350,000 Kiwis living in Australia to get direct pathway to citizenship

New Zealanders who have lived in Australia for four years will be able to apply directly for citizenship without first securing permanent residency.

The change is the latest step in the Albanese government’s welcoming overtures across the Tasman, after earlier this year softening its stance on the deportation of NZ citizens convicted of crimes.

New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese at Parliament House in Canberra in February.Credit: Rhett Wyman

From July 1, all Special Category Visa holders – the visa granted to most New Zealand citizens on arrival – will be able to apply for Australian citizenship, providing they have lived in Australia for at least four years and comply with other eligibility requirements.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will announce the changes alongside New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins in Brisbane on Sunday after attending a citizenship ceremony.

“Australia and New Zealand have a deep friendship, which has been forged through our history, shared values and common outlook,” Albanese said.

“We know that many New Zealanders are here on a Special Category Visa while raising families, working and building their lives in Australia. So I am proud to offer the benefits that citizenship provides.”

This year marks the 50-year anniversary of the 1973 Trans-Tasman Travel Arrangements, which grants Australians and New Zealanders freedom to visit, live and work in either country without restrictions.

The federal government estimates the pathway will be available to about 350,000 New Zealanders living in Australia who arrived after 2001, when citizenship access was tightened.

Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil said the two countries shared a special bond and “it’s important that we reflect that in the way we treat New Zealand citizens who choose to make Australia home”.

Albanese first signalled his intention to smooth the pathway to citizenship for New Zealanders in a press conference with former NZ prime minister Jacinda Ardern in July last year, where both leaders declared there had been a “re-set” in the relationship between the countries.

He also flagged Australia would take a more “commonsense” approach to deportations, acting on long-held concerns by New Zealand that many people were being returned to its shores despite living most of their lives in Australia.

In January, Immigration Minister Andrew Giles announced changes that require the Department of Home Affairs to consider the length of time someone has lived in the Australian community as one of the primary considerations when determining whether to cancel someone’s visa.

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