I became an Australian yesterday!

[sunnydelight]

Just wanted to share my good news as I'm still rather sadly excited about it!

Long story but DH and I met here in Sydney 21 years ago. We ended up back in the UK for 18 years but finally managed to come back in 2007 with the three children we had somehow managed to acquire along the way .... Anyway, all five us became Australian citizens last night and it feels like the end of a very long journey. Unlike a lot of expats I LOVE being here unreservedly so there is something really comforting about knowing that I can never be "sent back"!

[belledechocolatefluffybunny]

Congratulations. You still have the Queen as your head of state so you are still part of the UK.

[RomaloDownUnder]

Congratulations!! Hope to be able to say the same thing as you some day cause I love it here too and don't want to be 'sent back' either!!

Well done, did you find the process straightforward? We're just about to apply for permanent residency so quite a long way to go.

[tortoiseonthehalfshell]

Hurrah!

I have been here since 1989 and am still not an Australian citizen. Isn't that shameful? I hate bureaucracy, what can I tell you?

[Ozziegirly]

Yay! Congratulations!

We are eligible for citizenship from December 2011 and intend to apply as well. Mainly because I want to vote, but I also think the security is important, and also our child will be an Australian but we won't!

Romalo, that's good news about the PR too.

[thumbwitch]

SunnyD - congratulations! Did you have to sing all the verses of Advance Australia Fair to get in?

Tortoise - never would have guessed - how are you getting on with your identity crisis?

I have another 3 and a bit years before I can apply for citizenship but I will have to do it whether I want to or not - because my residency is sponsored by DH. Both he and DS are Australian citizens but if DH should ever pull his sponsorship, I could get deported. Can't see it ever happening tbh, he wouldn't do that to DS, but better to be on the safe side. Who knows what would happen if, God forbid, the worst happened to DH?

[tortoiseonthehalfshell]

My deed poll from England arrived yesterday and was witnessed by a colleague (times like this it's very useful working with lawyers) so I am now officially Tortoise, thank you.

It felt like a big deal even though all I was doing was legitimising a name change that's been in effect for 18 years. Odd.

[thumbwitch]

Very pleased to hear it, Tortoise - that was remarkably quick!

[tortoiseonthehalfshell]

I paid through the nose for Fed Ex delivery. But the company were excellent, actually, processed and had it in the post within the same working day.

[sunnydelight]

It was all fairly straightforward, once you're eligible it's a pretty painless process - PR is far more of a nightmare in terms of paperwork (sorry Ronaldo, not what you want to hear but at least you only have to do it once!). I was afraid that I was expected to have memorised all of the national anthem but they put the words up on a screen as usual so I was ok.

I'm not British belledechocolate.. so DH thought it was hilarious that I was in effect pledging allegience to the Queen especially as I have always insisted on my children having Irish passports despite the fact that they were all born in England. I guess one of the issues for me is the fact that I haven't lived in Ireland for 22 years and although I made some wonderful friends in England I never particularly felt that I belonged there whereas I felt like Sydney was "home" from the second I arrived. I have been known to gush inappropriately at immigration officials at Sydney arisport about being home whenever I come back in!

[thumbwitch]

Lol at gushing inappropriately at immigration people - do they nod and smile or give you the stony stare?

[sunnydelight]

They are actually really friendly thumbwitch - they love the fact that you love Australia so much so don't think there is anything strange about the fact that you say it. Not being able to turn to a stranger in the street (or more usually in a bar) and strike up a friendly conversation was one of the things that I found really hard about living in the UK.

Poor (British) DH was cringing the day we first arrived and I wanted to tell everyone that we were emigrating, we got a round of applause from the Aussies!

[thumbwitch]

I must admit I've only met one stony-face so far - she kept looking at me and my passport so I asked her if she'd prefer me to take my specs off - she nodded so I did and then she let me through. Not a smile or anything though. Mostly they've been fine, not like some of the ones they show on the tv show!

[smugaboo]

Hey Sunnydelight - congrats! I've been here since I was 2 months old and I (and my Irish mum) refused to become citizens until they removed the "allegiance to the Queen" thing from the pledge. Good 'ol Keating did that in the mid-90s so I finally got my citizenship then. So, nah, you're not pledging allegiance to the Queen at all. Don't mind your DH.

My DH and mum got their citizenship together a couple of years ago. Mum had been here for about 35 years by then!

[esselle]

Congratulations!!

My DH is taking his citizenship test in a couple of weeks time.

I have had a look at the test and reckon I would probably fail it and I'm Australian!!

DH said he is only doing it so he can break the law and not be deported - I'm so pleased he is taking it seriously!

[echt]

Mr E and I took the test a couple of weeks ago and got the nod less than a week later. Now we wait for the next swearing-in, or whatever.

Esselle, the test's OK, only based on about 10 pages of the info from the booklet they send out.

[echt]

Sorry, congratulations, Sunny.