莫里森政府正在改革新西兰公民获得澳洲PR的途径以帮助在澳的符合条件的新西兰公民短期签证持有者获得澳洲PR。该途径适用于在提交申请前已在澳洲连续居住五年的新西兰公民且是在2016年2月19日或之前开始居住的。
该改革通过减少申请人必须满足规定收入门槛的年数，为189签证新西兰类别的申请人在收入要求方面提供更大的灵活性，将于2021年7月1日起实施。
从2021年7月1日起，申请人需要证明在提交申请前的5个收入年度中有3年(原来是4年)的应纳税收入达到或超过规定的门槛，这包括满足最近完成的所得税年度的收入门槛要求。
该收入门槛将与临时技术移民收入门槛(TSMIT)保持一致，目前为53,900澳币，并且2020-21收入年度仍保持在这个水平。
为了进一步帮助新西兰公民获得澳洲PR，政府正在实施以下措施帮助在COVID-19之前在申请PR过程中的临时签证持有人继续保持获得189签证新西兰类别的申请资格:
- 如果能证明其2019-20年应纳税收入受到COVID-19的不利影响，则可获得收入要求减免；
- 由于COVID-19旅行限制而在海外逗留的时间，将被计入澳洲居住时间，以满足“usually resident”这条签证要求。
Enhancing Kiwis’ Pathway to Permanent Residence
The Morrison Government is amending the New Zealand Pathway to permanent residence to support eligible New Zealand citizen temporary visa holders in Australia to obtain permanent residence.
The Pathway is available to New Zealand citizens who were usually resident in Australia for a continuous period of five years immediately prior to their visa application and commenced that period of residence on or before 19 February 2016.
Changes will come into effect on 1 July 2021 providing greater flexibility in the income requirement for the New Zealand stream of the Skilled Independent (Subclass 189) visa by reducing the number of years in which an applicant must meet the specified income threshold.
From 1 July 2021 applicants will be required to demonstrate that they have earned a taxable income at or above a specified threshold for three out of the five income years (reduced from four out of five years) before lodging an application. This includes a requirement to meet the income threshold for the most recently completed income tax year.
The income threshold will align to the Temporary Skilled Migration Income Threshold (TSMIT) - currently set at $53,900 - and will remain at this level for the 2020-21 income year.
To further assist New Zealand citizens on their pathway to permanent residence, the Government is implementing measures to assist temporary visa holders who were on a pathway to permanent residence prior to COVID-19 to maintain eligibility for a permanent Skilled Independent visa (Subclass 189) New Zealand stream. The measures provide:
- An income requirement concession if they can demonstrate that their 2019-20 taxable income was adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Allowance for time spent offshore due to COVID-19 travel restrictions to be counted as residence in Australia for applicants who were on a pathway to meeting the ‘usually resident’ requirement for the visa.
