More than 200,000 people have pledged their allegiance to Australia and taken up Australian Citizenship in the past 12 months.
In the 2019-20 financial year, 204,817 people were conferred Australian citizenship – a 60 per cent increase on the previous financial year and the highest number on record.
Acting Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs Alan Tudge said citizenship was an important part of Australia’s success as a socially cohesive, multicultural nation.
“Becoming an Australian citizen means more than just living and working here – it’s a pledge of allegiance to our nation, our people and our values,” Mr Tudge said.
“When someone becomes a citizen, they make a pledge to uphold Australia’s rights, liberties, laws and democratic values. It represents a willingness to integrate into our successful multicultural nation.”
The Government moved quickly to start online ceremonies when COVID-19 restrictions forced in-person ceremonies to stop, and to date more than 60,000 people have been conferred citizenship this way.
Small in-person ceremonies resumed on 3 June. Online ceremonies will also continue for the foreseeable future for councils unable to host in-person ceremonies in a COVID-safe way.
The Department of Home Affairs has also resumed citizenship interviews and testing, in line with COVID-19 health advice. Small numbers of appointments have begun in Perth and Sydney and more will be rolled out in other locations as soon as possible.
| Number of people conferred Australian citizenship in 2019-20, by top ten nationalities | |
| Country of Origin | No. of people |
|
India |
38,209 |
| United Kingdom | 25,011 |
| China | 14,764 |
| Philippines | 12,838 |
| Pakistan | 8,821 |
| Vietnam | 6,804 |
| Sri Lanka | 6,195 |
| South Africa | 5,438 |
| New Zealand | 5,367 |
| South Africa | 5,438 |
| Afghanistan | 5,102 |
| Other |
76,268 |
| Total | 204,817 |
“Being an Australian citizen is an immense privilege, which brings both rights and responsibilities. I congratulate all those who have taken this important step” Mr Tudge added.
The original Indians – came to Australia quite early in its history. Records have been found of Indians being in Australia in as early as 1796, just 8 years after Captain Cook landed in Australia in 1788. Thus Indians, although only 2.8 per cent of Australia’s population as per 2016 Census, are not and should not be considered an ethnic minority. Having been making their contribution since 1796, 619,164 Australians of Indian descent are proud to call Australia home with many more waiting to be granted Australian Citizenship.
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