The Special Category visa
The visa that lets any New Zealand citizen live and work in Australia indefinitely, how many hold it, and what the published figures do and do not show about who they are.
How the visa works
- A Special Category visa (subclass 444) is granted on arrival to any New Zealand citizen, and allows them to live and work in Australia indefinitely. It has no expiry and no cap. (Trans-Tasman Travel Arrangement; Special Category visa, subclass 444)
- It is available on the basis of citizenship alone, however that citizenship was acquired. It is not limited to people born in New Zealand, and it is not available to New Zealand permanent residents. (Special Category visa eligibility, subclass 444)
- New Zealand citizenship by grant generally requires five years of residence in New Zealand. The pathway is therefore a multi-year one rather than a transfer. (New Zealand Department of Internal Affairs, citizenship by grant requirements)
- No Australian planning level governs the number of people who arrive this way. The migration program sets levels for the Skill, Family and Humanitarian streams; the Special Category sits outside all of them. (Department of Home Affairs, migration program planning levels)
What the published figures show
Each figure below is attributed to the agency that published it. Where a source is linked, the link goes to that agency's own release or report.
- Of more than 92,000 New Zealand nationals holding a Special Category visa who applied for Australian citizenship between 1 July 2023 and 30 June 2025, 48 per cent were born outside New Zealand. (Australian Department of Home Affairs, reported by RNZ, 2025)
- An estimated 141,000 Special Category visa holders in Australia were born outside New Zealand to parents also born outside New Zealand, on 2021 Census data adjusted to the Estimated Resident Population. (ANU Migration Hub, New Zealanders in Australia, Insights 25/3)
- 35 per cent of New Zealand citizens who migrated to Australia in 2024 were born overseas, against about 29 per cent of New Zealand's resident population being overseas-born. (Stats NZ, international migration)
- In 2024, 5,777 of the 39,914 people granted New Zealand citizenship were born in India, the largest single country of birth, ahead of South Africa (4,132) and the Philippines (3,920). (New Zealand Department of Internal Affairs, citizenship statistics 2024)
What these figures do not show
- These figures describe the composition of a visa category. They do not establish why any individual acquired New Zealand citizenship, and no published source reports that.
- The 48 per cent figure covers people who went on to apply for Australian citizenship, which is a subset of Special Category holders and not the category as a whole.
- Country-of-birth data for New Zealand citizenship grants is published by New Zealand, and does not record whether, or when, any of those people subsequently moved to Australia.
Readers drawing conclusions about intent are going beyond what the data shows. The figures describe the composition of a visa category and the timing of citizenship grants; no published source reports why any individual took the pathway.
Common questions
Each answer is written to stand on its own, with the number, the date and the source in the same sentence.
What is a Special Category visa?
A visa (subclass 444) granted on arrival to any New Zealand citizen, allowing them to live and work in Australia indefinitely, with no expiry and no cap. At 31 August 2026, 732,887 people in Australia held one.
Do you have to be born in New Zealand to get one?
No. It is available on the basis of New Zealand citizenship alone, however that citizenship was acquired, and New Zealand citizenship by grant generally requires about 5 years of residence there. Of more than 92,000 holders who applied for Australian citizenship between 1 July 2023 and 30 June 2025, 48 per cent were born outside New Zealand, on Department of Home Affairs figures.
Is the Special Category visa counted in Australia's migration program?
No. The migration program sets planning levels for the Skill, Family and Humanitarian streams. The Special Category sits outside all of them, so no Australian planning level governs how many people arrive this way. At 31 August 2026 the category held 732,887 people.
Are New Zealand citizens included in the temporary visa headline figure?
They are counted in the 2,878,973 total of all temporary visa holders at 31 August 2026, and excluded from the 1,825,403 figure. All 732,887 are excluded, which is the single largest exclusion and is what makes the lower figure the conservative one.
Which countries of birth appear in New Zealand citizenship grants?
In 2024, 5,777 of the 39,914 people granted New Zealand citizenship were born in India, the largest single country of birth, ahead of South Africa (4,132) and the Philippines (3,920), on New Zealand Department of Internal Affairs figures. That data records grants of New Zealand citizenship and does not record whether, or when, any of those people subsequently moved to Australia.
How long does the pathway take?
New Zealand citizenship by grant generally requires about 5 years of residence in New Zealand before citizenship, after which a Special Category visa is granted on arrival in Australia. It is a multi-year route rather than a transfer.
Cite this page
Updated when the Department of Home Affairs publishes a new quarter of BP0019 or a cited agency publishes new figures, with every revision dated below.
Mindiam (2026). The Special Category visa: New Zealand citizens in Australia. Derived from Department of Home Affairs BP0019, as at 31 August 2026, with composition figures from the Department of Home Affairs, Stats NZ, the New Zealand Department of Internal Affairs and the ANU Migration Hub. Retrieved from https://mindiam.com/figures/special-category-visa
A machine-readable copy of every figure on this page is published at mindiam.com/figures/special-category-visa/data.json as JSON.
Sources
- Department of Home Affairs, Temporary visa holders in Australia. BP0019, as at 31 August 2026. Special Category: 732,887.
- Australian Department of Home Affairs, reported by RNZ, 2025.
- ANU Migration Hub, New Zealanders in Australia, Insights 25/3.
- Stats NZ, international migration.
- New Zealand Department of Internal Affairs, citizenship statistics 2024.
Revision history
- 2026-10-06 Page created. BP0019 figure as at 31 August 2026, with composition figures from Home Affairs, Stats NZ, NZ Internal Affairs and the ANU Migration Hub.
The standing population this category is excluded from is set out at temporary visa holders. Mindiam publishes opinion on migration policy in The National Interest. This page is a reference and takes no position. Corrections: mindiam.com/corrections.