Commonwealth Citizenship
Under United Kingdom law, Australians are Commonwealth citizens and hence are entitled to certain rights in the UK:
- access to the UK Working Holiday visa program
- for those with a UK-born grandparent, access to the UK Ancestry Entry Clearance
- for those born before 1983 who have a UK-born mother or are women who were married before 1 January 1983 to a man with the right of abode in the UK, the right of abode (those born before 1983, whether Commonwealth citizens or not, with a UK-born father are generally British citizens by descent)
- for those living the UK, the right to vote and stand for public office there.
Australian citizens also have the freedom to live and work in New Zealand under the Trans-Tasman Travel Arrangement.
Read more about this topic: Australian Nationality Law
Famous quotes containing the words commonwealth and/or citizenship:
“While the Governor, and the Mayor, and countless officers of the Commonwealth are at large, the champions of liberty are imprisoned.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“Our citizenship in the United States is our national character. Our citizenship in any particular state is only our local distinction. By the latter we are known at home, by the former to the world. Our great title is AMERICANS—our inferior one varies with the place.”
—Thomas Paine (1737–1809)