New Zealand pathway to permanent residence

Posted on August 4, 2017 by CCMS - News

An additional pathway to permanent residence for New Zealand Special Category visa holders has been introduced. This is for New Zealand Special Category (subclass 444) visa (SCV) holders who were usually resident in Australia on or before 19 February 2016 and who, at the time of lodging an application, have resided in Australia for at least five years. The criteria include :

• contributing to Australia, demonstrated through income tax returns which show taxable income at least equivalent to the Temporary Skilled Migration Income Threshold (TSMIT) for the qualifying period; and
• meeting mandatory health, character and security checks.

New Zealand citizens who are granted this visa will be eligible to apply for Australian citizenship after a period of 12 months (in addition to the five years as an eligible New Zealand SCV holder).

This pathway is a new stream in the Skilled Independent (Subclass 189) visa.

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