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Born in Australia before 20 August 1986
Note: Students who have a current Australian passport don’t need to provide this.
Applicants who were born in Australia before 20 August 1986 must provide their full birth certificate issued by an Australian Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages (RBDM).
Applicants who were born while their parents were in Australia as diplomats or consular officers won’t have an Australian birth certificate. Instead, they need to provide a citizenship certificate or extract of citizenship certificate.
If they don’t have a citizenship certificate or extract, they will need to lodge Form 119 Application for evidence of Australian citizenship with Home Affairs. Home Affairs will send them a certificate for your reference.
Born in Australia on or after 20 August 1986
Note: Students who have a current Australian passport don’t need to provide this.
One parent was born in Australia
Applicants in this situation must provide their full birth certificate issued by an Australian RBDM.
If their full birth certificate shows that at least one of their parents was born in Australia, and the parent was born before 20 August 1986, this is enough evidence to prove the student’s Australian citizenship.
One parent was a citizen of Australia at the time of the applicant’s birth
If neither parent was born in Australia, the applicant must show that at least one parent was a citizen at the time of the applicant’s birth. To do this, they need to show the parent’s Australian citizenship certificate or extract of citizenship certificate.
One parent was a permanent resident of Australia at the time of the applicant’s birth
Applicants in this situation who don’t have a current Australian passport must provide their own Australian citizenship certificate or extract of citizenship certificate.
If they don’t have a citizenship certificate or extract, they will need to lodge Form 119 Application for evidence of Australian citizenship with Home Affairs. Home Affairs will send them a certificate for your reference.
Applicant was mostly resident in Australia for their first 10 years
If the applicant lived mostly in Australia for the first 10 years after they were born, they will have gained Australian citizenship on their 10th birthday. This is the case even if neither parent was an Australian citizen or an Australian permanent resident when the applicant was born.
Applicants in this situation will need to provide their Australian citizenship certificate or extract of citizenship certificate.
If they don’t have a citizenship certificate or extract, they will need to lodge Form 119 Application for evidence of Australian citizenship with Home Affairs, with certified copies of the required documents and the application fee. Home Affairs will send them a certificate for your reference.
Born overseas and acquired Australian citizenship by application
Applicants in this situation will need to provide one of the following:
- a current Australian passport
- an Australian citizenship certificate or extract of citizenship certificate
- a citizenship by descent extract.
If they don’t have any of these, they will need to apply for evidence of Australian citizenship. They can do this by lodging Form 119 Application for evidence of Australian citizenship with Home Affairs. Home Affairs will send them a certificate for your reference.
First Nations applicant not registered at birth by state/territory authority
First Nations applicants who were not registered at birth and don’t have a current Australian passport may submit a Statutory Declaration Form - citizenship - First Nations student - birth not registered.
The Statutory Declaration has been pre-populated. It must only be used by applicants to whom these circumstances apply. The Statutory Declaration must be witnessed by a person included in the List of Occupations or the List of Persons provided in the template on the department’s website mentioned above.
Statutory Declarations are not acceptable forms of proof of Australian citizenship for any applicants other than First Nations people whose birth was not registered by the relevant state/territory authority.
Applicant or their parent was born in Papua New Guinea before 16 September 1975
Note: Students who have a current Australian passport don’t need to provide this.
Papua New Guinea (PNG) became independent on 16 September 1975. Assessing Australian citizenship status of people born in PNG before 16 September 1975 can be complex.
Refer applicants in this situation to the Department of Home Affairs to obtain evidence of Australian citizenship. They can do this by lodging Form 119 Application for evidence of Australian citizenship if:
- evidence of their citizenship was issued before 1 January 2009 and the applicant was born in PNG before 16 September 1975, or
- they acquired citizenship by descent before 1 January 2009 based on having a parent born in PNG before 16 September 1975.
You can accept a citizenship certificate or extract as evidence that the applicant is an Australian citizen if it was issued on or after 1 January 2009, regardless of the applicant’s or date of birth or when they acquired citizenship.
Becoming an Australian citizen
If a student acquires Australian citizenship part way through their course, they may be eligible for a VET Student Loan for parts of their course for which the census days have not passed. This includes parts of a course in which they’re currently enrolled. The student must submit an eCAF after becoming an Australian citizen and on or before the next census day for their course.