Australian citizenship is broken into 5 main categories:
- Citizenship by Conferral
- Citizenship by Descent
- Citizenship by Adoption
- Evidence of Citizenship
- Resume Citizenship
Citizenship information that is relevant to New Zealand citizens
If New Zealand citizens take up Australian citizenship they become dual citizens of both Australia and New Zealand.
However, for the purposes of applying for Australian citizenship, New Zealand citizens must meet certain criteria in order to be eligible to apply.
New Zealand citizens must be either:
- A person who holds a permanent visa e.g. subclass 801, 189, 155 (RRV); or
- An eligible New Zealand citizen (ENZC)
Note: Not all New Zealand citizens are considered ‘eligible New Zealand citizens’.
ENZC are recognised as ‘permanent residents’ under the Citizenship Act despite holding the subclass TY444 visa, which is a temporary visa. ENZCs are able to apply directly for Australian citizenship, without the need to apply for a permanent visa beforehand.
All other New Zealand citizens who are subclass TY444 visa holders will not have direct access to citizenship like ENZCs. Therefore, they need to apply for and be granted a permanent visa beforehand such as a sponsored partner or child visa, skilled visa or Resident Return visa.
ENZCs are recognised as ‘both permanent & temporary residents’ combined, whilst all other New Zealand citizens are recognised as ‘temporary residents’ only.
These variations will depend on which legislation applies to an individual’s circumstances and what dates and criteria were prescribed at those particular times.
There could also be a mixture of other complex issues that will impact whether a person is an ENZC or not.
