We request you to contact us by Email: [email protected]
Australia: 1800 847 243
India: +91-7598 338 336
We request you to contact us by Email: [email protected]
Australia: 1800 847 243
India: +91-7598 338 336
Newly arrived residents may have to wait before they can access certain Australian Government payments and benefits.
This is a permanent visa. It lets you stay in Australia indefinitely. The 189 Visa (New Zealand Stream) has a travel component that expires 5 years after the 189 Visa (New Zealand Stream) grant date.
For citizenship purposes, your permanent residence starts:
You can include members of the family unit in your application. You can:
Family members who apply for the 189 Visa (New Zealand Stream) must meet health and character requirements.
The 189 Visa (New Zealand Stream) costs AUD4045 for the main applicant.
There is also a charge for each family member who applies for the 189 Visa (New Zealand Stream) with you.
The 189 Visa (New Zealand Stream) application charges are paid in two instalments. The first instalment is 20% of the total visa application charge payable at time of lodgement. The second instalment is the remaining 80% of the 189 Visa (New Zealand Stream) application charge. The second charge must be paid before the Australian immigration officers at the Department of Home Affairs grant you your visa.
To work out what your visa will cost use the Visa Pricing Estimator.
You might also have to pay other costs for health checks, police certificates and biometrics.
You must be in Australia and holding a Subclass 444 visa when you apply for the 189 Visa (New Zealand Stream).
Any family members included in your application can be in or outside of Australia when you apply. However, if they are in Australia, they must hold a substantive visa or bridging A, B or C visa.
The Australian immigration officers at the Department of Home Affairs assess applications on a case-by-case basis, and actual processing times can vary due to individual circumstances including:
You and your family members must obey all Australian laws.
You can travel in and out of Australia as many times as you want for 5 years from the date you are granted the 189 Visa (New Zealand Stream). After 5 years you will need a Resident Return (RRV) visa (subclass 155 or 157) to re-enter Australia as a permanent resident.
The Australian immigration officers at the Department of Home Affairs will digitally link your visa to your passport. You will not get a label in your passport.
Your taxable income as shown on your Notice of Assessment, issued by the Australian Taxation Office, for each of the 4 completed financial years before you apply for this visa must be at, or above, the minimum income threshold listed in the relevant regulatory instrument for that income year.
The income thresholds and exemptions are specified by the legislative instrument.
The case officers at the Department of Home Affairs can’t accept amounts below the threshold unless you show the department of Home Affairs evidence that an exemption applies.
Claim an income exemption
If you want to claim an exemption from the income requirement, you must still submit your ATO Notices of Assessment.
Family Court/parenting plan exemption
You can claim an exemption from the income requirement if you can’t leave Australia because the Family Court of Australia has given you primary care of a child and you are not allowed to take the child out of the country.
Compensation claim exemption
You can claim an exemption to the income requirement if you:
Parental or carer’s leave waiver
You can claim an exemption to the income requirement if you:
Income exemptions you can’t claim
The Australian immigration officers at the Department of Home Affairs can’t consider other exemption claims.
The grounds for an income exemption are set by legislation. Examples of ineligible claims include but are not limited to:
You must hold a New Zealand Special Category (subclass 444) visa, for your visa application to be processed.
For their visa applications to be processed, your family members in Australia must hold one of the following visa types when they lodge their application.
When you lodge your application, your family members outside Australia don’t need to hold a visa.
You and any family members who apply for the 189 Visa (New Zealand Stream) with you must meet health requirement. Family members not accompanying you to Australia may also need to meet the health requirement.
You and family members aged 16 years and over who apply for the 189 Visa (New Zealand Stream) with you must meet character requirement.
The Australian immigration officers at the Department of Home Affairs will also need other family members not accompanying you to Australia to meet the requirement.
You must have been usually resident in Australia for a continuous period of at least 5 years immediately before the date of your application.
The place that a person is ‘usually resident’ is assessed by considering their physical residence (where the person eats, sleeps, has a home) and the person’s intention to make that place their home.
The continuous period of usual residence in Australia must have started on or before 19 February 2016.
If you are 18 years of age or older, you must:
Have paid back your debt to the Australian government
If you owe the Australian Government money, you must have paid it back or have a formal arrangement to pay it back.
Not have had a visa cancelled or a previous application refused
You might not be eligible for this visa if you have had a visa cancelled or refused while you were in Australia. Check if visa cancellation affects your eligibility.