Former Wallabies player Quade Cooper's application for citizenship was rejected four times — here's why

fortunate to meet the Queen representing Australia, you just expect when the time comes it wouldn't be too hard [of] a process.".

A Department of Home Affairs spokesperson told 7.30 an applicant must have been in Australia for the past four years — and cannot be absent from the country for more than "12 months in total in the four-year period, including no more than 90 days in total in the 12-month period prior to application".

Immigration Minister Alex Hawke declined to comment on the case, although former Home Affairs minister Peter Dutton last week defended the process.

"Of course Quade deserves citizenship — he's contributed very strongly to this country on and off the field and I think he's a valued member of the community," he said.

"I think it emphasises that those rules do exclude people that we normally think are a full member of our community," he said

"I come home here every time I leave the country — this is where I come, this is where I earn a living, this is where I have a home — the memories I've been able to create