Opening couple of paragraphs:

"Almost 70 people who received Distinguished Talent and Global Talent Visas in the same year as Perth Wildcats star Bryce Cotton have already been prioritised over the three-time NBL MVP to become Australian citizens.

Cotton received his Distinguished Talent Visa in February 2021, thereby making him a permanent resident and eligible to begin the citizenship process. Attempts to use his Distinguished Talent Visa to fast track citizenship and become eligible for that year's Olympics failed, but the Wildcats have pushed for him to remain a priority instead of following the normal route which could take three years."

By way of context:
- the 'Distinguished Talent' program was renamed 'Global Talent' program on 27 February 2021

- there were 9,584 places allocated under the Global Talent program in 2020-21 (https://www.homeaffairs.gov.au/research-and-statistics/statistics/visa-statistics/live/migration-program)

- presumably Cotton was one of those

- I couldn't find any published statistics on how many of those Global Talent visa holders applied for citizenship, nor on how long they take to be processed.

Snub? The rules are fairly simple and the fast tracking only happens if the talent visa holder spent 4 years prior to permanent residency in Australia interrupted, the total amount of time outside of Australia can't be more than 12 months during that time. In this case, the citizenship can be granted after 12 months from the date the permanent residency was granted. So the real question is whether he left the country longer, in that case he can't be fast tracked so making a comparison with some other cases is meaningless if we don't know the circumstances.

Perth Wildcats star Bryce Cotton's Australian citizenship snub revealed by Freedom of Information inquiry

Craig O'Donoghue
The West Australian
Fri, 27 January 2023 2:00AM

Almost 70 people who received Distinguished Talent and Global Talent Visas in the same year as Perth Wildcats star Bryce Cotton have already been prioritised over the three-time NBL MVP to become Australian citizens.

Cotton received his Distinguished Talent Visa in February 2021, thereby making him a permanent resident and eligible to begin the citizenship process. Attempts to use his Distinguished Talent Visa to fast track citizenship and become eligible for that year's Olympics failed, but the Wildcats have pushed for him to remain a priority instead of following the normal route which could take three years.

A Freedom Of Information request by the West Australian has revealed the star Wildcat has been snubbed, with 68 people who received Talent Visas during 2021 already receiving their citizenship ahead of him.

Cotton is ineligible to represent Australia or be classified as an Australian under NBL rules until he receives his citizenship.

Basketball Australia has written to the Federal government multiple times supporting his applications, including during 2022.

BA followed the same process when Perth Lynx captain Sami Whitcomb received citizenship in 2018. Whitcomb was naturalised 20 months after becoming a permanent resident, and won a silver medal for Australia at the 2018 World Cup.

Australian weightlifter Eileen Cikamatana was fast tracked to citizenship in September 2019, despite only receiving a Distinguished Talent Visa seven months earlier. She won the 2022 Commonwealth Games gold medal after claiming the same honour for Fiji in 2018.

Cotton has already waited for 23 months and is likely to miss the deadline to be named in Australia’s World Cup squad in March.

Last week, leading immigration lawyer Chris Johnston, from Work Visa Lawyers, criticised the delay and told The West Australian elite athletes deserves to be fast tracked given the limited time they have to compete at the highest level.

Estrin Saul Lawyers Associate Munashe Rusamo also warned the delay meant Cotton would now struggle to be an Australian by August’s World Cup. Their comments prompted Australian basketball legend Andrew Gaze to call for Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to intervene.

Cotton has been living in Perth since January 2017, is married to a West Australian, they have a daughter and the star scorer is committed to the Wildcats long term as part of a three-year contract.

The 30-year-old has won three NBL MVP awards, two NBL grand final MVP awards and leads the NBL for scoring, while averaging 23.5 points per game.

Cheers!

Thanks PW, it still doesn't really say anything about basic criteria for others or how much time Cotton was outside of Australia from 2017 to 2021 when the visa was granted. What can be seen that the others certainly delivered and probably BA or the Cats can't really make a compelling case ie is Cotton's involvement essential for success of the Boomers? And I don't think that all the noise with Cotton getting a citizenship would enable the Cats to bring another import helps in this case, but who knows.

Department of Home Affairs pulling the old "68 and I owe you one" trick, ay.

I am warming to the idea of Cotton on the team. With Daniels, Green, etc, youd probably question now whether Thybulle makes the 12. Questions around 3 point shooting. If Cotton can be a 3 point threat then youd have to consider him

I expected it to happen over the Australia Day period, now his process and definitely be described as slow. Hopefully he's in the next intake which is usually in 2 months (depending on your council).

If Cotton manages to receive the citizenship for next season, the Wildcats could potentially have a starting lineup and 6th man all not having been born here, has there been a team similar ever (excluding the Breakers)?

Cotton
T Webster
C Webster
Manek
Thomas

Import

Why would they want to stay with this same line up, this is these worst defensive AND rebounding team in the league that boasts having Brisbane and Illawarra.

Perth COFS does the Talent program as well? Is this a disgruntled section of Perth who is against the wildcats? Government workers playing the back to the bottom of the pile game.

BA has now withdrawn support for Cotton's citizenship.

https://thewest.com.au/sport/perth-wildcats/perth-wildcats-star-bryce-cotton-loses-basketball-australia-support-in-bid-to-earn-citizenship-for-olympics-c-9610828
(Paywall but title says it all)

It feels like the government are extending the citizenship wait on purpose, who knows.

Paging Perthworld to the thread please!

Just listened about it on the podcast, Liam was saying that BA withdrew the support since AOAC declined to support the application under assumption that Cotton would not be part of the squad for Paris.

