Slump in Kiwis becoming Aussie citizens following recent law change
A recent research shows there has been a slump in the number of Kiwis becoming Australian citizens since a law change in 2001.
Data shows out of 146,000 New Zealand-born migrants who arrived in Australia between 2002 and 2011, only 8.4 per cent of them were citizens by 2016. The numbers are even lower for New Zealand-born Maori, with less than 3 per cent becoming Australian citizens, according to research from Victoria University’s school of Maori studies.
Meanwhile, New Zealanders who arrived in Australian between 1985 and 2000 had citizenship uptake rates of nearly 50 per cent by 2016.
The research, by Te Kawa a Maui’s Paul Hamer, finds the low numbers are due to restrictions imposed in 2001 that removed the eligibility of Kiwis from applying directly for citizenship unless they had a skills-based permanent visa.
