NZ citizens no longer required to obtain a permanent visa to apply for Australian citizenship from 1 July 2023

Announced yesterday by the Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs as well as the Minister of Home Affairs, a direct pathway to Australian citizenship for New Zealand citizens residing in Australia will begin on 1 July 2023 that will not require them to hold a permanent visa.

Australian citizenship by conferral (application) has several requirements. A key criterion is to hold an Australian permanent visa for at least 12 months prior to applying. The importance of obtaining a permanent visa is therefore critical, not to mention the benefits being an Australian permanent resident provides.

The need for a permanent visa to apply for Australian citizenship has been a common gripe for New Zealanders because they may not qualify for a skilled or family visa despite living in Australia for many years, and even decades. NZ citizens generally qualify for a subclass 444 – Special Category visa (SCV) simply by having an NZ passport and completing the Incoming Passenger card (Form 15) on entry to Australia, and many do not even know they hold a visa at all. SCVs are temporary visas with nil visa conditions and expire when the NZ citizen departs Australia.

Attempts to provide a pathway to a permanent visa for NZ citizens have been intermittent at best and ever since New Zealanders lost access to many government benefits back on 26 February 2001 when a distinction was created between NZ citizens and eligible NZ citizens.

The last possibility of obtaining a specific permanent visa for NZ citizens, was a subclass 189 – Independent visa under the New Zealand stream, which closed on 10 December 2022. This required the primary applicant, a NZ citizen, to have been usually resident in Australia for a continuous period of at least 5 years and that period of residence must have started on or before 19 February 2016, among other things. Those who arrived in Australia after that date needed to meet the requirements of a different permanent visa.

Instead of creating another pathway to a permanent visa, however, the need for a permanent visa will be removed altogether. From 1 July 2023, NZ citizens will be able to apply for Australian citizenship as the holder of a SCV. They must still meet residency requirements including having resided in Australia for at least 4 years, which is necessary for any other applicant. Most likely only the need to hold a permanent visa will be amended in section 22 of the Citizenship Act 2007 (Cth) to cater to SCV holders.

This will have substantial ramifications for not only NZ citizens but also their families. This is because once they become Australian citizens, they can then sponsor others, such as a non-citizen partner. In this case, their partner can then lodge a permanent partner visa (either a subclass 309/100 – Partner visa or a subclass 820/801 – Partner visa) instead of a subclass 461 – New Zealand Citizen Family Relationship (Temporary) visa. Existing 461 visa holders should be able to apply for a partner visa as soon as their partners acquire Australian citizenship.

Given Australia’s special relationship with New Zealand, this is a welcome reform provided all other requirements apply equally, such as being of good character.