Citizenship Residence Requirement Calculator
Tracking absences against a rolling window is genuinely fiddly to do by hand. Add each trip and see exactly where you stand against both limits — and if you are not there yet, when you would be.
When you first began living here lawfully — this may be earlier than your permanent residency.
The date your PR visa was granted. If they are the same date, enter the same date twice.
Every trip outside Australia since then
Add a row per trip. The day you leave and the day you come back both count as days in Australia.
Where this calculation can be wrong
- Time spent in Australia on a bridging visa, or on a provisional or temporary visa before your permanent residency was granted — this is counted differently and is the most common reason a hand calculation is wrong.
- Periods of absence that the Minister may disregard, including absences in the service of the Commonwealth or where the applicant was engaged in activities beneficial to Australia.
- Applicants born in Australia, or who have previously held Australian citizenship, for whom parts of the requirement do not apply.
- The separate residence requirements that apply to New Zealand citizens on a special category visa, to partners of Australian citizens, and to people in defined occupations.
- Any application relying on the Minister's discretion to treat a period of unlawful or absent time differently.
If any of these apply to you, have it checked before you lodge — a refused application costs the fee and the wait.
This tool provides general information only, based on rules current as at 18 September 2026. It is not legal or migration advice and does not account for your full circumstances — your result may change once the details of your situation are taken into account. Speak with our team before relying on this result. Nothing you enter here is sent to us or stored — the calculation runs entirely in your browser.
Sources: Australian Citizenship Act 2007 (Cth), section 22 (checked 18 September 2026); Department of Home Affairs — citizenship by conferral eligibility.
Get your eligibility confirmed before you lodge
A refused application costs the fee and the wait, and the most common reasons are avoidable — miscounted absences, or time on a bridging or provisional visa treated as though it counted. We will confirm where you actually stand and prepare the application properly.
The residence requirement, in plain terms
The general residence requirement for citizenship by conferral has two limits running at once, and it is the interaction between them that trips people up.
- The 4-year limit. You must have been lawfully in Australia for the 4 years immediately before you apply, absent for no more than 365 days in total across that period.
- The final-year limit. You must have held permanent residency for the 12 months immediately before you apply, and been absent for no more than 90 days within those 12 months.
Both windows are rolling — they are measured backwards from the day you lodge, not from a fixed date. That is what makes the arithmetic awkward by hand, and it is also the good news: a long trip that puts you over today gradually ages out, so waiting is usually all that is required.
90 days is not three months
The final-year limit is widely quoted as “three months.” The Act says 90 days. Three calendar months spanning a long quarter is 92 days — two days over a limit you thought you were inside. This calculator works in days throughout for that reason.
Frequently asked questions
How many days can I spend outside Australia and still apply for citizenship?
Under the general residence requirement you may be absent for no more than 365 days in total across the 4 years before you apply, and no more than 90 days in the final 12 months. Note the final-year limit is expressed in the Act as 90 days, not as three calendar months — three months spanning a long quarter is 92 days, which would put you over.
Do the days I fly out and fly back count as days overseas?
This calculator treats the day you depart and the day you return as days present in Australia, so a trip leaving on the 1st and returning on the 11th counts as nine days absent. Confirm this with us before relying on a borderline result, because a day either way across many trips can change the outcome.
Does time before I got permanent residency count?
The 4-year period can include time lawfully in Australia on a temporary visa, but you must have held permanent residency for the 12 months immediately before you apply. How bridging visa periods and provisional visa time are treated is a common source of error, so it is worth confirming rather than assuming.
What if I do not meet the residence requirement yet?
Absences age out of the rolling windows, so most people become eligible simply by waiting. This tool projects the earliest date every requirement would be met assuming no further travel. There are also discretions and exemptions that can apply in particular circumstances, which a tool cannot assess.