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@alexoir, @a4anudeep, congrats guys! Enjoy becoming True Blue Aussies! Just out of curiosity, did you guys have physical conferral ceremonies, or virtual ones?

Hey mate, Once you log into your Immi Account, you can click on New Application and select 'Citizenship' and then select 'Citizenship by Conferral'. You will be directed to your application portal and there you will see the list of documents you need to provide on your submission. It's pretty easy and straightforward. Basically the same set of documents that were required for 887. plus some new photographs. Good luck with that!

Thanks mate. With this, the last step is done and dusted! I wish you all well. It's been quite a ride!

I think that's what it says, but for me it was rather pretty short. I applied on 06/12/2019, and then received a notification to sit for the test in mid-Feb, but I kept trying to reschedule and got my test date changed to 28/02/2020. Got it approved that day itself, and virtual ceremony on 05/05. So altogether it was about 5 months it took for me. Not sure how that's going to pan out given the times.

Thanks much alexoir! After my application approval, they did not contact me at any point until two days ago (04/05), where they called me to confirm if I am okay for a virtual conferral the next day (05/05). It was very short notice They called me to confirm if I prefer a virtual ceremony, and then sent me over the instructions email It was just one day, no real preparation was required. They held it via WebEx. We dressed up well but the presiding officer though was in casual clothing with a coat of arms as her backdrop. It was pretty quick, didn't even take 10 mins. We took the oath. Had some trouble initially connecting audio with WebEx, but they called on the phone for voice, and connected video with WebEx Hope you all who are waiting will get contacted pretty soon. We will be missing the photographs and dressing up nicely, but the certificate will come much quicker in these unprecedented times. Good luck to you all!

Hi All, Pretty excited to post here that I had my virtual conferral held today. Finally became a True Blue Aussie after 4 1/2 years! Good luck to all who are waiting. I think they are planning to roll out the virtual conferral ceremonies during the Covid-19 period. Cheers!

Can I know which state you are located mate? For me, apparently since in ACT it's not handled by local council rather through the local Government's community services directorate via DHS, not sure whether that has any impact from elections... Any idea anyone?

Hi All, Just sharing my timeline as well: Application submitted: 6 Dec 2019 Test date allocation received on: 7 Feb 2020 Initial Test date: 3 Apr 2020 Rescheduled to: 28 Feb 2020 Approval: 28 Feb 2020 (same date) Ceremony: <<waiting>>

Hey, congrats on becoming a True Blue Aussie!!! How does the approval work? Did you have to face anything else after sitting for the test/interview? If I may, could I ask which state were you applying from? Just for me to get an idea on whether the processing time has any relevance with the state that you are applying from.. Cheers!

@Skaur Fines are usually State Government affairs. It's NOT a debt to the Commonwealth. The application asks whether you have any debt to the Commonwealth. Not advising to dodge fines, but no one will have problems with their application by having outstanding fines

You are one absolutely lucky man! Congrats mate! I'm quite concerned how my timeline will go for a number of reasons. Did you have your conferral yet?

If you are on 489 State Nominated visa, then you are bound to condition 8539 where you cannot live or work in ACT. It was there in the page before, no idea why it is not now

Also a light-question to start with, have you any idea whether the processing time for a citizenship application would depend on the state that you are applying from? For instance, could an application from someone in NT take shorter to process from applying until the conferral than someone from, say NSW?

subscribing to keep up-to-date with the forum Glad to see familiar names around....

VICToRY At LaST!!! Hope you've already recovered from hangover from Friday haha You know what @Russki, this is the most awaited post in this forum and literally the only reason I kept coming back to read the forum after I received my grant few moons back. I don't know you personally, never met you, but I think you deserve this over everyone else because of the great character you showed in this forum through thick and thin and you kept the light very much alive. Despite your frustration, you managed to cheer everyone up with a kind word or two, kept the peace and calm amongst thousands of participants from different backgrounds. I wish you nothing but all the very best on your journey as a 'fully fledged' resident (as I would like to call it ) and may whatever your dreams do come true in this great land of opportunity. ::Good Luck!

The 100 points check is usually what they do to assess your rental eligibility. Real Estate agents usually check your rental history and if you don't have one (meaning you are new here) they will be slightly hesitant (at least what I've felt). Your best bet would be to get a friend or an acquaintance to agree to share with you for a very short term (3 months or so) and then use that reference as a basis to look for your own rental place. Even so, you will have more chance building up your rental credibility with private renters than the Real Estate agents, who are usually very fussy and are trying to get their work done with least amount of hassle. If you look for private renters and inspect their property, you will get a good chance to build some good rapport with them, have a little chat, make friends with them, they'll definitely remember you when they go through selecting an application from the bunch of submissions they received. Also this is a tip than a surefire way, but you might want to overbid for a rental place if you really want to have a chance rather than getting neglected when you don't have rental history (i.e. if a property offered at $300/wk you could try raising it by $5/$10/$20 depending on your liking at the place so they'll be tempted to pick you) Good luck!

