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How To Become An Australian Citizen

Becoming an Australian permanent resident or citizen gives you significant rights above an SCV.

Do You Need To Become An Australian Citizen?

As a New Zealand citizen, you have the right to work and live in Australia indefinitely. If you want to live in Australia for just a few years, and eventually return to New Zealand, the Special Category Visa (SCV) you receive on arrival will probably do you just fine.

If you are intending to live in Australia permanently, however, then it might be a very good idea to consider becoming an Australian citizen. This will require you to become an Australian permanent resident first. And yes, you can become an Australian citizen without losing your status as a New Zealand citizen.

If you are living in Australia on an SCV and you can't find work or you get sick, you won’t be able to access any unemployment or sickness benefits. If your child has a disability, you won’t be entitled to a Carer's Allowance. There are also a bunch of other good reasons why you should become a permanent resident (see below), and then a citizen, but these are the ones that commonly cause headaches for New Zealanders living in Australia who are not permanent residents or citizens.

Note that if you were living in Australia prior to 26 February 2001, you may already be a permanent resident.

Why apply for permanent residency?

The key benefits of becoming an Australian permanent resident are:

• To qualify for Australian citizenship.
• To access social security payments and sickness benefits (a 2 year stand-down period usually applies though, even after you are granted residency).
• Any children you have in Australia will be Australian citizens by birth (yes, surprisingly this is not the case if you are in Australia on an SCV).

Important things to know about applying for Australian permanent residency.

• It is very difficult to get permanent residency after the age of 45, as this is the cut-off age for skilled migrant visas.
• Permanent residency takes between 1-2 years to process on average.
• It costs about $1700 (Australian dollars) to apply.

Why become an Australian citizen?

The key benefits of becoming an Australian citizen are:

• Vote in federal and state or territory elections, and in a referendum.
• Apply for work in the Australian Public Service or in the Australian Defence Force.
• Seek election to parliament.
• Apply for an Australian passport and re-enter Australia freely.
• Receive help from an Australian official while overseas.
• Register children born overseas as Australian citizens by descent.

Four Steps to Becoming an Australian Citizen

1. Apply for a Permanent Residency visa, choosing from one of 8 different categories. You can do this before you leave New Zealand if you prefer. Learn more about the 8 different types of permanent residency visas at the Department of Immigration and Citizenship.

2. Once submitted, your Permanent Residency visa will take approximately 1-2 years to process, so it's worthwhile getting started as soon as you can.

3. If you are granted Permanent Residency, you then need to live in Australia for at least 1 year as a permanent resident before applying for citizenship.

   In total, you need to have been living in Australia on a valid Australian visa for 4 years immediately prior to applying for citizenship, including one year as a permanent resident. In that time you must not be absent from Australia for more than one year, including no more than 90 days in the year before applying.

4. After living in Australia for a total of 4 years, including 1 as a permanent resident, you can apply to become an Australian Citizen. This process takes between 3 and 6 months.

   The citizenship application process is described in further detail on the Department of Immigration and Citizenship website.

Read more about moving to Australia in the full How To Move To Australia Guide, or check out our discussion forum to find more help with planning your move.

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