Yes, you can become an Australian citizen and keep your Irish citizenship. Australia allows dual citizenship, and under Irish law you don’t have to give up being Irish to become a citizen of another country. Most people can apply after 4 years living in Australia on a valid visa, with the last 12 months on permanent residency. Then it’s a fee, a test and a ceremony.
This guide is for Irish people on permanent residency (PR), or working towards it, who want the Aussie passport as well. Everything was checked against Home Affairs, the Australian Passport Office, the AEC, Smartraveller and the Irish government in November 2026.
Short version
- You keep your Irish passport. Australia and Ireland both allow dual citizenship.
- The usual rule is 4 years living in Australia on a valid visa, with the last 12 months on PR.
- It costs AUD 595 (AUD 85 with a Pensioner Concession Card), with kids 15 or under free on your application, as of November 2026.
- If you’re 18 to 59 you’ll sit a 20-question test. You need 75% and all 5 values questions right.
- You become a citizen when you make the pledge at your ceremony. Then get your passport and enrol to vote.
Can I keep my Irish citizenship if I become Australian?
Yes. Home Affairs says Australia allows a person to have dual citizenship, and you become a dual citizen when you stay a citizen of another country and become Australian.
On the Irish side, Immigration Service Delivery says that under Irish law you don’t have to give up Irish citizenship to become the citizen of another country. The only catch it mentions is countries that make you renounce, and Australia isn’t one of them.
So you keep your Irish passport, your right to live and work in the EU, and you can still pass Irish citizenship on to your kids. One niche exception: if you ever fancy running for federal parliament, the AEC says dual citizens are disqualified unless they’ve taken “all reasonable steps” to renounce the other citizenship before nominating.
Who can apply for Australian citizenship?
Most Irish people apply for citizenship by conferral under the general eligibility rules, for people aged 18 to 59 (there are separate pathways if you’re under 18 or 60 and over). According to the Home Affairs conferral page, you need to:
- Be a permanent resident when you apply and when they decide.
- Meet the residence requirement (below).
- Be of good character if you’re 18 or over. They may look at convictions, court obligations, reported domestic violence and whether you’ve been honest with them, including on past visa applications.
- Show basic English and knowledge of Australia, which most people do by passing the test.
- Have a close and continuing link to Australia. They look at things like your home, job, bank accounts, travel and family here.
- Be in Australia when they decide, in most cases.
How long do you need to live in Australia?
This decides when you can apply. On the day you apply, Home Affairs says you must meet all four:
| The rule | What it means for you |
|---|---|
| Living in Australia on a valid visa for the 4 years right before you apply | Time on temporary visas counts, not just time on PR |
| Holding a permanent visa for the last 12 months before you apply | Your PR starts on the date it was granted if you were in Australia, or the date you first entered on it |
| No more than 12 months outside Australia in total in those 4 years | Every trip home and holiday counts |
| No more than 90 days outside Australia in total in the 12 months before you apply | A long summer at home in your final year can push your date back |
Does time on a working holiday visa count?
It can. The rule is 4 years living in Australia on a valid visa, not 4 years on PR. The worked example on Home Affairs’ Residence Calculator page is someone who arrived on a temporary visa and got PR years later, with their residence counted from the day they arrived. So time living here on a working holiday, student or sponsored visa counts towards the 4 years, but you still need the full 12 months on PR at the end.
Say you arrived on a working holiday visa in March 2022 and were granted PR here on 1 October 2025. You’d hit 4 years in March 2026, but you’d wait until around October 2026 for your 12 months on PR, as long as your trips away stayed within the limits.
Run your own dates first. The calculator needs your exact travel dates for the last 4 years. Can’t remember every Christmas at home? Home Affairs says you can request your international movement records for free.
The Australian citizenship test
If you’re 18 to 59 when Home Affairs receives your application, you’ll generally sit the test. If you were 17 or under, or 60 or over, you don’t. Here’s how it works, from the Home Affairs test page:
- 20 multiple choice questions on a computer or tablet, in English, with 45 minutes to finish.
- To pass, you need at least 75% overall and all 5 Australian values questions right.
- It’s based on the Home Affairs booklet Australian Citizenship: Our Common Bond: Australia and its people; democratic beliefs, rights and liberties; government and the law; and Australian values. There’s a practice test on their site too, and they don’t endorse paid apps.
- Bring original photo ID, like your passport or driver licence. Certified copies and electronic images aren’t accepted.
- The test is included in your fee. If you fail, you get another go at no extra cost, and your PR isn’t affected. If you don’t pass after three appointments, they may refuse your application.
How much does Australian citizenship cost in 2026?
These are the conferral fees on Home Affairs’ citizenship application fees list (Form 1298i), as of November 2026:
| Application | Fee |
|---|---|
| General eligibility (aged 18 to 59) | AUD 595 |
| Concession fee (valid Pensioner Concession Card) | AUD 85 |
| Children 15 or under on your application | Free |
Health Care Cards and Student Cards don’t get you the concession, and a payment surcharge may apply. Fees rise with inflation every 1 July, and they’re generally not refundable, so check you’re eligible before you pay.
How long does Australian citizenship take?
As of November 2026, Home Affairs’ processing times page says 90% of conferral applications get a decision within 5 months, and 90% of approved applicants get the chance to attend a ceremony within 6 months of approval. From application to ceremony, 75% took 8 months and 90% took 11 months.
Councils usually run ceremonies, so your wait depends on where you live. Check your council on the ceremony wait times page.
How to apply, step by step
- Check your dates in the Residence Calculator.
