Updates – 1 June 2023

Direct pathway to Australian citizenship for New Zealand citizens from 1 July 2023

​From 1 July 2023, New Zealand citizens who have been living in Australia for four years or more will be eligible to apply directly for Australian citizenship. They will no longer need to first apply for and be granted a permanent visa. These changes apply to New Zealand citizens holding a Special Category (subclass 444) visa (SCV) who arrived in Australia after 26 February 2001. Protected SCV holders will continue to be eligible to apply directly for Australian citizenship.

For New Zealand citizens who are long-term residents in Australia, this will be achieved by backdating their period of permanent residence for citizenship purposes. This will allow them to meet the 12-month permanent residence period under the general residence requirement.

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.

These provisions will not apply to citizenship applications submitted before 1 July 2023. If you submit your citizenship application before this date, and you do not meet the eligibility requirements, we will refuse your application and you will not be entitled to a refund.

Resident Return Visa (RRV)(Subclass 155/157)

Permanent residency is a status that entitles a person to remain in Australia indefinitely. While permanent visa holders can remain in Australia indefinitely, the travel facility of their visa runs out after five years. So, when planning to travel internationally after this period of time, you have to make sure that you have a right of re-entry to Australia by applying for an Australian Resident Return visa.

The RRV is simply a travel authority that allows you to fly in and out of Australia for up to 5 years while maintaining your status. If you are in Australia when your visa expires, you are still a permanent resident. If you never left Australia, you would never need another visa.

However, if you are overseas when your visa expires, or you leave Australia after your visa has expired, then your permanent residency status will cease.

If you want to continue to travel overseas after your visa expires, then you need to apply for a Resident Return Visa or obtain Australian Citizenship and an Australian passport.

 

Eligibility criteria for a Resident Return visa

The most important criteria is your Australian visa status. An application for a Resident Return visa is possible if you currently hold a valid permanent resident visa. Additionally, this visa is available for former Australian citizen or former permanent residents whose last permanent visa was not cancelled.

 

Residency Requirement

You must have lived in Australia for 2 out of 5 years). The 2 years (730 days can be counted cumulatively over the course of the 5 years and only if you have held a permanent visa during that time.

 

Alternative Requirements

If you haven’t met the ‘Residence  Requirement’, it may be possible to demonstrate to the Department that other circumstances prevented you from meeting the residency requirement such as illness, obligations and other compelling reasons. You may also demonstrate your substantial ties to Australia which would include:

  • Personal ties
  • Employment ties
  • Business ties
  • Cultural ties