Its time to move again

[Kuipers]

Hi

First of all let me congratulate all of you on a wonderful forum, I have spent the last week browsing around and have found a lot of useful info.

My name is Terence and my wife Robin and I are considering immigrating to Australia, I have been in contact with Stephen Dickson of ''Migrateaus'' who has informed me that Robin qualifies to apply for her Australian passport as she was born in Australia in 1974. Stephen does not personally deal with these type of cases.

The facts are as follows

Robin was born in Mullumbimby to South African citizens and lived in Australia for the first 3 years of her life, Her family then moved back South Africa where they settled. Subsequently she was adopted and took the name of her new Family, Robin is married and has taken my name. Her original Birth certificate was handed in to the government department that issues South African ID books. Her current ID book states country of birth as Australia.

Any help with where to find info, or who would be able to help with this particular procedure will be much appreciated.

Terence

[OubaasDik]

That's an interesting one.

Obviously anything you've given to the RSA govt, and will probably have to contact the Aussie government.

There are two directions to approach this - either the High Commission in Pta or NSW Births, Deaths and marriages at http://www.bdm.nsw.gov.au/

Maybe the National Library of Aus can help, but they seem to be more for historical stuff than issuing duplicates.

I would suggest phoning the HC ASAP and see what they say.

Goodness only knows what documentation you'll have to provide.

Best of luck.

[Sunnyskies]

She will have to have an original birth certificate to get a passport, she will also need a certified copy of the adoption certificate (too prove the first change of name) and a certified copy of her unabridged marriage certificate (to prove her second change of name).

Just did a little Google search and found this Australian government website http://www.citizenship.gov.au/citizenshipwizard/

If you follow the links it will tell you what documents you need (those mentioned above plus a few more) and has links to help you find her birth certificate.

[Kuipers]

Thank you for the positive replies so far, We are really excited.

[Lyn]

I have no advice, but want to say welcome and wish you all the best in getting the documents you require.

[AlBrough]

Welcome to the forum Kuipers

[Mara]

Welcome, may your path to Australia go smoothly!

[Jordy]

I am sure Stephen is correct but just to ask...were either of your wife's South African parents holders of a permanent visa at the time of her birth in Australia? and if not were there different rules back in 1974 that makes her Australian.

I ask because the current law says that being born in Australia does not automatically make you Australian. There are currently conditions that say one parent must be holder of PR visa for the child to be Australian. Does the current law override possible previous laws?

I am not sure of how to read the immi site http://www.citizenship.gov.au/current/proof_of_citizenship/

You can apply for evidence of your Australian citizenship if you:

• were previously issued with an Australian citizenship certificate (this includes children who are on a parent's citizenship certificate)
• were born in Australia and acquired Australian citizenship
• born in Australian after 1986 and one responsible parent was a permanent resident or Australian citizen
• born in Australia after 1986 and you spent the first 10 years of your life in Australia

Point one doesnt apply to you.

Does point two apply?

Point three doesnt apply because your wife was born in 1974

[OubaasDik]

Hi Jordy, I was going with http://www.citizenship.gov.au/current/

Which says:

1. Whether you are an Australian citizen by birth depends on the date of your birth.
2. Most children born in Australia before 20 August 1986 are Australian citizens by birth unless one parent was entitled to diplomatic privileges or was a consular officer of another country.
3. Children born after that date are only Australian citizens if at least one parent
4. was an Australian citizen or permanent resident at the time of their birth.
5. Children born in Australia to parents who are not Australian citizens or permanent residents, automatically acquire Australian citizenship on their 10th birthday if they have lived most of their life in Australia.

Point 2 should apply.

Of course, I'm not a lawyer ......

[Sunnyskies]

I also asked the same question as Jordy, but found the answer on my Google search as OBD did! Obviously OBD and I like a mystery that needs solving.

[Jordy]

Well there you go. You must be right OBD. I thought the rules would be different.

[OubaasDik]

I hope so for their sake.

Of course, the web search was the easy part - now for them to fight with the bureaucrats.

[HadEnoughofJuju]

Hey Kuipers, welcome to the forum and good luck with the journey. You present an interesting case here and I look forward to reading a the follow up posts. I hope it works out for you and your family.

[Kuipers]

Thanks for the kind words. Robin has started the process of requesting all the relevant documents, we will keep you informed of our progress.

