Naturalisation Records in Australia

Naturalisation Records - Australia and New Zealand

Web Sites for Genealogists - An Australian gateway site for tracing your family history by Cora Num

State Records New South Wales Naturalisation Index (1834-1903). Any person born outside the British Empire, who had resided in NSW for at least five years, needed to become naturalized in order to vote or own land. A search returns names, native place, date of certificate, register number, page number, remarks, item and reel number.

Ancestry.com. New South Wales Certificates of Naturalization 1849-1903. This database contains certificates of naturalization 1849-1903 (SRNSW series NRS 1040) and lists of aliens to whom certificates of naturalization have been issued 1859-1876 (SRNSW series NRS 1041). There is a free name search with subscription, or pay to view, options available to access the digitised records.

Queensland State Archives, Naturalisations Index 1851-1904. This index lists name, number, year, item ID, previous system and microfilm number. Individual records can be ordered from the Archives for $6.00 each (1-3 pages). If the record is larger than three pages a quote will be given for those pages not copied. The Queensland Votes and Proceedings often contain lists of people who took the Oath of Allegiance to be naturalised. An Index to Votes and Proceedings: A-Z for the period 1880-1885 is also available online.

Adelaide Co-operative History Databases include South Australian Naturalisations 1839-1903. Search results may include name, residence, occupation, birthplace, age, time in SA, dates of Memorial, Oath of Allegiance and Certificate of Naturalization plus source details.

LINC Tasmania. LINC (Learning and Information Network Centre) brings together the services of the State Library of Tasmania, the Tasmanian Archive and Heritage Office (TAHO) and others. TAHO online name indexes include:
• Naturalisations Index relates to Tasmanian applications by non-British subjects for certificates of denization and naturalisation (1835-1905). This alphabetical index lists surname, given name, date and reference. Digital images of the records are being progressively added to the site.

The National Archives of Australia (NAA) hold naturalisation records for Victoria (1852-1903) and South Australia (1848-1903). Records for New South Wales, Queensland, Western Australia and Tasmania pre 1904 are held by the appropriate State government archives. Records from 1904 for all of Australia are held by NAA. See NAA Fact Sheet no 68 for details. Some of the records have been catalogued. To search these records click on the NameSearch link on the front page. Enter a family name and choose Immigration and naturalisation records from the drop down category box.

Chinese Heritage of Australian Federation. Click on Resources for access to the Chinese NSW Naturalisation Database (1857-1887).

Australian Croatian Genealogical and Historical Society. There is a list of Croatians Naturalized in Victoria Australia from 1855.

New Zealand
Ancestry.com offers access to New Zealand, Naturalisations, 1843-1981. This database contains an index of persons who were naturalised or given citizenship in New Zealand. Citizenship did not begin until 1949, but persons who were not born within the British Commonwealth and applied for naturalisation were given British citizenship prior to 1949. Depending on the register, the records may include: name of individual, age or birth date, birthplace, place of residence, former nationality, naturalisation date, file number, certificate register and register page number. There is a free name search with various subscription options available.
Images of the records are not available due to privacy restrictions.

Publications

Naturalisation Records - Australia and New Zealand