Australian Citizenship

Permanent Residents or New Zealand Citizens

Australian permanent residents and “eligible New Zealand citizens” may be entitled to apply for Australian citizenship (by conferral) if certain criteria are met.

An eligible New Zealand citizen in this instance is an individual who arrived in Australia with a New Zealand passport and they were here on 26 February 2001, were here for 12 months in the two years prior to 26 February 2001 or have been assessed as a Protected Special Category Visa holder and have been issued with a Centrelink certificate clarifying that you were living in Australia at the aforementioned time.

Amongst the criteria to be satisfied a ‘general residency requirement’ must also be met. In order to meet this requirement, you must be an Australian permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen for at least 12 months, must be able to show that you have been living in Australia on a valid visa for at least the past four years and the Department of Home Affairs will also consider how much time you have spent outside of Australia in recent years. Please note that if you have been outside of Australia for more than 12 months over the past 4 years, or more than 90 days over the past 12 months, you may not be eligible to apply for Australian citizenship unless certain circumstances exist.

This citizenship pathway is only for eligible individuals aged 59 years and younger. If you are 60 years or older, please note there are other options noted below.