[Kuipers]

Wow, what a week, Robin has a list of 37 telephone numbers, ranging from lawyers to Australian embassy workers and none of these people could help us with the procedure, many confirmed Robin is a citizen by birth but none had experience with the actual procedure. But alas after going through the Australian Dept of immigration web page, we think we have found the form we need to complete http://www.citizenship.gov.au/current/resumption/step4_resumption/ It is Form 132 and it is the application to resume citizenship.

Next is figuring out how to get me sponsored and getting the dogs over.

I have a few classic cars and was wondering what sort of process and cost is involved in getting these over to Aus, Its not a necessity but would be a bonus if it was a relatively painless and affordable option.

[ShannonE]

Hi Kuipers

My wife was also born in Oz in 1974, lived for 2 years in Oz and then left to the UK and then came to SA at 10 years of age. She has her original birth certificate lucky for us. So once you get that and sort out her Oz passport then you are in the fast lane just fill in the SP40 and SP47 forms and you should be good.

We did this and I got PR visa (100) issued in 20 days. Let me know if you need help. I am in Paarl/CapeTown.

Good luck ... focus on the Oz birth certificate.

ShannonE

Edited May 17, 2013 by ShannonE

[ShannonE]

and good luck....

[Kuipers]

Hi ShannonE

It is great to hear of another case with similar circumstances that was a success story. We have started the process of acquiring the birth certificate, It is a tedious process as Robin has been adopted then married so the paper work is extensive to prove that she is the Robin born in Australia. Robin's biological father who has the right to request Robins birth certificate is still alive and has shown interest in helping with the process, but he lives the life of a hippie on the South Coast and has only 1 form of identification document and no permanent address, We read somewhere that this would be insufficient when applying for the birth certificate, as you need multiple forms of ID and a bill with your name and address.

We will take you up on your offer of assistance

Many Thanks

Terence

[Riekie]

Hope all works out for you! Welcome to the forum and good luck with the road ahead, which can at times be very frustrating and you may ask yourself, is it worth the effort, red tape, bureaucracy, endless waiting?... Yes, it is. Just keep going and you'll get there!

[Kuipers]

I am thrilled, Robins original birth certificate arrived from Australia today, it took less than 3 weeks from us sending the relevant documents to it arriving in our post box on the other hand Robin has yet to get a response back from the South African department of Social development for a copy of her adoption order. Robin has mailed 3 times and called Marike Botha who is listed for adoptions on the website countless times, but to no avail. Any advice on how to deal with our inefficient govt departments ? Would getting an adoption agency who is versed in dealing with these departments be a wise option ?

[Lovestory]

Perhaps DocAssist could help? I really don't know - you would have to ask them. The lady's name is Machelle and the number is 0218555258. They seem to deal with Home Affairs every day so maybe they could speed up the process or guide you in the right direction. They have been assisting us with unabridged birth certificates and we received three out of four in one week! Best of luck.

[Kuipers]

Thanks Lovestory I will give them a call.

[TQO]

Hi Kuipers, I dealt with an amazing adoption agency in JHB for a friend a few years back who was incredibly helpful.

Depending on where Robin lived initially in RSA with her adopted parents etc, I could possibly get a contact who can assist you - pm the deets if you can.

[Kuipers]

I gave Docassist a call and they unfortunately can not assist me with the adoption order.

TQO I will PM you what details we have.

[HadEnoughofJuju]

I am thrilled, Robins original birth certificate arrived from Australia today, it took less than 3 weeks from us sending the relevant documents to it arriving in our post box on the other hand Robin has yet to get a response back from the South African department of Social development for a copy of her adoption order. Robin has mailed 3 times and called Marike Botha who is listed for adoptions on the website countless times, but to no avail. Any advice on how to deal with our inefficient govt departments ? Would getting an adoption agency who is versed in dealing with these departments be a wise option ?

Sorry to but in here but I had a similar situation when I needed to get a copy of my mums divorce order from 1972.

The divorce court archives were absolutely useless but then someone put me on to the national archives in Pretoria. All I had to go on was my mums surname and a year. I was amazed when the lady came back with a copy of the order.

It all depends on who you speak to there and how long ago the order was issued. I found it does not help to call them, you just need to arrive at one of their branches, play dumb and desperate and hope you get someone nice to deal with.

The other company you can try are called MIE www.mie.co.za

They do all sorts of things and as far as I know also work with the National Archives. Good luck and I hope you find what you are looking for.