Citizenship by Descent

The London office processes citizenship by descent applications for clients residing in the UK and Ireland. London also processes citizenship by descent applications on behalf of our offices in Athens, Paris, Madrid, Vienna, and Zagreb. Clients residing in one of the countries below should lodge their citizenship by descent application with the London office.

Albania	France	Malta
Andorra	Germany	Monaco
Ascension Island	Gibraltar and Saint Helena	Netherlands
Austria	Greece	Norway
Belgium	Greenland	Poland
Bosnia Herzegovina	Hungary	Portugal
Bulgaria	Iceland	San Marino
Canary Islands	Ireland	Slovakia
Croatia	Israel	Slovenia
Czech Republic	Italy	Spain
Denmark	Kosovo	Sweden
Estonia	Latvia	Switzerland
Faeroe Islands	Liechtenstein	United Kingdom
Falkland Islands	Lithuania	Vatican City
Finland	Luxembourg

Application charge

The London office can only accept pounds sterling, card payments will be charged in pounds sterling. Information regarding the current application charge and acceptable payment methods for London can be found at the link below.

See: Application charges

Postal Address

Migration Branch
Australian High Commission
Strand
London
WC2B 4LA
United Kingdom

We recommend all passports and valuable documents are sent to us by registered mail to ensure a trackable and secure delivery (clients in the UK should use 'Special Delivery' and clients in Ireland 'Registered Post').

Processing time

You will receive a response from your case officer within 10 working days of receipt of your application at the London office. In the unlikely event you have not received any communication from this office within 10 working days, please lodge an email enquiry at the web form below.

Enquiries

You can send your enquiry by completing our enquiry form and we will endeavour to answer your enquiry within two working days (note that these time frames may vary depending on work loads).

Email: Immigration Enquiry Form

Application checklist

1. Completed current Form 118. Note: we cannot accept old forms, the current form can be found at the link below

See: http://www.immi.gov.au/allforms/pdf/118.pdf

Email is our preferred method of communication. So we may contact you more quickly clients with an email address should provide it on their application form.

2. Application charge.

See: Application charges (fees)

3. Provide an ‘endorsed’ passport photograph. Please staple this photograph to the top right hand corner of the application form to avoid it becoming lost.

Note: Only a person who knows the child can endorse the photo and provide the 'Witness Declaration' on the application form. They must belong to one of the 38 professions listed on page 2 of the application form, and be either an Australian citizen or a citizen of the country where the applicant resides. They must also complete the 'Proof of Identity' section on the application form.

4. Provide the applicants original full length birth certificate. A full length birth certificate is one that states both parents’ names. Only birth certificates that state both parents names are acceptable.

Birth certificates not in the English language must be translated into English by an accredited translator.

Multilingual birth certificates that include English are acceptable and do not require translation.

5. Provide proof of one parents’ Australian Citizenship, for example one of the following documents:

a. Original birth certificate, or
b. Australian passport, or
c. Originals of an Australia Citizenship certificate.

Note: Australian parent name change – If the name on the proof of the parents’ Australian Citizenship is different to the name on the child’s birth certificate, official evidence of the name change must be provided. For example a marriage certificate or change of name by deed poll.

6. You must provide certified copies of any documents, or the original documents. Copies of original documents can be certified by the same person endorsing the photograph and completing the 'Proof of Identity' section or anyone who belongs to the list of 38 occupations on page 2 of the application form.

7. An English translation of all official documents not in English must be provided. The translation must be undertaken by an accredited translator.

Multilingual documents that include English are acceptable and do not require translation.

8. If the applicant is over 18 years of age, penal clearance certificates must be provided.

See: Character Information

Important Notes:

1. If you do not provide the requested documentation the application will be delayed. To reduce delays, ensure you have attached the required documents as listed above. In some cases additional information or documents may be required. Your case officer will contact you and ask you for more information and/or additional documents.

2. The Australian parent should provide their Australian birth certificate if they have acquired citizenship of another country by descent (eg. if one of their parents was British and they now hold dual citizenship of Great Britain and Australia).

3. Once citizenship has been granted you may wish to apply for an Australian passport. Passports are issued by the Australian passport office (not the Department of Immigration and Citizenship). Australian Passport offices are also located in Australian Embassies and Consulates. You should contact your nearest Australian Embassy or Consulate for further information in regard to passport applications.

Clients in the UK and Ireland see: Consular and Passport Office in London - www.uk.embassy.gov.au/lhlh/consular.html

All other clients see: http://www.dfat.gov.au/missions/index.html

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