To be eligible to apply for Australian citizenship, you have to be able to prove that you meet the requirements for the relevant stream you area applying under.
To apply for Australian citizenship through residency you must:
- have lived in Australia on a valid visa for at least 4 years before applying
- you should not have left Australia for more than 3 consecutive months in the year immediately before applying;
- you should not have left Australia for more than 12 months in total during the 4 years immediately before applying
- you must hold a permanent residency visa for at least 12 months immediately before applying