15Effect of grant of certificate of Australian citizenship

#### 15 Effect of grant of certificate of Australian citizenship (1) A person to whom a certificate of Australian citizenship has been granted under this Division (other than subsection 13(9B) or (9E)) shall be an Australian citizen: (a) in the case of a person: (i) who, at any time after lodging an application for a certificate of Australian citizenship (including a time after the grant of the certificate), makes a pledge of commitment in the manner provided by this section and in accordance with either of the forms set out in Schedule 2; and (ii) to whom paragraph (b) does not apply: on and after the day on which the certificate is granted or on which the person makes such a pledge of commitment, whichever last occurs; or (b) in the case of a person: (i) who has not attained the age of 16 years; or (ii) to whom subsection 13(2) applies: on and after the day on which the certificate is granted. (2) A pledge of commitment shall: (a) be made before any of the following persons: (i) the Minister; (ii) a Judge of a federal court (other than the Federal Magistrates Court), being a Judge who is an Australian citizen; (iia) a Federal Magistrate who is an Australian citizen; (iii) a Judge or Magistrate holding office under a law of a State or Territory, being a Judge or Magistrate who is an Australian citizen; (iv) a person, or a person included in a class of persons, approved in writing by the Minister for the purposes of this subparagraph, being a person who is an Australian citizen; and (b) if the Minister has made arrangements under section 41 for it to be made in public, be made in accordance with those arrangements unless the Minister otherwise permits in writing. (3) A person who has been granted a certificate of Australian citizenship under subsection 13(9) by virtue of being the spouse of a person referred to in subparagraph 13(9)(d)(ii) shall not make a pledge of commitment before the last‑mentioned person has made such a pledge. (4A) The validity of an acquisition of Australian citizenship is not affected by reason only that a pledge of commitment was not made before an Australian citizen. (5) A reference in subsection (1) to a person to whom a certificate of Australian citizenship has been granted under this Division shall be read as including a reference to a person to whom a certificate of Australian citizenship has been granted under section 15 of the Citizenship Act 1948 or of that Act as amended but who was not an Australian citizen immediately before the commencement of this section. (6) A person to whom a certificate of Australian citizenship has been granted under subsection 13(9B) is an Australian citizen on and after: (a) the day on which the responsible parent mentioned in that subsection becomes an Australian citizen under section 15; or (b) if the certificate is granted after the responsible parent becomes an Australian citizen under section 15—the day on which the certificate is granted. (7) A person to whom a certificate of Australian citizenship has been granted under subsection 13(9E) is an Australian citizen on and after the day on which the certificate is granted.