Becoming an Australian Citizen was an Important Step for this Argentinian

Last Updated On: June 15, 2021 by The Migration Translators

Taking the step towards citizenship after being a resident of a new country shows a deeper commitment to wanting to be part of the adopted land. It is never an easy task as for some migrants it may mean having to give up their original citizenship and a final break with the original homeland and, probably, friends and family.

Of course, there are many important steps that any intending new Australian citizen has to make before applying for citizenship. There are residency rules and documents that need to be translated into English. That’s easy for some migrants who have already become permanent residents and wish to make the next logical step, but there are also many other migrants from places where English is not the mother tongue.

For Veronica Garcia-Hansen, the process was a relatively easy one. She met her husband to be in Argentina, where she grew up. Being an Australian himself, it made it easier to go through the steps to permanent residence, although Veronica’s birth certificate, educational qualifications and other documents still needed to be translated fully into English by an approved NAATI translation service.

Veronica was well educated in Argentina and was able to receive a scholarship to study at the Queensland University of Technology at doctorate level. Having received her PhD here in Australia and then marrying Scott, her geologist husband would have reduced the amount of translation needed for permanent residence and then citizenship, but a NAATI translator would have been used for her application for study in Queensland.

Veronica received her citizenship appropriately enough on Australia Day back in 2010 and has been happy with life in Australia after a one year job in London after completing her postgraduate course. She says that both her son and her husband were citizens so she thought that it was important to take that step as well.