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Australia, September 2, 2009 – Changes to residency requirements for talented athletes were introduced yesterday lowering the required years for citizenship from four years down to two.

According to Immigration Minister, the move is “about fixing some anomalies”. He says that the Howard government already approved the changes in 2007, where the requirement for permanent residency in Australia was first lifted by two years.

The changes will benefits several sports stars vying for citizenship. Among the many are European-raised tennis pair Anastasia Rodionova and Jarmila Groth. Russian-born ice skater Tatiana Bourdulina is also going to be affected by the change. Groups like Tennis Australian and the Australian Olympic Committee have been lobbying for the change for some time.

At present, there is a 90-day eligibility requirement for people who are hoping for citizenship. Anyone who spends more time than that out of the country will be considered ineligible. However, travel commitments for athletes and other specialist make this a difficult requirement.
”The revamped requirements will create a fairer system for people who, due to circumstances beyond their control, are currently ineligible for citizenship,” said Evans. ”These changes will lead to more gold medals for Australia at sporting events, as well as providing a real win for the national workforce.”

Source:
theaustralian.news.com.au || theage.com.au