While the number of Australian citizen status granted fell to a 15-year low, the number of pending naturalization applications reached an all-time high, further prolonging the waiting period for immigrants to be sworn in, according to SBS.
The number of people granted citizen status in Australia has fallen to a 15-year low
The number of Australian nationals granted through (by Conferral) fell to 80562 in 2017-18, the lowest level since 2002-03, according to data. In 2002-03, more than 79000 Australian nationals were granted.
Prior to the release of the 2017 / 18 annual data, the federal government had been accused of a surge in the accumulation of naturalization applications. At that time, the cumulative amount of naturalization applications had increased to 240000, and applicants had to wait 17-19 months or more.
The Home Affairs Department (Department of Home Affairs) confirmed to the SBS that as of June 30, 2018, the number of pending naturalization applications stood at 244765.
Many people waiting to be sworn in as Australia's citizen say the long waiting period has left their lives uncertain.
Vidata (Atul Vidhata), which is awaiting the results of its naturalization application, has created forums for applicants on social media platforms. "given the current situation and recent events, immigrants feel so vulnerable and helpless," Vidata said.
[法] national security
In response to the prolonged hearing, the Home Office explained that this was due to the "more serious threat" faced by national security and that the authorities were doing their best to ensure the safety of all Australians through additional means to verify the identity and good conduct of the applicant.
"these measures have been gradually implemented since 2015. Prior to this, a report on the (Lindt Cafe) hostage incident at Swiss Lillian Cafe suggested that the Ministry of the Interior should improve the risk assessment of individuals before and after they were signed, naturalized. " A spokesman for the Interior Ministry told the SBS.
The spokesman added that the high demand for naturalization and the increase in complex cases had also contributed to delays in the processing of naturalization applications.
Immigration and citizen Affairs minister Gao Min (David Coleman) said in this regard that government is taking steps to expand the resources for processing applications. "government has set up a special working group of 50 people within the Ministry of the Interior to handle complex naturalization applications (individual cases)," he said. Make sure they are handled as effectively as possible. In addition, we have allocated 150 additional personnel to focus on the application. More people are expected to be in place by the end of the year.
Naturalization reform
Since the federal government announced plans to overhaul the naturalization bill, proposing to increase general residency requirements and add independent English language tests, the cumulative amount of naturalization applications has climbed from 81000 in June 2017 to its current high.
Last October, the proposed naturalization reform bill was rejected by the Senate. The bill, as amended, was put on the agenda of this spring's session, to be submitted to the Senate for consideration. But Mr Gao told the SBS earlier this month that the government was still in the process of negotiating the terms of the bill.
Major country of origin
As of Feb. 28, 54419 naturalization applications had been approved, with Indian immigrants at the top, India-born and 10168 people becoming citizen in Australia. This was followed by British immigrants, with a total of 9195 naturalized personnel from the United Kingdom.
