As a New Zealander, Am I eligible for Australian citizenship?
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Whether you are eligible for Australian citizenship depends on the date of your arrival in Australia and whether you are considered a permanent resident for citizenship purposes even though you do not hold a permanent residence visa.
If you arrived on or before 26 February 2001
If you arrived on or before this date, it is quite possible that you are a permanent resident for citizenship purposes. You would be eligible to apply for Australian citizenship if you meet all the other requirements, including the residence and character requirements.
See: Applying for Citizenship
If you arrived after 26 February 2001
If you arrived after this date, you may be a permanent resident for citizenship purposes if:
- you have a permanent resident visa
or - you were outside Australia on 26 February 2001 but had spent a period of 12 months in Australia on a Special Category Visa in the two years before this date. The 12 months do not need to be continuous
or - you have a Centrelink certificate, issued under the Social Security Act 1991, that states that you were, for the purposes of the Act, residing in Australia on a particular date. These certificates are no longer issued.
You would be eligible to apply for Australian citizenship if you meet all the other requirements, including the residence and character requirements.
See: Applying for Citizenship
Residence requirements for Australian citizenship
New Zealand citizens must meet the same residence requirements as other applicants. More information on the residence requirements is available on the website.
See: Residence Requirements and Calculator
Character requirements for Australian citizenship
Applicants for Australian citizenship need to show that they are of good character.
If you are applying for conferral of Australian citizenship and you have spent 12 months or more overseas after grant of a permanent visa you need to provide overseas penal certificates for those other countries in which you have resided.
New Zealand citizen applicants who do not hold a permanent residence visa are required to obtain overseas penal clearance certificates unless they arrived in Australia before the age of 16 years and have not left Australia since.
This applies to New Zealand citizen applicants aged 16 years or over regardless of how long the person has resided in Australia. The certificates are required because generally they have not been provided prior to the person becoming resident in Australia.
New Zealand citizens are required to complete a Form F1, which is available from the New Zealand Ministry of Justice website or any local district court in New Zealand. You will need to mail or fax the completed form to the address or fax number below. The table below provides contact details for the Ministry of Justice.
| Website | New Zealand Ministry of Justice website See: Obtaining a Copy of your Criminal Record |
| Telephone | +64 4 9188800 |
| Fax | +64 4 9188974 |
| The Privacy Unit Ministry of Justice National Office PO Box 2750 Wellington NEW ZEALAND |
You must check the box on the Form F1, requesting a Full Record of Convictions. You should attach the information you receive from the Ministry of Justice to your citizenship application when you lodge it.
The department may seek your consent to verify the information.
For more information on the good character requirement.
See: Good Character
Are my Australian Born Children Australian Citizens?
It depends on the date they were born. Please see Fact Sheet 17 'New Zealanders in Australia' which provides comprehensive information.
See: Fact Sheet 17 New Zealanders in Australia
How can I apply for a Permanent Residence Visa?
You can apply for a permanent residence visa either in Australia or anywhere in the world. A range of permanent residence visas is available. Detailed information is provided in Migrating to Australia (Form 1126i) which includes how to apply for a permanent residence visa.
See: Form 1126i Migrating to Australia (53KB PDF file)
Applications can be lodged at any of our offices:
See:
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