On 21 April 2023, Australian Prime Minister announced a new Direct pathway to Australian citizenship for New Zealand citizens:
- New Zealand citizens who hold sc444 visa ( SCV ) and have lived in Australia for at least four years will be able to apply directly for Australian citizenship.
- This means they will no longer have to apply for and receive a permanent visa before applying for Australian citizenship.
- The changes apply to New Zealand citizens holding a Special Category (subclass 444) visa who arrived in Australia after February 26, 2001, while protected SCV holders will still be eligible to apply directly for citizenship.
- For long-term New Zealand residents in Australia, their permanent residence period for citizenship purposes will be backdated, enabling them to meet the general residence requirement.
- These changes will not apply to citizenship applications submitted before July 1, 2023.
- Children born in Australia to NZ citizen parent will also be deemed as Australian citizenship at birth.
There are no details of other requirements, such as character and citizenship test in the announcement. Stay tuned.
If you have any enquiry about the above or any other Australian visas or migration programs, please feel free to contact our team.
Parish Patience Legal & Migration | 61-2-82976700 | [email protected]
Level 3, 123 Clarence Street, Sydney NSW 2000
Sources:
https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/news-media/archive/article?itemId=1047
https://www.pm.gov.au/media/direct-pathway-australian-citizenship-new-zealanders