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:
“Was I not born in this Realm? Were my parents born in any foreign country?... Is not my Kingdom here? Whom have I oppressed? Whom have I enriched to other’s harm? What turmoil have I made to this Commonwealth that I should be suspected to have no regard of the same?”
—Elizabeth I (1533–1603)
“To see self-sufficiency as the hallmark of maturity conveys a view of adult life that is at odds with the human condition, a view that cannot sustain the kinds of long-term commitments and involvements with other people that are necessary for raising and educating a child or for citizenship in a democratic society.”
—Carol Gilligan (20th century)