Citizenship changes: New rules to becoming an Australian

The Turnbull government is tightening requirements for Australian citizenship, with applicants to face a stand-alone English test and asked to commit to embracing ‘Australian values’.

The changes come in the same week Malcolm Turnbull announced he would abolish the 457 visa, an announcement that also featured the term ‘Australian values’ prominently.

Applicants will also be required to have lived in Australia as a permanent resident for at least four years, which is up from one year.

There’s currently no limit on how many times someone can fail the test, but a new limit of three fails will also be introduced.