In something of a surprise announcement, the Australian Government has instituted a direct pathway to Australian citizenship for New Zealand citizens living in Australia.

From 1 July 2023, any New Zealand citizen living in Australia for four or more years will be eligible to apply for Australian citizenship.

By way of background, any New Zealand citizen can come to Australia and live indefinitely on a subclass 444 visa (known as the ‘Special Category Visa’ – SCV). However this visa, whilst having no end date is not a permanent residence visa. Until now, any New Zealand citizen applying to be become an Australian citizen must have first acquired permanent residency at least a year before making a citizenship application. There are a number of routes to permanent residency, largely through demonstrated priority skills or family ties, but not all subclass 444 holders have been able to take advantage of these pathways.

With effect from 1 July 2023:

  • All New Zealand citizens holding an SCV will be considered permanent residents for citizenship purposes.
  • New Zealand citizens granted an SCV before 1 July 2022 will have their period of permanent residence for citizenship purposes backdated to 1 July 2022.
  • New Zealand citizens granted an SCV for the first time on or after 1 July 2022 will be considered a permanent resident for citizenship purposes from the date of their SCV grant.

The above provisions will apply to New Zealand citizens in Australia. It will also apply to New Zealand citizens who are overseas, but held an SCV immediately before last leaving Australia.

The phrase ‘for citizenship purposes’ is important. The changes do not mean that any holder of a subclass 444 visa is now automatically a permanent resident (who have various entitlements to programs like Medicare and the NDIS), only that NZ citizens living in Australia for four or more years will be entitled to apply directly for Australian citizenship. Once Australian citizenship is granted, they would obviously then have the same rights and entitlements as any other Australian citizen.

Of course, approval of any Australian citizenship application will remain dependent upon satisfying character and other requirements.

How can we help?

Snedden Hall & Gallop has experience in applying for and managing citizenships, and we are happy to assist you with these matters. Contact our Migration Team on 02 6285 8000 or info@shglawyers.com.au to discuss your unique situation.