Direct Australian Citizenship For NZ Nationals Living In Australia

Written By lisa williams

The Australian Government has announced that rom July 1 2023;

  • Long term New Zealand citizens resident in Australia will have their period of permanent residence backdated for citizenship purposes

  • All New Zealand citizens holding a Special Category Visa (SCV) will be considered permanent residents for citizenship purposes (which means that they can apply for citizenship after 4 years)

  • 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.

This means that NZ citizens who have been living in Australia for at least 4 years on a Special Category Visa (the “NZ visa”) will be eligible to apply for Australian citizenship without first needing to be granted a Permanent Resident visa.

This is a significant change to the citizenship regulations which largely reverses the legislation since 2001.


The change in the Migration Regulations will not apply to citizenship applications submitted before 1 July 2023. Applications submitted before 1 July 2023, must meet the current requirements.

lisa williams https://www.stirlinghenry.com
Previous

Once-In-A-Generation-Reform Of The Migration System Begins
Next

Changes to the Character requirements for long-term residents of Australia