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Australia announces tougher citizenship laws

By Newsd
Updated on :
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Source: australiaflag

Prime Minister of Australia announced some drastic changes in Australia’s citizenship laws on Thursday. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull declared that Australia will have stricter requirements for new applicants seeking temporary/permanent residency. This move is a follow-up to the scrapping of the 457 visa program for foreign workers.

As per the new rules, the applicants must be permanent residents for at least four years and must be committed to embracing “Australian values” whereas the applicants needed just a year of permanent residency earlier.  In addition, the would-be citizens will have to pass an English test that will focus heavily on respect for women and children, with possible questions about child marriage, female genital mutilation and domestic violence. This test is aimed to assess the understanding and commitment of the candidate towards Australian values and responsibilities.

An applicant can fail only thrice in the test, however, currently, the test has no such regulation. Those who cheat in the test will also fail to obtain the desired citizenship in Australia. 

Unveiling the changes, Turnbull stressed that Australian citizenship was a “privilege” that should be “cherished”.

“Citizenship is at the heart of our national identity. It is the foundation of our democracy. We must ensure that our citizenship program is conducted in our national interest,” said the PM. 

The Australian Prime Minister also stressed that English language proficiency was essential for economic participation and integration into the Australian community and social cohesion.

“Any conduct that is inconsistent with Australian values will be considered as part of this process,” he said.

“Criminal activity, including family violence or involvement in organised crime, is thoroughly inconsistent with Australian values.” he added. 

The move comes after Australia announced it would abolish the popular 457 work visa used by over 95,000 foreign workers — a majority of them Indians — to tackle the growing unemployment in the country.

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