Tensions between Beijing and Canberra and political debate over immigration levels have seen a sharp drop in the number of Chinese-born residents granted Australian citizenship.
According to data from the Ministry of Interior obtained by Fairfax Media, only 1559 Chinese-born residents were naturalized in the first eight months of the previous fiscal year, compared with as many as 10,000 Chinese-born residents applying for citizen in 2016-17, of whom 8,000 to 9,000 were approved.
Between 2012 and 2016, Chinese-born residents applied for 6 percent of citizen applications in Australia and 6 percent of those approved. But recent data from the Ministry of the Interior showed that the number of Chinese-born residents applying for citizen remained stable, and the number of people approved fell to just 3 percent of the total between July 2017 and February 2018.
While those numbers represent only 2/3 of the time in the previous fiscal year, the final 1/3 approvals rose sharply to keep up with the previous year`s level.
Over the same period, approval of Indian-born citizen applications rose from 15% to 18%, while British approval rose from 14% to 16%. The percentage of South Africans approved rose from 3% to 5%.
Prime Minister Turnbull made a speech last week aimed at repairing relations with China over Australia`s perceived influence over Australia`s politics, academia and military.
But members of the Chinese community question whether disputes over foreign influence affect the naturalization process.
"I have lived here for nearly 45 years, and the past two years have been the worst." Hong Kong-born Sam Wong said. A former pharmacist at the Ministry of Health, he was awarded an Australian Medal in 1999 for his contribution to multiculturalism and is currently chairman of the Forum on multiculturalism in Canberra.
"I just hope [the low percentage of Chinese births applying for citizen approval] is not due to tensions between Australia and China."
Immigration has been the focus of the year after some conservative lawmakers called for lower annual immigration acceptance. The government also tried to tighten the naturalization process, but the plan was blocked by the Senate.
In May, Liberal MP Andrew Hastie used parliamentary prerogatives to accuse a prominent Australian-Chinese businessman and generous political financier of bribery, culminating in concerns about China`s influence. In the months before that, senior government officials at China`s government avoided meeting with Australia`s minister when the Turnbull government introduced a strict foreign intervention law.
Citizen and multiculturalism minister Alan Tudge declined to comment on naturalization figures. His office introduced reporters to citizen and the Department of Multicultural Affairs, which declined to provide national naturalization approvals as of June 30.
A spokesman for the Ministry of the Interior said "the Ministry of the Interior has no `barriers` to naturalization applicants from specific backgrounds."
Zoe Ma, a Chinese-born Melbourne resident, has been waiting to be sworn in for 17 months. She delayed coming home to visit her grandmother for fear that her application would be suspended if she went abroad. Her grandmother died last month.
Permanent residents who are waiting to become naturalized cannot apply for government jobs, get HECS-HELP student loans, or get priority when applying for a family member visa. Nor can they vote in federal elections.
On Thursday, Fairfax Media revealed a 300% jump in naturalisation queues, but leaked speeches from the Home Office suggest the problem could be worse.
By the end of June, there were 241606 pending naturalization, up from 188848 at the end of February. The latest figure jumped 425% from 45985 when Turnbull came to power in 2015.
The Ministry of the Interior has upgraded its security inspection of the applicant. Government accused Labour of hosting 50, 000 refugees, some of whom did not have any documents.
Labour MP Julian Hill questioned the Liberal Party`s attitude towards China`s citizen.
"the huge decline in naturalization approvals for permanent residents born in China raises serious questions that the minister must answer." He said。
The Australian National Audit Office will submit a report on the investigation into the naturalization process in January.
