478 Melbourne University Law Review [Vol 40:456 the applicant is entitled is determined by the applicant’s mode of arrival into Australia. If the stateless applicant is deemed to have arrived in Australia lawfully and satisfies the criteria in s 36, the applicant will be eligible for a Protection Visa (Subclass 866).122 A Protection Visa holder can apply for Australian citizenship if he or she satisfies the eligibility requirements, which include inter alia residency requirements,123 and ‘good character’.124 However, if the applicant is deemed to have ‘arrived in Australia illegally’, he or she will only be eligible for a Temporary Protection Visa (Class XD, Subclass 785) or a Safe Haven Enterprise Visa (Class XE, Subclass 790), which do not provide the applicant with a direct pathway to apply for Australian citizenship.125 This would appear to be inconsistent with art 34 of the Refugee Convention and art 32 of the 1954 Convention, which provide in identical terms, that state parties ‘shall as far as possible facilitate the assimilation and naturalization of ’ refugees and stateless persons respectively. Stateless persons who arrive in Australia via the Refugee and Humanitarian Program are granted a Permanent Protection Visa and yet, as the Refugee Council of Australia has observed, may face significant barriers to acquiring Australian citizenship, even if they are granted permanent residency and are prima facie eligible. For example, the application fees are likely to be beyond the means of ‘some refugee and humanitarian entrants’.126 Additionally, the requirement that an applicant must successfully complete the Australian Citizenship Test may be unattainable due to ‘little or no English language skills’, a ‘history of disrupted education’ or even a history of no access to formal education.127 The Refugee Council of Australia highlights that ‘some 122 Department of Immigration and Border Protection (Cth), Protection Visa (Subclass 866) <http://www.border.gov.au/Trav/Visa-1/866->. The Department’s website notes that ‘illegal maritime arrival’ and ‘unauthorised air arrival’ are the two methods of illegal entry. Migration Regulations 1994 (Cth) reg 2.08F sets out the circumstances in which an application for a Protection (Class XA) Visa is taken to be an application for a Temporary Protection (Class XD) Visa. 123 Citizenship Act ss 21(2)(b)--(c), (3)(b)--(c), (4)(b), (d), (5)(b), 22--22B. 124 Ibid ss 21(2)(h), (3)(f), (4)(f), (6)(d), (7)(d). 125 When a person’s Temporary Protection Visa expires, he or she can only apply for another Temporary Protection Visa or a Safe Haven Enterprise Visa. When a person’s Safe Haven Enterprise Visa expires, he or she may be eligible to apply for a different temporary or permanent onshore visa: Department of Immigration and Border Protection (Cth), Visa Options for Illegal Arrivals Seeking Protection <https://www.border.gov.au/Trav/Refu/protectionapplication-information-and-guides-paig/visa-options-for-illegal-arrivals-seekingprotection>. 126 Refugee Council of Australia, Statelessness in Australia (2015) 16. 127 Ibid.