- Gather your documents: 3 identity documents that together show your birth name, date of birth and sex (a full birth certificate), a photo, your signature and your current address.
- Check if you need an overseas police certificate. PR holders need one if, since turning 18 and within the last 10 years or since their first PR visa (whichever is more recent), they spent 12 months or more outside Australia in total and 90 days or more in any one country. Home Affairs gets your Australian police check for you.
- Apply and pay online in ImmiAccount.
- Sit your test when your appointment letter arrives.
- Wait for approval, then your ceremony invitation.
Travelling while you wait? Tell Home Affairs first. You travel on your Irish passport as a permanent resident, so the travel facility on your PR visa must be valid, or you’ll need a Resident Return visa. In most cases they can’t approve you while you’re overseas.
The pledge and the citizenship ceremony
Getting approved isn’t the finish line. If you were 16 or over when you applied, Home Affairs says you’re not an Australian citizen until you make the pledge of commitment at a citizenship ceremony.
- Your invitation comes from your council or Home Affairs about four weeks before. You can’t choose the date or place.
- Allow at least two hours. The ceremony itself may take about one hour.
- Bring your invitation and photo ID, and a holy book if you’d like to pledge on one. Dress is formal or smart casual.
- The pledge is a short promise of loyalty to Australia and its people, its democratic beliefs, rights and liberties, and its laws. One version mentions God and one doesn’t. You pick.
- Kids under 16 on your application become citizens at the same time as you, without having to pledge.
- You usually get your certificate on the day. If it isn’t ready, they post it.
Can’t make it? You’ll get another invitation, but if you don’t attend within 12 months of approval without an acceptable reason, they may cancel your approval.
After the ceremony: passport, voting and two passports
Your Australian passport
Home Affairs says to wait at least 10 days after your ceremony before applying online, so your citizenship shows in the system, and you’ll need your citizenship certificate. A 10-year adult passport costs AUD 422 on the Australian Passport Office fees page, as of November 2026. You lodge it at a participating post office, with an adult Australian citizen who’s known you for over a year to confirm your identity. Allow at least 6 weeks.
Enrolling to vote
The AEC says enrolling and voting are compulsory by law for eligible Australian citizens aged 18 and over. You’ll get an AEC sheet with a QR code at your ceremony, and you can enrol online with your driver licence, Medicare card, Australian passport or citizenship number once you’ve lived at your address for a month.
Travelling on two passports
- Leaving and entering Australia: use your Australian passport. Smartraveller warns airlines may not let you board a flight to Australia without one, proof of citizenship or a valid visa.
- Once you’ve left Australia: you can switch to your Irish passport.
- Going home to Ireland: you can enter and leave on your Irish passport, though Smartraveller notes local authorities may then not treat you as Australian, which can limit the help Australia can give you there.
Keep your Irish passport in date too. Here’s how to renew your Irish passport in Australia.
Your kids: Australian, Irish or both?
For children born in Australia, according to Home Affairs and Citizens Information:
| Your situation | What it means |
|---|---|
| Born in Australia, and a parent was an Australian citizen or permanent resident at the time | Australian citizen by birth |
| Born in Australia before either parent had PR | Not automatic. If they’re a permanent resident aged 15 or under, include them free on your application. Otherwise, they become a citizen on their 10th birthday if they’ve been ordinarily resident here for those 10 years. |
| Born outside Ireland to a parent who was born in Ireland and was an Irish citizen at the time | Automatically Irish. No registration needed, just apply for their Irish passport. |
| Born outside Ireland to an Irish parent who was also born outside Ireland | Entitled to Irish citizenship, but must go on the Foreign Births Register first |
So if you were born in Ireland, your Aussie-born kids can be both. Our guide to Irish citizenship by descent from Australia covers the Foreign Births Register in detail.
Not on PR yet?
PR comes first, and it’s the hard bit. Our guide to visa options to stay in Australia longer covers the main routes on from a working holiday visa. For proper advice on your PR or citizenship application, our partners at Migration Unity are registered migration agents: fill in the short form on our Australian visa help page and they’ll get back to you.
Just booked your ceremony, or still counting days on the Residence Calculator? Ask in your local Irish group. There are more than 250,000 Irish across our Facebook groups in Australia, and plenty of them have done the test and the pledge already.
FAQ
Do I lose my Irish citizenship if I become Australian?
No. Under Irish law you don’t have to give up Irish citizenship to become a citizen of another country, and Australia allows dual citizenship.
How long do I need to live in Australia to apply for citizenship?
Usually 4 years on a valid visa right before you apply, including 12 months on PR, with no more than 12 months away in total and no more than 90 days away in the final year.
Does time on a working holiday visa count towards citizenship?
It counts towards the 4 years, because the rule is living in Australia on a valid visa. You still need 12 months on PR before you apply.
How much does Australian citizenship cost?
AUD 595 for the general eligibility application, or AUD 85 with a valid Pensioner Concession Card, as of November 2026. Children 15 or under on your application are free.
Do I have to do the citizenship test?
If you’re 18 to 59 when you apply, generally yes. Under 18s and people aged 60 or over don’t sit it.
Can I have both an Irish and an Australian passport?
Yes. Use your Australian passport to leave and enter Australia. Once you’ve left, you can use your Irish one.
How long does Australian citizenship take in 2026?
As of November 2026, Home Affairs says 90% of conferral applicants went from application to ceremony within 11 months.
When do I officially become an Australian citizen?
When you make the pledge at your citizenship ceremony, not when your application is approved.
Are my children born in Australia Australian citizens?
Yes, if you or their other parent was an Australian citizen or permanent resident when they were born.
