Indians the largest diaspora group to become Australian citizens in 2019-20

Photo courtesy: Patty Jansen on Pixabay
Photo courtesy: Patty Jansen on Pixabay

The year 2019-20 saw over 38,000 Indians becoming Australian citizens – a 60 per cent increase from the previous year. This also makes Indians the largest diaspora group to be granted the country’s citizenship.

Out of the over 200,000 people who became Australian citizens in this period, 38,209 were Indians, followed by 25,011 Britishers, 14,764 Chinese and 8821 Pakistanis.

“Becoming an Australian citizen means more than just living and working here – it’s a pledge of allegiance to our nation, our people and our values. When someone becomes a citizen, they make a pledge to uphold Australia’s rights, liberties, laws and democratic values. It represents a willingness to integrate into our successful multicultural nation,” said Australia’s Acting Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs Alan Tudge. 

The Australian government has started online citizenship ceremonies due to the COVID-19 pandemic with over 60,000 people being conferred citizenship.