- Home
- About us
- Visas and migration
- Travelling to Australia
- Services for Australians
- Doing business with Australia
- Passports
- Study in Australia
- Media
- About Australia
- Events
- Australia-United States of America relationship
Citizenship By Descent - Instructions and Checklist
Please ensure all required documents are included.
All official documents must be ORIGINALS, however please include one copy for our files. Certified copies of identity documents will be acceptable if, and only if, certified by an Australian citizen in Australian Government employment such as at an embassy of consulate.
Any material submitted in a language other than English must be accompanied with an English translation. Note that your application can only begin processing when all required documents have been received by the office. Otherwise, this can delay the processing of your application.
The application may be lodged in person or by mail. If applying by mail, we strongly recommend that you submit your application using a method of trackable mail so that you can confirm the safe arrival of your package.
We will return the original official documents you supply once we finalise the application.
Please submit the following in order to apply for Australian citizenship by descent:
►Completed and signed Form 118
►Processing fee
Please refer to Form 1298i for the current fee and the currency converter for fees in US Dollars. Also refer to Lodging your Application in Washington for acceptable forms of payment.
►Self-addressed/stamped Express Mail envelope from the US Postal
Service. NOTE: if you do not provide return postage, we will return your documents by regular US mail and are not responsible for tracking or timeliness of return. If you live outside the United States, we will contact you when we finalise your application to arrange return of your documents.
►Endorsed passport size photograph
►Evidence applicant is a natural (not adopted**) child of an Australian Citizen: Original birth certificate of applicant (and one copy)
►Evidence of change of name:
Original marriage certificate (and one copy); or
Deed Poll; or
Statutory Declaration (& at least two documents evidencing usage of name)
►Evidence that at least one parent was an Australian citizen at the applicant’s birth or became an Australian citizen on 26 January 1949:
Original birth certificate of parent (and one copy); or
Original certificate of Australian citizenship (and one copy); AND
Evidence that the Australian parent has not taken out another nationality prior to 4 April 2002. Examples of documents that may be submitted to substantiate your claim include copy of US visa and I-94, or US Resident Alien Card, US Naturalization Certificate or any other evidence of citizenship held from another country which shows the date that citizenship was acquired.
►Evidence of character:
Police check
If you are over 16 years of age*, you must provide an FBI criminal history record check AND a local police report (for all places of residence in the USA during the last 12 months).
If you have lived outside of the US for more than 12 months in the past 10 years, you will also need to supply reports from the relevant countries. Please refer to form 47P for further information.
* Applicants who will turn 16 during the application process will be required to provide the relevant police clearances described above.
** Adopted children are usually not eligible for registration of citizenship by descent. If you require further information, please call our Contact Centre to speak to an information officer.