STRETCH Get the app

New Zealand passport · Australia · free movement

Australia entry and residence for New Zealand citizens: Trans-Tasman arrangements

Rightsnot days
Trans-TasmanZone-rule provenance · no country-row confidence or checked date

Eligible New Zealand citizens can receive Australia's Special Category visa (subclass 444) on arrival, allowing them to live and work in Australia indefinitely while it remains valid.

Next step

One email when the app can count this stay for you.

How we know

This page comes from the separate Trans-Tasman zone rule, not from a country rule. The instrument in the sources is the provenance for the right. The ordinary country-row confidence signals do not exist for this route, and Stretch says so rather than borrowing them.

Entry and residence basis
Special Category visa (subclass 444) on arrival
Length of stay
Indefinite stay under the arrival arrangement, subject to character and health requirements at the border.
How it's counted
It is not a visitor day allowance; Stretch does not run a visa-day countdown for this right.
Conditions
Character and health requirements apply. Border authorities decide whether the arrival permission is granted.
Provenance
Projected from the Trans-Tasman zone rule and the instrument it cites.
Country-row metadata
No country row is used, so there is no country-row lastChecked date, access trust label or stay-length trust label.

Sources are listed further down the page.

What this right means

This is not an unconditional permission: character and health requirements apply at the border. Stretch does not convert the arrangement into a numeric visa allowance.

How Stretch treats this stay

Stretch can still log days of presence for travel history and tax-day tallies, but it does not show a visa allowance, days left or a must-exit date for this free-movement route.

Sources

Questions New Zealanders ask about Australia

Do New Zealanders need a visitor visa for Australia?

Eligible New Zealand citizens can receive Australia's Special Category visa (subclass 444) on arrival, allowing them to live and work in Australia indefinitely while it remains valid. The governing basis is the Trans-Tasman zone rule, not a country visa-waiver row.

How long can New Zealanders stay in Australia?

Indefinite stay under the arrival arrangement, subject to character and health requirements at the border.

What conditions apply at the border or after arrival?

Character and health requirements apply. Border authorities decide whether the arrival permission is granted.

How is this route sourced?

The page is projected from the Trans-Tasman zone rule and the instrument it cites. There is no country row for this route, so no country-row lastChecked date, access trust label or stay-length trust label is available.

More for the New Zealand passport

Australia for other passports

Also about Australia

Stretch is a tracker, not legal advice. Rules and eligibility conditions change; destination authorities decide at the border and after arrival. Check the cited instrument and the destination authority. Rulebook build 2026-08-30.