Australian Citizenship in Shepparton

One of the many ways I serve our parish in Shepparton is by helping our community members to fill out applications. I’ve helped with birth certificates, rental applications, partner and sponsored humanitarian visa applications, and more!  Recently there has been a big wave of members seeking to obtain their Australian Citizenship.  I’ve completed that application online so many times in the last year, that it was almost second nature when I did it for my own family.

There are certain advantages to having grown up in a Westernised country, even as an immigrant. I was able to provide certified copies of passports and birth certificates – because I have them. I didn’t have to have them translated into English. I have the correct birthdates for my children, an up-to-date resume outlining a verifiable employment history, and an education using the modern technological tools required to submit these forms electronically.

So many refugees do not have the same paper trail of their life when they arrive in Australia, and something as “simple” as proving their identity can make an already complicated application process even more challenging. A 31-page online application (yes, you read that right!) is daunting enough when English is your first language, and next to impossible when you haven’t learned the bureaucratic jargon in your EAL courses. The fact that so many of them wish to go through with the process at all shows the dedication they have to the Australian community that has welcomed them, and their desire to give back to that community. But it is a LOT of work.

We were blessed that our application was approved, and we received our citizenship on August 31.  An even greater blessing was to be able to share the ceremony with another member of our congregation that I supported though the application process. Daniel and I said the pledge together, and had a time for some photos. It was lovely to have Pastor and his wife Julie, along with 4 other members of St Paul’s, come to support and congratulate us as well.  I’m looking forward to the ceremonies of two more members who have recently been approved, and about a half dozen more who are in various stages of the application process.

We came to the Goulburn Murray Parish on a three-year contract … 7 years ago. I would never have planned or imagined that there’d be a picture of me with an Australian Citizenship Certificate in my hands. Thank You to all of the LCA Vic/Tas District family for welcoming and encouraging us in our service here, and for supporting the work of our Parish for the many immigrant families who have made Australia, Shepparton, and St Paul’s their home.