I started to sort this out a couple of years ago but after speaking to a very helpful person at the department of immigration who said that I was ’stuck between a rock and a hard place’ and just had to submit some forms, pay lots of money and hope for the best, I put it in the too hard basket.

I was born in Australia in October, 1986 to parents who were New Zealand citizens, but living in Australia under a permanent residency visa. My parents applied for and received their Australian Citizenship when I was 16, and I was not included on the documentation (not their fault), although apparently I should have been because I was under 18. So this leaves me having to qualify for citizenship. Checking out the proof of your citizenship page on the Dept of Immigration and Citizenship site, I thought I might fall under this category…

3. Born on or after 20 August 1986.
You acquired Australian citizenship at birth in Australia if at least one of your parents was an Australian citizen or permanent resident of Australia at the time of your birth.
OR
You acquired Australian citizenship on your 10th birthday if:
neither of your parents were Australian citizens or permanent residents at the time of your birth; you have been ordinarily resident in Australia for the 10 years since your birth; and your parents were not holders of diplomatic visas at the time of your birth.

Which sounds pretty easy, except that my parents were New Zealand citizens. Which puts me in a whole new category…

4. Born to New Zealand citizen parents
Children born in Australia to New Zealand citizens between 20 August 1986 and 31 August 1994 generally did not acquire Australian citizenship by birth.

Oh. And it probably doesn’t help that was I was 9 I acquired my New Zealand Citizenship in preparation for 2 years living over there (we arrived back in 1998). And I don’t actually know what my status is. I can only assume that I’m a permanent resident. The government don’t seem to have a problem with me living or working here.

So, then why not just apply for Australian Citizenship? Well, because I don’t seem to fall under any of their required categories. And then there’s this paragraph on the application page:

As a New Zealand citizen your eligibility for Australian citizenship depends on whether you arrived in Australia before or after 26 February 2001.

On arrival in Australia, most New Zealanders are automatically granted a Special Category Visa (SCV). This visa allows the holder to remain and work in Australian indefinitely. Up to 26 February 2001 the holders of SCVs were eligible to apply for citizenship.

On 26 February 2001, the Australian Government announced that New Zealand citizens are required to apply for and be granted permanent residence in Australia if they wish to access certain social security payments, obtain Australian citizenship or sponsor their family members for permanent residence.

So I can’t actually figure out if I need to:
a) apply for proof of citizenship and hope ‘being born here’ is enough.
b) apply for permanent residency because I’m a New Zealand citizen and then…
c) apply for Australian citizenship based on my permanent residency. OR
d) ignore it and hope it doesn’t come and bite me on the ass one day?

Any ideas?

And after having a quick photoshoot with Liz and a chunk of dry ice, I like it too. It’s like the smoke coming off a candle…. on steroids!!

This can only mean that the people love cats more than they do bikes. Or they like cats and bikes equally. Either way, I’m a winner. ;)

Also, if you didn’t realise you could separate the bikes from the cats, it’s all in the sidebar. Which is in the middle of the page. So is more of a middlebar.

*All figures according to feedburner. Which if you ask me, can sometimes be dodgy.

Now, as damn cool as what that dance is, please don’t expect anything of the sort at a Jarod and Liz Wedding Celebratory Type Function™. Tis just not how we roll.