Thats nuts. All being equal, Cotton is easily part of a top 18 squad that the final team would be chosen from. To eliminate him as an option 18 months out is not smart.

Wow.
Wouldn't be surprised if Cotton leaves the county after all this.

He has a wife, child, and stable career here.

Is this news? Or just facts about a scenario no longer relevant?

It was common knowledge Bryce applied under distinguished talent. But that fell through.

He then applied as a normal citizen - presumably.

What's missing is the timeframe of when this new information acquired by The West relates to.

Does AOC/BA not providing a letter support relate to his original distinguished talent application or does it relate to his new application?

What I'm unclear of is, was his requirement to leave the country part of his original distinguished talent application, or was it for his normal process application?

To my understanding he's fulfilled the requirement of leaving the country recently after re-applying.

It's relatively recent:

Basketball Australia asked for the AOC's support during 2022 but, in a bombshell, has withdrawn that request amid a belief Cotton will not be selected for the 2024 Olympics.

Well that stumps me, but is also concerning.

As it would suggest Cotton is still in line under distinguished talent. Which he arguably isn't anymore.

Which in hindsight, had he just applied under a regular application he'd have it by now.

So the real question is - what application does Cotton have lodged?

If it's distinguished talent, we might be waiting a long time.
If it's a normal application, when was it lodged?

Hoot - he received the residency under the talent visa and there is a set of conditions that he would need to meet to get the citizenship. It looks to me he doesn't meet something and he may need to wait full 3 years from the moment of receiving the residency. Since he got it in 2021, he will likely become a citizen in 2024, unless something else changes.

KR - that's what Liam was talking about this morning. It appears that you have access to the article, any chance you can copy/paste it here?

I didn't realise someone's Permanent Residency was directly linked to the type of citizenship application they have submitted.

That locks Cotton into a Distinguish Talent visa process. Which may take another couple years.

TL;DR version:

BA do not believe Cotton will be chosen for the 2024 Olympics so have withdrawn their support for his application.

Perth Wildcats star Bryce Cotton loses Basketball Australia support in bid to earn citizenship for Olympics

Craig O'Donoghue
The West Australian
Wed, 1 February 2023 2:00AM

Bryce Cotton's dreams of having his citizenship application fast-tracked are over after Basketball Australia withdrew its request to receive support from the Australian Olympic Committee.

Cotton’s hopes of using the Distinguished Talent Visa he received in 2021 to fast-track citizenship so he could represent Australia relied upon the AOC asking the Federal government to push through his application.

Basketball Australia asked for the AOC’s support during 2022 but, in a bombshell, has withdrawn that request amid a belief Cotton will not be selected for the 2024 Olympics.

"The AOC may support an athlete’s application for Australian citizenship if the relevant sport requests our assistance to fast-track the process," an AOC spokesperson told The West Australian.

“Under the Special Residence provisions of the Citizenship Act, the AOC has a limited ability to support citizenship applications from athletes, provided they meet a number of conditions.

“All requests must be for athletes who will be selected on the next Australian Olympic Team.

“The capacity of the AOC to provide this type of support is a significant privilege for Australian sport which the AOC exercises judiciously.

“Whilst there was an initial request from Basketball Australia in relation to Bryce Cotton’s citizenship application in 2022, the request was withdrawn after discussion about the requirements for the AOC’s support.”

Under FIBA rules, only one naturalised or dual citizen is allowed to be selected and the NBA’s Matisse Thybulle filled that position when Australia won bronze in Tokyo. Australia also a large crop of NBA guards who Cotton would have been competing with.

The Wildcats remained largely silent throughout Cotton’s application saga. They declined to be interviewed about the shock development but provided a statement.

“We remain fiercely committed to assisting Bryce with his citizenship application,” the club said.

The move means Cotton must now follow the same timeline as ordinary applicants which could see him waiting for citizenship until beyond next season. That would prevent Perth from having him an Australian on their roster and signing another import.

It would also stop Cotton from being eligible for any Boomers games if NBA players are unavailable.

Cotton has won three NBL MVP awards and has been nominated for a historic fourth Andrew Gaze Trophy which will be announced on February 7. Just last week, Tasmania coach Scott Roth described Cotton as the best player in the world outside of the NBA.

Thx PW - this clears it a bit. By the sound of it, the author is largely disappointed since the Cats won't be able to have another import on the roster, not that Cotton won't be able to play for the Boomers.

Cotton naturalising to open up another roster spot has always been the primary goal. A spot in the boomers was just the cherry on top.

Imagine a wildcats roster with Aussie Cotton, 3 imports and a next star! world domination.

i can see utd or the kings offering cotton big money to leave the wildcats when he becomes a citizen

For me the strange thing is , I have a college at work who got his citizenship quicker than cotton (came to Australia late 2010s) and after a few years here transitioned from Permanent to Citizen.He is not married to an Australian or have Australian born kids.

So it scratches my head on what the delay is here for Cotton, who being married to an Australian should be at the head of the queue.

That's been always clear but that also limits his application as he really needed to make it more universal thus needed the support from BA/AOC. I was actually expecting that his application would be granted but it seems that it may happen next year.

Ballman - being married to an Australian citizen is not a prerequisite for the citizenship, maybe for the residency, not sure though. Cotton got his residency and everyone was hoping he could fast track his application which is possible under the talent visa, but it seems without the support it may not be possible now.

Yeah this is all disappointing.

My wife arrived 2 months after Cotton and had her citizenship ceremony last week.

The differences:
- With the visa she first arrived on, she was a resident immediately
- She spent zero time out of the country since arriving.

I understand the distinguished talent visa means the resident requirements (4 years as a resident, at least one as PR) and as necessary.