By letter of 29 May 2007, the Department of Immigration and Citizenship confirmed that our legal assessment of the fictitious scenario set out in our letter of 14 May 2007 was correct.

Peter's Citizenship Story

Peter was born in the US in 1948. He became a US citizen at birth under the US Constitution. However, he did not become an Australian citizen on 26 January 1949 under the Australian Citizenship Act 1948 because he was not born in Australia. He also didn't qualify to be registered as an Australian citizen by descent under the Australian Citizenship Act 1948 because he was born before it came into force. Due to a special amendment, a limited window of opportunity existed for him to become registered as an Australian citizen by descent through his mother by applying between 18 June 1991 and 18 June 1996 (Section 11 of the 1948 Act). However, he was not aware of this window of opportunity and therefore is still not an Australian citizen.

Since the relevant provisions of the Australian Citizenship Act 2007 came into force on 1 July 2007, the law has been changed to enable the registration of Australian citizenship by descent for people born overseas before 26 January 1949 to a mother who became an Australian citizen on commencement of the 1948 Act on 26 January 1949. So Peter will soon be able to register as an Australian citizen by descent under Section 16(3) of the 2007 Act.

NB: If you were born outside Australia before 26 January 1949 to an Australian-born parent, and that Australian-born parent passed away before 26 January 1949, please contact us.

FURTHER: If you were born outside Australia before 26 January 1949 to a parent who was not born in Australia but who spent time growing up/living in Australia before your birth, please contact us.

FINALLY: If you were born outside Australia before 26 January 1949 to an Australian-born parent who naturalised in another country (e.g. the US) before 26 January 1949, please contact us. See the letter we wrote to the Australian Minister for Immigration and Citizenship on this particular scenario on 11 June 2007. Our legal assessment in that letter was confirmed by the Department of Immigration and Citizenship by e-mail dated 10 July 2007. This means that Australian-born WWII war brides who took US citizenship before 26 January 1949 and who on their date of US naturalization were married (not divorced or widowed) became Australian citizens on 26 January 1949. It is likely that they have been Australian citizens ever since (i.e. dual citizens) and that their US-born children can therefore now apply for Australian citizenship by descent. If this is your scenario, please contact us.

Patricia's Citizenship Story

Patricia, born in the US in 1950, did not become an Australian citizen through her mother. Until 30 April 1970, it was not possible under Australian law for the overseas-born children of Australian mothers (whose father was not Australian and where the parents were married) to be registered with Australian consulates as Australian citizens by descent. From 1 May 1970, the law changed, and some children born overseas before that date to Australian mothers could subsequently be registered as Australian citizens by descent. Despite the 1970 changes, many still missed out, due to the fact that they were unaware of the changes to the law, or because they fell between the cracks of the various amended provisions in the law.

Since the relevant provisions of the Australian Citizenship Act 2007 came into force on 1 July 2007, Patricia now qualifies to register as an Australian citizen by descent under Section 16(2). The only requirements that apply to a person seeking registration as an Australian citizen by descent are that:

At least one of the parents was an Australian citizen at the time of the person's birth;
The person can show good character if 18 years or over; and
If a parent of the applicant acquired Australian citizenship by descent that parent must have spent a total of two years in Australia as a lawful resident.

NB: If you were born outside Australia after 26 January 1949 to an Australian-born father, and your mother was not Australian-born, and your father passed away before you were born, please contact us.

FURTHER: If you were born outside Australia after 26 January 1949 to a parent who was not born in Australia but who spent time growing up/living in Australia before your birth, please contact us.

FINALLY: If you were born outside Australia after 26 January 1949 to an Australian-born parent who naturalised in another country (e.g. the US) before 26 January 1949, please contact us. See also the letter we wrote to the Australian Minister for Immigration and Citizenship on this particular scenario on 11 June 2007. Our legal assessment in that letter was confirmed by the Department of Immigration and Citizenship by e-mail dated 10 July 2007. This means that Australian-born WWII war brides who took US citizenship before 26 January 1949 and who on their date of US naturalization were married (not divorced or widowed) became Australian citizens on 26 January 1949. It is likely that they have been Australian citizens ever since (i.e. dual citizens) and that their US-born children can therefore now apply for Australian citizenship by descent. If this is your scenario, please contact us.

Adam's Citizenship Story

Adam's situation is different to that of Patricia because his mother Joan had lost her Australian citizenship by the date of his birth in 1954. He did not have an Australian citizen parent at the date of his birth.

However, a special new provision in the Australian Citizenship Act 2007 now nevertheless allows Adam to obtain Australian citizenship. Section 21(6) provides for conferral of citizenship to a person of good character and over the age of 18 years who was born overseas after their parent lost Australian citizenship under the former Section 17.

Section 21(6) operates whether or not the original Australian parent is still alive, and regardless of whether or not that original Australian parent has resumed their Australian citizenship in the meantime.

NB: Section 21(6) can only apply to people born after 26 January 1949.

Will Their United States Citizenship Be Affected?

No. By applying for and gaining Australian citizenship under any of the scenarios outlined above, the US citizenship of Joan, Peter, Patricia, and Adam will remain unaffected. They will retain their US citizenship. They will become dual citizens because they will hold American citizenship and Australian citizenship. Their sister Sarah, born in Australia to a US citizen father, is already a dual citizen.