Congrats on receiving your grant mate! I am not sure if the banks will ask for proof of your address though, but in terms of minimum account keeping fees, I would suggest ING who won't charge you unlike the exorbitant amounts the other banks charge, and also give you with facility to withdraw from any Australia-wide ATM for no fee, and if you look in terms of saving for the longer term, they provide you with (currently) one of the highest savings interest rates. I'm no advocate but give it a try and see. Cheers!

Always a pleasure @Happy and lucky. Been in the same shoes and I understand your situation. This forum is all about giving each other a much needed hand whenever in need. Good luck with your moving and shoot any questions you may have in future on here. Exciting times ahead!!

Hi Happy & Lucky, Congratulations on achieving the first step on what is to become the best decision of your life! I was on the same boat as you since I moved to ADL late '15. I have a similar background just like you so I will try answering your questions as best as I can. 1. Software Dev in ADL is booming, you will come across a lot of temp/contract jobs as you go on looking for jobs especially if you're into .NET/Azure/AWS/DevOps roles. With my experience, it took me 7 months to land on my first permanent technical job, and I noticed the job offers in the market kept increasing. Even though people may whinge that ADL does not cater enough jobs, in IT your chances will never dry up. 2. Recruiters and employers will most probably ask for your "onshore" experience, but don't lose heart, there will always be few offers waiting for the new starters. These will most likely be entry level wage jobs that may be temp/contract, but that's the best way for you to start to secure onshore work experience. Applying for jobs and resume writing is an acquired skill around here. Most employers have keyword processing so a resume you send will most likely to go through one that pick them the most relevant candidates. So if you are really serious about a job, make sure you have all the keywords included in your resume, and have your cover letter specifically tailored for that employer showing them your unique interest for the position advertised. Appear confidently and politely at your interview, and always speak genuinely. The more you showcase that you are a person with good work ethic, attitude and are passionate about what you do, and a person who they think they can integrate to the company culture, the higher the chances of a successful interview. I hope you get what I mean, "Your attitude, is Number#1" 3. I have not had experiences with this, but I think chances are quite slim. They always look at the onshore talent pool and they only look elsewhere if they have no other choice or the position is absolutely unique. Having said that, I should mention that I do have a friend who received a job offer that way. 4. I went with BUPA. They have what is called Overseas Visitor Health Cover for 489 holders. You may not have much luck finding cheaper options, but BUPA have done me good when I was on 489. 5. You have enough time to think about this, hang around this forum, there are so many similar cases and experienced members from whom you can get an idea. 6. Nothing, try your best to stay 2 years within your allowed postcodes, try not to move places a lot and collect, collate and keep all your Government sent doccos and bills in one place. It will come in handy at the point when you are applying for 887. Same goes with work, do 1 year full-time, collect all contracts, salary slips, PAYG payments at the end of each FY. 7. You can/must live and work within the given postcodes for the entire period including the transition time from 489 to 887 (read SunnySideUp's FAQs, it's very helpful). People have got away with moving out to different areas once applying for 887, but I wouldn't take the risk if I were you. 8. Sorry mate, no idea as I did mine by myself. You will understand whether you will be able to do this or not as time comes along, I suggest you not to worry about this right now. 9. Good luck! Welcome to the land of promise, the best decision you'll ever make in your life!

Thanks for keeping this rolling forward @Sunnysideup! It's either you do some heads-up and do the easier way and find yourself in a rut the harder way. Cheers!

Subsequent entrant is possible when you're still in 489. As soon as you apply for 887, I'd reckon you waive your ability to make a 489 subsequent entrant application because you move into a much greyer area halfway towards 887. It's one of those grey areas, I think the best would be to speak to a (proper) MARA agent if the specific case seems complicated enough

I agree with @Russki. If your country appears wrong in the spreadsheet, you can always go and change it, no need to ask for permission from anyone around hey, and if you'd like to remain anonymous on the country, you can do so no fuss. I have always enjoyed looking at the country column thinking to myself how much of a wonderfully diversified country we are blessed to live in.

Well, I like your independent way of thinking, but unfortunately the IMMI seem to need for us to show some degree of *dependence/interdependence/connection* to people/entities who are already settled in Australia. In other words, they reckon we need to be *Endorsed* by someone who they can *Trust*. It's a funny thing, but that's how the things roll around here, so if I were you I'd rather ride with the wave than be sorry later Tread your own path

Hi Dave, as mentioned same thing happened to me because I filled up my parents'/siblings' details in the application and they got added into the system. All I had to do afterwards is to submit a 'Notification of Incorrect Answers' form, I think that's form 1023 and you can find it in the portal itself under Update Details or similar

My bad, when I said bank statements, I meant only the front pages with your details on it. So if you collate 2 years that will at most be 24 statements, but since my bank sends out quarterly statements it was only 8 statements, thus 8 pages. You also can blank out/ blur transactions that you don't want them to see.