Children born in Australia on or after 20 August 1986 who did not acquire Australian citizenship at the time of their birth may acquire Australian citizenship by operation of law on their 10^th birthday if they have been ordinarily resident in Australia throughout the 10-year period commencing from birth. 

A person is taken to be ‘ordinarily resident’ in a country if:

1. He or she has his or her home in that country; or
2. That country is the country of his or her permanent abode even if the person is temporarily absent from that country.

However, a person is taken not to be a resident if he or she resides in that country for a special or temporary purpose only. The person must have been ordinarily resident in Australia throughout the 10-year period commencing from birth. Being absent for a continuous period of six months or more does not mean the person cannot meet the requirement to have been ‘ordinarily resident’ but it is a point at which it is necessary to seek an explanation about the family’s circumstances and reasons for being outside Australia.

Example: Harry  was born in Australia to New Zealand citizens in 2002 however neither of his parents were Australian citizens or permanent residents at the time of his birth. Therefore, Harry  did not become an Australian citizen at time of his birth in Australia. When Harry  was 6 years old his father who was employed by the ABC was posted overseas by his employer on a two-year contract. Harry ’s family had a home in Australia and all their personal possessions were in storage in Australia while the family was posted overseas. At the end of the two-year contract the family returned to Australia.

In this case despite being absent for two years continuously, Harry  could be considered to have been ordinarily resident in Australia and became an Australian citizen on his 10^th birthday.

Confirmation of school attendance or enrolment and immunisation records may give some weight to a child being ordinarily resident in Australia but are not required documents for every child.

A child whose parents live in Australia but the child is enrolled in a boarding school overseas and comes to Australia during school holidays may be considered to be ordinarily resident even though the child was absent on a regular basis. It would be usual for a child’s home to be with their family unit despite being educated overseas.

Due to complexity of Australian Citizenship act not every child  eligible to become Australian Citizen on their 10^th birthday. Please contact us for detail migration advise to check your child eligibility if child meet key requirements for this application or not