Permanent Residency in Australia for New Zealand Citizens

If you arrived in Australia before 1/9/1994 you may be eligible for the Resident Return visa (RRV)

What is the RRV?

If you are a New Zealand citizen and travelled outside of Australia after your travel validity expired or if your travel validity expired when you were outside of Australia then you can use the Resident Return visa SC 155 and SC 157 to return back to Australia as a permanent resident.

Eligibility requirements for RRV

• Be one of the below

  • Australian permanent resident

  • Former Australian permanent resident whose last permanent visa was not cancelled

  • Former Australian citizen who lost or renounced their citizenship

• Meet residency requirement or substantial ties requirement

• Not hold an Authority to Return or Return Endorsement

• Meet character requirements

• Not have cancellation action against your business skills visa

• Not have a previous visa cancelled or refused

What is the residential requirement?

One of the crucial elements that you need to fulfill in order to be eligible for this visa is meeting residency requirements. You can meet the residency requirement in one of the following ways:

• You must have been present in Australia for 2 years in the last 5 years as the holder of a permanent visa or as an Australian citizen

OR

• You must be outside Australia and

  • not be absent from Australia for 5 continuous years and

  • hold a permanent visa or was a permanent resident or citizen when you last left and

  • demonstrate substantial ties to Australia

OR

• You must be outside of Australia and

  • were an Australian citizen or permanent resident less than 10 years before you applied

  • Not absent from Australia for a total period more than 5 years between the date you left Australia and the date of application of the visa

  • Demonstrate substantial ties to Australia

OR

• You must be in Australia and

  • Demonstrate substantial ties to Australia

  • Not been absent from Australia for 5 continuous years since grant of your last permanent residency visa

OR

• Be the member of the family unit who already holds an RRV or has lodged an RRV and meets the time of application criteria for grant

How can you demonstrate substantial ties

The ties that you are to demonstrate should be both substantial and benefit. So the ties can be:

• business ties 

• cultural ties 

• employment ties 

• personal ties (including family ties)

If you arrived in Australia after 1/9/1994 then you will have to find alternative permanent visa pathways. The alternative visa pathways that you can explore are:

• Direct Australian citizenship

• Skilled migration pathway

• Employer sponsored pathway

• Partner visa pathway

Direct Australian citizenship

If you are a Special Category Visa holder you may be eligible directly for Australian citizenship through conferral.

Eligibility criteria

• Hold a Special Category Visa (SCV) Subclass 444.

• Meet Residency Requirements:

  • Reside in Australia for a minimum of 4 years.

  • During these 4 years, you should not have spent over 12 months outside of Australia.

  • In the final year leading up to your application, ensure you haven’t been out of Australia for more than 3 months.

• Meet character requirement

• Be present in Australia at the time your application is approved.

• Demonstrate close and ongoing connection to Australia.

• Pass the citizenship test

Skilled migration pathway

Skilled migration is a pathway that is popular among the migrant population in Australia. However, this is a pathway that is prone to many changes depending on the Australian government in power and very competitive. The skilled migration visas are

• Skilled Independent visa (SC 189)

• Skilled Nominated visa (SC 190)

• Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) visa (SC 491)

Employer sponsored pathway

This pathway provides a higher potential for hopeful migrants to obtain PR but it is an avenue that is less explored by the migrant population in Australia. The employer sponsored visas are:

• Training visa ( SC 407)

• Temporary Skills Shortage visa (SC 482)

• Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (Provisional) visa (SC 494)

• Employer nomination scheme pathway (SC 186)

Partner visa Pathway

Apart from pathways led by the your qualifications and work experience the partner visa pathway is also an option to continue your stay in Australia. If your spouse or partner is an Australian citizen or Australian permanent resident, then you can apply for a partner visa. The partner visas are:

• Partner Visa (Temporary) SC 820

• Partner Visa (Permanent) SC 801