# Citizenship by Descent - Form 118 questions



## Agent_M (Apr 13, 2015)

Hi all, 

I've just signed up to this site because I am going through the process of getting citizenship for my 18 month year old son and a partner visa ( 309/100 ) for my wife....and of course have a couple of questions...hopefully simple ones 

On Form 118 ( Citizenship by Descent ), at Question 18 I have to tick a box that states how I came by my Australian Citizenship.
2 of the option are "Conferral/grant" and "Naturalisation". What is the difference between these 2 options? To me they are the same thing???, I'm pretty sure I should be ticking "Conferral/grant", but would like to make sure.

Question 25. I am filling in this form as the "Responsible parent" for my son. So should I be signing the section where it says "Signature of Applicant"?

Question 27 & 28. Again I'm the responsible parent, should I still fill in my details here and sign it to nominate myself as the representative?

Question 30. There are 2 signature boxes, 1 for "Signature of Applicant" and the other for "Signature of responsible parent". I know I have to sign the "Signature of responsible parent" box, but do I leave the first one blank, or sign that to?

Lastly, I know I have to do the ID declaration for my son, and attach a photo, but do I also need to have that done for myself being the "Responsible parent"?

I also have questions about the 309/100 process but will make a separate post for that.

Thanks in advance for any help you all can offer


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## Tigerali (Feb 24, 2015)

Agent_M said:


> Hi all,
> 
> I've just signed up to this site because I am going through the process of getting citizenship for my 18 month year old son and a partner visa ( 309/100 ) for my wife....and of course have a couple of questions...hopefully simple ones
> 
> ...


Citizen By grant is what you have acquired after being migrated from another country and By NAturalisation is by birth.. If you are born in australia then its naturalisation....so these are not the same

About rest , i dont know.. Someone gonna reply soon


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## aussiesteve (Mar 16, 2012)

Tigerali said:


> Citizen By grant is what you have acquired after being migrated from another country and By NAturalisation is by birth.. If you are born in australia then its naturalisation....so these are not the same
> 
> About rest , i dont know.. Someone gonna reply soon[/QUOTE
> 
> ...


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## Agent_M (Apr 13, 2015)

aussiesteve said:


> 3. By grant or naturalisation.


But what is the difference between Conferral/grant and naturalisation?

On the form there are 7 tick boxes to choose from:

1. Birth
2. Conferral/grant
3. Naturalisation
4. Descent
5. Adoption
6. Born in Papua prior to independence
7. Other

I thought "Conferral/grant" and "Naturalisation" were the same thing, but if they are providing them as 2 separate options, then there must be some kind of difference between them???


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## Maggie-May24 (Jul 24, 2011)

Comparing that list to the DIBP website definitions of methods of acquiring citizenship, I'd assume Naturalisation is the same thing as Transitional.

Australian Citizenship - Current citizens


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## CCMS (Oct 10, 2013)

Agent_M said:


> But what is the difference between Conferral/grant and naturalisation?
> 
> On the form there are 7 tick boxes to choose from:
> 
> ...


Naturalisation is an older term and may apply to people who gained Australian citizenship under some of the older (and now replaced) Citizenship Acts.


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## aussiesteve (Mar 16, 2012)

Agent_M said:


> But what is the difference between Conferral/grant and naturalisation?
> 
> On the form there are 7 tick boxes to choose from:
> 
> ...


I think you are making the whole thing too complicated for yourself.
You only need to ask yourself a few questions.
The first question is were you born here and in what year. 
Secondly if you were not born here was one of your parents an Australian Citizen?.
Thirdly where were you born? If it was overseas either you or your parents were naturalised.
Fourthly were you adpoted from overseas as a child?
Fifthly were you born and in PNG?
I think you will find your answer in the first 3 questions!


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## CCMS (Oct 10, 2013)

This might not apply to the OP's situation, but PNG citizens should be aware that different rules apply depending on when and where in PNG they were born and the citizenship status of their parent(s) at the time.


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## Agent_M (Apr 13, 2015)

Thanks everyone for your replies 

I'm going to go with "Conferral/grant", I gained my Citizenship as a "Migrant with permanent residence" ( as did my parents ), and the term that is used on that page of the citizenship.gov.au website is "Conferral".



> Migrants with permanent residence who satisfy the eligibility requirements apply for Australian citizenship by conferral


If Naturalisation is just an older term for "Conferral/grant" as CCMS said, then I think they're just unnecessarily confusing things, and really could make it the same option, but hey...what do I know! 

Does anyone know about the other questions??
Mostly about which boxes I should be signing, and if I need to do the ID thing as well as my son?


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## Tigerali (Feb 24, 2015)

aussiesteve said:


> Tigerali said:
> 
> 
> > Citizen By grant is what you have acquired after being migrated from another country and By NAturalisation is by birth.. If you are born in australia then its naturalisation....so these are not the same
> ...


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## CCMS (Oct 10, 2013)

Agent_M said:


> Thanks everyone for your replies  If Naturalisation is just an older term for "Conferral/grant" as CCMS said, then I think they're just unnecessarily confusing things, and really could make it the same option, but hey...what do I know!


That term could still apply to some older citizens.


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## Agent_M (Apr 13, 2015)

CCMS said:


> That term could still apply to some older citizens.


kk, fair enough, thanks again for your help 
What about the signature boxes?


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## Agent_M (Apr 13, 2015)

Ok, so I have ended up calling Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) on +61 2 6264 1111 ( the number to call from overseas ), and asked them the questions about signature boxes and ID declaration. Have put the answers below in case its useful to anyone else.



Agent_M said:


> Question 25. I am filling in this form as the "Responsible parent" for my son. So should I be signing the section where it says "Signature of Applicant"?


I was told to sign this box but write underneath that my son is 18 months old.



Agent_M said:


> Question 27 & 28. Again I'm the responsible parent, should I still fill in my details here and sign it to nominate myself as the representative?


I was told "Yes", otherwise they are only authorised to speak to my 18 month year old son ( silly I know ), and again, after signing to write underneath that my son is 18 months old



Agent_M said:


> Question 30. There are 2 signature boxes, 1 for "Signature of Applicant" and the other for "Signature of responsible parent". I know I have to sign the "Signature of responsible parent" box, but do I leave the first one blank, or sign that to?


I was told to sign the responsible parent box, and again sign the box on the left and write underneath that my son is 18 months old.

Although I'm still not convinced this is right, as at the top of the left column it starts with _"Complete this declaration if you are the main applicant and are aged 16 years or over."
_ So personally I think this should be left blank. and just the responsible parent box on the right should be signed. But hey..I'll just sign everything..better too many signatures than not enough I guess.



Agent_M said:


> Lastly, I know I have to do the ID declaration for my son, and attach a photo, but do I also need to have that done for myself being the "Responsible parent"?


No, I just do the ID Declaration ( part D ) for my son, and just make sure that the documents relating to me or my citizenship ( as well as the documents for my son ) are certified.

So now I just have to certify docs, and DHL it off


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