Lisa the Australian?

I'm asked fairly often if I intend on becoming an Australian citizen, and up until this point my answer has always been a very definite "no." You see, when I researched it a few years ago, the information I got from the US Embassy website was that the United States doesn't encourage dual citizenship - and if you voluntarily apply for naturalization and make a statement of allegiance to another country, you can be stripped of your American nationality. Since that wasn't something I was particularly interested in, I dismissed the idea and continued on with life.


But yesterday, while sorting through my 156,845 bookmarks (it's a sickness, I know), I inadvertently visited the Embassy's website again. And I made a very interesting discovery. They've reworded the information on dual citizenship since I last read it, when it appeared to be a foregone conclusion that I would have to forfeit my status as an American. As it turns out, duality is actually quite a simple process.


Just to make sure I wasn't reading it incorrectly, I emailed the local Consulate asking for clarification on what I would need to do in order to apply for naturalization here and still retain my American citizenship. This was their answer:

If you would like to apply for Australian citizenship and would like to retain your U.S. citizenship, you are required to provide a short statement upon the renewal of your U.S. passport providing the following details:
* Date you became an Australian citizen
* Your full name, date of birth, signature
* Explanation regarding your intent to retain your U.S. citizenship

That's it. That's all you have to do. And since my passport is due for renewal next January, this year would be a very opportune time to apply if I decide to go for it.


Since permanent residents have all the same rights as citizens, holding citizenship here would essentially only make two differences in my daily life:
1) I'd have to vote (yes "have to" - it's compulsory in Australia and you can be fined a small sum if you don't participate in an election)
2) I wouldn't need to renew my permanent residency every five years (the need to do this makes "permanent" a bit of a misnomer; residency is granted for a term of five years - you are welcome to stay past that point, but if you want to travel outside the country you have to apply for a Resident Return Visa)

The obvious benefits would be that I wouldn't need the RRV and I can get in the short line at Customs when I'm returning from an international trip. The negatives...well, I really can't think of any.

Lisa the Australian? Yeah. It could happen.