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Virtual Citizenship Ceremony: An Incredible Experience

In June 2020, I became an Australian citizen. Just like many others worldwide, I attended the virtual citizenship ceremony. Though it was not the way I had imagined I would become citizen, it turned out to be quick, direct and more personal than taking oath with thousand others in a big auditorium.

When I passed the Australian citizenship test in November 2019, I knew that I have no chance of attending one of the largest citizenship ceremonies of the year on Australia day i.e. 26th January. Especially not when my wife had yet to appear for the test and we had opted to attend the ceremony together. According to my calculation, I expected the ceremony invite by April 2020. Add to that the time it would take to get citizenship certificates, obtain Australian passports, surrender Indian citizenship and get the OCI, I thought I had enough time to plan for our long-overdue India trip by end of 2020.

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Applying For Regional Travel Voucher Scheme In Victoria: A Frustrating Experience

Ever since it was announced, I was excited about the $200 travel voucher scheme to boost the economy of the regional Victoria. It was a great step in the right direction, following in the footsteps of NSW. The 120,000 vouchers would enable any family which would travel to the regional Victoria and spend $400 or more to get $200 cashback.

The scheme as revealed on 10th December 2020, consisted of three rounds each consisting of 40,000 vouchers.

The applications for Round 1 to start from 10 AM on 11th December 2020 and would be given to 40,000 applicants who would travel between 12th December 2020 and 22nd January 2021 on ‘first-come-first-served’ basis.

The Round 2 would start from 10 am on 20th January 2021 and would be given to first 40,000 applicants who would travel between 27th January 2021 and 1st April 2021.

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The Australian Citizenship Test: My Experience

Last updated on December 16th, 2020

In this article, I will share my experience of appearing for the Australian citizenship interview and test. I will share the documents that you need to carry as well as how to prepare for interview questions. Let’s start.

What Are The Documents To Carry For The Test?

The citizenship test appointment email I received clearly mentioned all the documents I should bring. Here is the official list of documents requested:

  • at least three documents that collectively show your photograph, signature, current residential address, date of birth, birth name and gender
  • Proof of name change, if applicable
  • any other identity documents issued by another government that you consider will assist in verifying your identity
  • evidence of when you first arrived in Australia and your present country of citizenship
  • the documents that were submitted with your application
  • documents for any children under 16 years of age included in your application
  • official translation to accompany any documents which are not in English
  • any other documents that we have requested you to provide.

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How To Manage Job Applications With Trello

Searching for your first job is a full-time job in Australia. You need to find relevant jobs, tailor your resume and cover letter to match the job description, apply and follow up. You need to repeat this for literally hundreds of jobs before you succeed.

As you can see it is a tedious process and clearly you need some sort of system to keep track of your job applications. In this article, I am going to show you how Trello can help you manage each stage of your job search process.

Why Do You Need To Manage Job Search?

Given how tough it is to penetrate the Australian job market and get the first job, I went on a job application spree when I arrived in Australia.

Like everyone else, I applied to any job which matched even 50% of my skills.

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My Journey To Australian Citizenship : Citizenship Test Preparation

Last updated on December 16th, 2020

In this article, I am going to tell you how I prepared for the Australian citizenship test. I will also share some tips, resources and useful apps which helped me score 100% in my test. Plus, I will tell you the official way to prepone the test. So keep reading till the end.

After submitting the Citizenship application, part of me was relieved. The other part, however, was worried – how long the wait is gonna be?

Just a year before, people who submitted their applications had to wait for more than a year to get the citizenship test invitation due to Citizenship law changes. Would I be facing the same fate? I wasn’t sure.

However, the feedback I received from friends who applied before me and got invitation was encouraging. Apparently, after the government backed down from its proposed citizenship changes in late 2017,

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Will I Be Taxed For The Money Brought To Australia?

Disclaimer: This article contains affiliate links. If you opt the services mentioned in the article via my links, I do get a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you for your support!

Recently, one of my colleagues sold her house in India and she wanted to bring that money to Australia. However, she wasn’t sure about the tax that she might have to pay in Australia.

I wouldn’t say her fear was entirely unfounded. The laws around finance and tax implications in Australia are often unclear and open to interpretation. You don’t want to go through all the hoops to send money to Australia from overseas only to pay hefty penalties here.

I often get questions from Aussian readers around transferring money in and out of Australia and the taxation aspect thereof. This article will try to answer those questions.

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