Preparing Your Australian Citizenship Application

For links to the new citizenship application forms and tips and tricks, please see the top of the SCG's Home Page.

You will have to provide police certificates for all countries you have lived in for one year or more in the last 10 years (except Australia) if you are over 16. If you are resident in the US, or have been resident in the US at any time in the last 10 years, the first thing you should do without delay now is order your Criminal History Record Check from the FBI. These are presently taking up to 18 weeks to arrive once ordered. You will also need a Clearance Letter from each place of residence in which you have lived in the US in the last 12 months. Read our specially prepared Information Sheet on obtaining police clearances in the United States for full guidance.

Police clearance documents will be crucial for your Australian citizenship application in order to show good character. You will not be able to file your citizenship application until you have them.

Australian Government Form 47P provides further details on how to obtain police clearance documents from many countries around the world to satisfy the good character requirement.

If you are having trouble obtaining an FBI criminal history record check in the US because your fingerprints are worn or faded, please contact the SCG. This issue is arising for a number of elderly female applicants.

You should also consult our Frequently Asked Questions document for those living the United States for answers to many further questions you may have about applying for Australian citizenship.

If you are in the UK, see our separate UK FAQs document and separate guidance on how to obtain UK and Irish police clearances.

If you are in Canada, find out how to obtain Canadian police clearances here.

If you need to obtain birth, death or marriage certificates from Australian state authorities to go with your Australian citizenship application, consult our guidance document in A4 format on that subject here, or in US-letter size paper format here.

Have you already applied for Australian citizenship since July 2007? We'd be glad to hear from you about your experiences. Was your encounter with the Department of Immigration and Citizenship a positive one? Were there any hitches with your application? How long did it take to be processed and decided? Are you still waiting and wondering? The SCG is monitoring processing times and administrative issues for Australian citizenship applications globally and welcomes your feedback. In several cases we have recently stepped in to act for applicants before the Department where matters have been less than satisfactory.

Tell us Your Story, and Help us Keep you Informed!

If you are a war bride of Australian origin, the child of a war bride, or someone else who lost their Australian citizenship or who has not had access to Australian citizenship although you had an Australian parent, please tell us your story. We can be reached at info@southern-cross-group.org, or you can talk or write to our SCG volunteer War Brides Co-ordinator, himself the son of an Australian war bride:

Ken Lankard
War Brides Co-ordinator
The Southern Cross Group
PO Box 24606
Ventura, CA 93002
USA

Tel: +1 (805) 485 7217
Fax: +1 (805) 485 6818
E-mail: ken@southern-cross-group.org

If you have e-mail, then sign up to the SCG's free e-mail bulletin list so that you can receive updates on the above reforms, including information as to how to prepare your citizenship application, and other information of interest to those in the Australian diaspora. Alternatively, e-mail us to be put on our mailing list.

If you don't have e-mail, then please write to us or phone us with your full contact details so that we can add you to our snail mail list and keep you updated by post. Your contact details will be kept fully confidential. You can use our special mailing list registration form for Australian war brides available here. Children of Australian war brides should use this form. These forms can be faxed to Ken Lankard on Fax: +1 (805) 485 6818.

If you are an Australian-born war bride or another Australian-born person who became a naturalised US citizen (or took citizenship of another country) BEFORE 26 January 1949, or the child of a war bride or other person in that position, please contact the SCG without delay. Consult your naturalisation certificate to find out your date of naturalisation. See also the letter we wrote to the Australian Minister for Immigration and Citizenship on this particular scenario on 11 June 2007.

Further Useful Information on this Website:

Make a Donation to the SCG! (For those in the US who would like to donate by sending a cheque drawn on a US bank) >>>

Make a Donation to the SCG! (For those anywhere in the world who would like to donate online using the Amazon Honor System and a credit card) >>>

SCG Guidance Document for Citizenship Resumption Applicants (Accompanies Version 07/07 of Australian Government Form 132), US Letter size paper format, 8 July 2007 >>>

SCG Guidance Document for All Australian Citizenship Applicants on how to prepare Certified Copies/Endorsed Photographs, in US Letter size format >>> or A4 size paper format >>>

Listen to an ABC Radio National Life Matters segment on the citizenship changes with SCG Co-founder Anne MacGregor in Brussels and war bride son Doug Norris in Alaska, aired on 4 July 2007 >>>

SCG Media Release of 1 July 2007
"100,000 Eligible for Australian Citizenship Overseas" >>>

SCG Media Release of 26 June 2007
"Vietnam War Bride to Resume Australian Citizenship" >>>

SCG Letter to the Australian Minister for Immigration and Citizenship re Police Clearances for Resumption and Descent Applicants, 22 June 2007 >>>

Proclamation by the Governor-General of Australia dated 7 June 2007 concerning the commencement on 1 July 2007 of the operative provisions of the Australian Citizenship Act 2007 >>>

SCG Letter to the Australian Minister for Immigration and Citizenship re War Brides who Naturalized in the United States before 26 January 1949, 11 June 2007 >>>
(The six annexes to this letter can be downloaded from the Dual Citizenship folder of our website archives, 2007 subfolder)
E-mail Response from DIAC dated 10 July 2007 confirming the Legal Interpretation by the SCG in the 11 June 2007 Letter >>>

SCG Letter to the Australian Minister for Immigration and Citizenship re Citizenship Status of Australian-born Children of War Brides and their Children, 14 May 2007 >>>