Who can apply
Australian citizenship for former international students
Enter your years on temporary visas and the months since your permanent visa to see how long is left, then find the exact month.
Independent, non-government site: tests, applications and appointments are handled only on the Home Affairs website.
Does my student visa time count?
Months still to wait
6
| Time on a visa counted | 3.5 years of 4 |
| As a permanent resident | 6 of 12 months |
| Gaps with no visa | do not count |
There is no citizenship pathway for international students as such: a student must first become a permanent resident, usually through a skilled, employer or partner visa, and then apply for citizenship by conferral. The good news is that study years are not wasted. The general residence requirement asks for 4 years living in Australia on a valid visa immediately before applying, and a student visa, a graduate visa or a temporary work visa is a valid visa for that count. The second condition is stricter: the last 12 months must be on a permanent visa, and only permanent residence counts for it. Absences are limited to 365 days in the 4 years and 90 days in the last year, so long trips home between semesters count against you. A graduate who arrived to study, stayed on and was granted permanent residence after more than 3 years in Australia could therefore apply 12 months after the grant, as long as travel stayed within the limits. The fee is $595.
Earliest month after my permanent visa
Not before
March 2027
| Months to wait after the visa | 12 |
| Rule that sets the date | 12 months as a permanent resident |
| Travel | can push the date back |
Questions, dates and fees by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · How questions and dates are built
Two clocks, one of which you can already run
The residence requirement has two clocks running side by side. The first counts 4 years of living in Australia on any valid visa, and your student years tick it along from the day you arrived. The second counts 12 months on a permanent visa, and it only starts when permanent residence is granted in Australia, or on your first entry to Australia on a permanent visa. You can apply on the first day both clocks are full and your travel fits the limits.
Three common student timelines
| Path | Before permanent residence | Earliest application |
|---|---|---|
| Bachelor degree, graduate visa, then a skilled permanent visa | more than 4 years on temporary visas | 12 months after the permanent visa |
| Short master’s, then a permanent visa straight away | well under 4 years on temporary visas | 4 years after arrival (the longer clock) |
| Study, a long gap overseas, a new visa | only the recent continuous stay helps | 4 years on a visa counted back from the application |
The second tool on this page turns the start of your permanent visa and your earlier years into a month, and the page on moving from PR to citizenship explains the choice of the date in more depth.
Gaps without a visa
Time in Australia without a valid visa does not count towards the 4 years. Students who let a visa lapse before a new grant can lose that period. Home Affairs has a ministerial discretion for time spent as an unlawful non-citizen because of a departmental administrative error, but it covers errors by the department, not late renewals; the discretion page explains when it applies.
Trips home
Former students often travel more than other applicants: summer holidays, graduation visits, family events. The rule counts the days of departure and arrival as days in Australia and every other day abroad as absence. The limits are fixed totals, not per trip. If a planned trip would break the 90-day limit in the final year, moving your application date later is usually simpler than cancelling the trip. Test it in the full calculator, which takes trips day by day.
After you apply
Most applicants aged 18 to 59 sit the citizenship test: 20 questions in 45 minutes, with 75% overall and all 5 values questions right. Years of study in English help with the language side, but the content comes from Our Common Bond, not from university. Character checks apply from 18, and overseas police certificates may be needed for countries where you spent 90 days or more, if your total time outside Australia reached 12 months in the last 10 years. Travel while the application is open is possible, but Home Affairs cannot approve a general eligibility application while you are overseas, as the travel page explains.
What it costs
The application fee on form 1298i of July 2026 is $595 for applicants aged 18 to 59. Budget separately for English translations of any identity or character document in another language: Home Affairs asks for a NAATI-accredited translator when the translation is made in Australia, and the cost page lets you add such expenses to the official fee.
A checklist before you lodge
Confirm the start date of your permanent visa in your grant letter, list every trip since the start of your 4-year window, and check that no period without a visa sits inside it. Then gather identity documents covering your name from birth, including any change of name, and attach everything before you submit.