From 1 July, New Zealanders who have been living in Australia for four years or more will be eligible to apply directly for Australian citizenship. They will no longer need to first apply for and be granted a permanent visa.

The changes apply to New Zealand citizens holding a Special Category (subclass 444) visa (SCV) who arrived here after 26 February 2001. Those who are long-term residents will be able to have their period of permanent residence backdated.

The New Zealand stream of the Skilled Independent (subclass 189) visa is now closed to new applications and will permanently close on 1 July.