wooah

I just wanted some clarification on something.

I have been planning to move to Aus (my Aus PR partner visa should arrive next month) but my wife has now thrown in a possible move to NZ.

I was looking at

http://britishexpats.com/wiki/Austra...ts-New_Zealand
and
http://www.citizenship.gov.au/applying/how_to_apply/nz/

and I just wanted some clarification:

1. With an Aus PR partner visa can I legally live and work in NZ indefinitely, without necessarily becoming a NZ citizen?

2. Does an Aus partner PR visa ever expire? I mean if I decide to return to UK for a few years or live in NZ for a few years will I still have a valid PR visa (assuming I do not become a NZ citizen) to be able to return to Aus?

3. Can I land in Aus to validate my visa and then shortly after fly to NZ to live and work? Or will I have to stay in Aus for two years first.

4. Can anyone point me to any official web sites so I can double-check the current rules.

The wiki article talks about visas expiring but I was not sure if this applied to partner PR visas, hence the questions. I just wanted to know whether I can look at living in NZ as part of our plans, or whether I have to live in Aus for two years to become a citizen first.

Thanks.

Pollyana

http://britishexpats.com/wiki/Reside...Visa-Australia

http://britishexpats.com/wiki/Reside...Visa-Australia

http://www.citizenship.gov.au/applying/how_to_apply/

Have a read of those links which should make things a bit clearer

wooah

Thanks. Two of those links are identical, and the other is one I quoted in my text.

wooah

So as far as I can understand.

• My partner PR visa will allow me to leave Aus and return within 5 years, no questions asked.
• If I want to leave for longer than 5 years I will need an RRV but I will need to have stayed in Aus for over 2 years to get the RRV.
• I will be able to go to Aus for a short visit, at least every 5 years to re-validate my PR visa.

Is that correct?

So the questions that remain are:

1. With my PR visa can I travel visa-free to NZ?
2. Will I also be able to work in NZ?

thanks.

Pollyana

The sites that I got when following your links were NZ specific info not specifically Australian visa/citizenship info.

If you have an Aus PR you need to understand the rules of Return Resident Visas - http://britishexpats.com/wiki/Reside...Visa-Australia (as before) - and http://www.immi.gov.au/allforms/pdf/968i.pdf (which is the link that didn't work last time, sorry)
And When you will be eligible for Australian citizenship - http://www.citizenship.gov.au/applying/how_to_apply/ (as before) - this is different from your link as you linked to NZ citizens living in Aus. I thought it would be logical to look at how to get Aus citizenship first rather than going to NZ, getting citizenship there and then coming back

The risk of going to NZ without Aus citizenship is that you may find yourself unable to return to Australia - hence thats the first thing you need to work out.

That will answer the question of whether you need to stay here for two years before you can go to NZ (no) and whether if you live in NZ or the UK for a few years you will still be able to come back to Aus - and the links to DIAC are to the official website.

wooah

Aha! Thanks, makes sense now.

When you say "The risk of going to NZ without Aus citizenship is that you may find yourself unable to return to Australia " why would that be? Not sure when this would happen?

Bermudashorts

No. After the 5 years of the original PR visa are finished you would need a RRV to enter Australia again. However if you have never lived in Australia this could be difficult to get. You cannot keep the PR visa "active" by making a short trip to Australia every five years, there is no such thing as revalidating your PR visa, the visa is validated once.

You talk in an earlier post of spending two years in Australia first to become a citizen - in fact you would need to be in Australia for four years for that.

wooah

Thanks. Yes you are right:

Australian Citizenship Act 2007 Residence Requirements

To satisfy the new residence requirements you must have:

4 years lawful residence in Australia. This period must include 12 months as a permanent resident immediately before making an application for Australian citizenship
Please note that absences from Australia cannot exceed a total of 12 months in the four year period, including no more than 90 days in the last 12 month permanent residence period prior to application.

Please note that any time you spent in Australia before you were granted permanent residence status, does not count as permanent residence.

If you were granted a migrant visa offshore your permanent residence date is your date of first arrival in Australia on this visa.

wooah

So, understanding that I might lose my Aus PR visa, will I be able to live and work in NZ with an Aus PR visa?

ex_exile

Yes.

JAJ

Is your wife an Australian citizen or not? That may give you options in terms of extending your resident visa and/or getting citizenship while outside Australia.

Also - will the spouse visa be permanent or temporary?

wooah

Wife and children all Australian.

I applied for a permanent visa, which was why I was asking if permanent actually meant permanent. It would appear permanent means 5 years. A bit like unlimited texts

JAJ

Hate to be repetitive, but did you actually read this article?
http://britishexpats.com/wiki/Reside...Visa-Australia

(recommend you pay special attention to some comments contained therein that are relevant to spouses).

If children are Australian by descent, do you know that in order to pass on citizenship to the next generation, they need to clock up a total of 2 years in Australia?

Is wife also a British citizen, and if not, has she thought about getting her naturalisation completed before she leaves the UK?

wooah

I did read it, yes. I was confused because permanent and five years seem contradictory, hence the question. All worked out now. Many many thanks to all who took the time to reply.

JAJ

In common with most countries, the only genuinely permanent entitlement to live in Australia comes from citizenship.