Citizenship Test

The Australian government has decided to make it a little tougher for migrants to become citizens. They have introduced a new citizenship test. While many PRs who wish to become full-fledge citizens are not happy about it, I think it's only fair. After all, there are way too many migrants in Australia. Apparently, 25% of Australians were born elsewhere.

I'm not too worried about the test. I know when the time comes, I'll pass with flying colours. I've been passing tests consistently, except for the darn practical driving test that I had to sit for FIVE times (and Maths test, of course. Still have nightmares about that.)

What I'm trying to say here is that all is fair, despite an additonal obstacle. Sure there are debates that if an existing citizen takes the test and fails, does that mean his or her citizenship is revoked? And the nature of the questions are being questioned too. It appears that some of the questions are a bit "out" - like asking the applicant about certain sport legends. Yes, the debates can go on and on.

But it's the law now. You want the citizenship, you have to sit for and pass the test. Fair enough. This is a lot better than applying for a Malaysian citizenship, which can take up to more than 40 years if you have the wrong skin colour and religion. Indonesians dying to be Malaysians will be glad to know that they are exempted from that rule, though.

No one has sat for the Australian citizenship test yet. But the first batch of applicants will do so on Oct 1, 2007. Until then, we can only guess just how tricky the questions are.