The SC189 visa is for Kiwis in Australia who arrived before 19 February 2016. It will give you a permanent visa and access to citizenship and other government benefits. You do NOT lose your NZ citizenship and passport and you can be a dual citizen, Australia and New Zealand.
Many Kiwis do not like to pay for an Australian PR/Citizenship. They can believe they are entitled to it free. This is not the case and is not likely to change. Kiwis have special benefits in Australia but are still foreigners. We can change that for you.
STOP PRESS: There has been discussion about a fast path to Australian Citizenship for Kiwis. The changes made in 2001 were to stop the common practice then of Kiwis coming to Australia and going immediately to Centrelink for welfare payments. The general opinion is that this will not change. The general view in Australia is that qualifying for the SC189 through income may have some minor changes to make it more flexible.
You must
- hold a New Zealand Special Category (subclass 444) visa.
- This means you must have arrived in Australia on a New Zealand passport.
- have usually resided in Australia for at least the last 5 years.
- have started living here on or before 19 February 2016.
- in most cases, have a taxable income at or above a specific income threshold for each of the four completed income years prior to lodging an application. For the latest years this is $53,900 but it can and may vary.
- There are variations on this that may assist and these can change from time to time.
- If your income is less than this there may be some way we can help you get over this.
We are happy to assess your situation and whether we believe you qualify for the SC 189 New Zealand visa. Some important points:
- Ian Bosley was born in New Zealand and migrated to Australia in 1988. He understands the value of Australian citizenship.
- You can have both NZ and Australian citizenship at the same time.
- The income is the main criteria but there are other important factors you need to qualify with.
- If you do this yourself and make a mistake, you lose the money you pay.
- We assess before you pay the government fees therefore it is very unlikely you will fail if we manage the application.
- Many Kiwis “DIY” and make mistakes.
- We understand the rules and how they change from time to time. This means no mistakes if we get honest information.
Please contact us for an assessment.