Passport Required to move to and work in Aussie?

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8d52797c436

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#44409 27-Oct-2009 11:53

Hi Peoples,

Random off topic question here. A friend of mine told me the other day that he is moving to Aussie on December 2nd because apparently from December 1st you will no longer need a passport to fly over and start working (to be honest I'm not sure why it matters, it's not that expensive). I thought it was a bit strange because I can't remember seeing it anywhere on the news sites or anything like that, and a search on Google has given me no luck at all.

Anyone know anything about this?

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#267177 27-Oct-2009 11:56

They will not let him board a plane from NZ let aside the fact stepping foot in Australia.

Do whatever you want to do man.

8d52797c436

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Ultimate Geek
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#267179 27-Oct-2009 11:58

Yep thats exactly what I thought. Hopefully he hasnt got the tickets yet although I may offer to drop him off at the airport if he has just to watch the hilarity...

rscole86

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#267180 27-Oct-2009 12:03

They may be reffering to
this ?

8d52797c436

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Ultimate Geek
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#267184 27-Oct-2009 12:08

Nah I dont think so, although that looks kinda interesting. Basically they thought they were extending the whole 'Being an NZ citizen means you can work without a work permit' to making it so that you can fly over there just like if you were flying to another NZ city.

I dont think that'll ever happen, or at least not for a very long time, cause you will still need some form of official ID.

Jadefuzy

63 posts

Master Geek

#267187 27-Oct-2009 12:12

that's just silly you need a Passport just to get on the the plane i have been to Australia before when you go to apply for jobs over there. job agents ask you for your passport to see if your legally allowed to work there also you need your passport to apply for a TFN (text file number) it's the same thing as a IDR number in new zealand. im not 100% sure but i think you used to be allowed to go to Australia if you was a New Zealander with out a passport but this is not the case anymore and for good Reason too.

If you want some good Solid Information on this type of Issue please contact....
The Department Of Internal Affairs On 0800 22 50 50

meesham

942 posts

Ultimate Geek

#267188 27-Oct-2009 12:16

You definitely still need a passport, you don't "work without a permit", NZ citizens automatically get issued a special type of visa, a "Special Category Visa" that pretty much gives you the same rights as an Australian citizen. The main limitations you have are that you can't get healthcare or unemployment benefit for 2 years, and if you have a criminal record (mainly if you've spent more than 1 year in prison) they will probably knock you back.

I'm an Australian citizen who lives in NZ, moving between countries is pretty straight forward but not quite as easy as moving between countries in the EU. The immigration people in NZ are much more friendly though, I usually get a "welcome home" when I arrive back in NZ from overseas, the Australian immigration people usually just glare at me.

garvani

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#267198 27-Oct-2009 12:29

Im also a Australian Citizen but permanent NZ resident (without any certificate etc to say so)
Back in the 80's you could travel between the countrys without a passport, i came to NZ at the age of two without one and only in the last 5 years have i got a passport, chose to get an Australian passport too which made things interesting, had to goto the Australian High Commision in Wellington for an interview just to be elligable for one, quized about all sorts lol. Big fence, huge building, was buzzed in then scanned with a metal detector, had to leave my bag and phone etc at reception.. fun times :)

Jadefuzy

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Master Geek

#267205 27-Oct-2009 12:39

meesham: You definitely still need a passport, you don't "work without a permit", NZ citizens automatically get issued a special type of visa, a "Special Category Visa" that pretty much gives you the same rights as an Australian citizen. The main limitations you have are that you can't get healthcare or unemployment benefit for 2 years, and if you have a criminal record (mainly if you've spent more than 1 year in prison) they will probably knock you back.

I'm an Australian citizen who lives in NZ, moving between countries is pretty straight forward but not quite as easy as moving between countries in the EU. The immigration people in NZ are much more friendly though, I usually get a "welcome home" when I arrive back in NZ from overseas, the Australian immigration people usually just glare at me.

my dad told me that you can by a visa over there so you don't have to wait the two years is this true?

rscole86

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#267208 27-Oct-2009 12:43

I am sure you could apply to be an Australian citizen, so as not to have to wait, but buying off the government? Seems odd to me.

meesham

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Ultimate Geek

#267218 27-Oct-2009 12:54

Jadefuzy:
my dad told me that you can by a visa over there so you don't have to wait the two years is this true?

Not sure what your dad's talking about, but NZ citizens get issued a Special Category Visa on arrival at no cost. He might have been talking about a permanent resident visa, but that usually still has a 2 year waiting period.

The details for social security are here, basically you'll need to change your visa to be a permanent resident, but you need to be there for a couple of years to do that (or become an Australian citizen, which I believe requires 5 years residence) - link here

For health cover it looks like I was incorrect, it's only if you can prove that you're a permanent resident in Australia you can enrol in Medicare straight away - link here

I had the same situation when I arrived in NZ, there's a two year waiting period for health cover but if you can prove that you're a permanent resident they waive that (I'd started a business in NZ, was paying all my taxes here and sold all my assets in Australia and that seemed to be enough)

allstarnz

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#267232 27-Oct-2009 13:37

if you want to work for govt in Oz you usually need Aus citizenship

Batman

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#267236 27-Oct-2009 13:50

this must be the oddest thread in the entire geekzone history! :)

Involuntary autocorrect in operation on mobile device. Apologies in advance.

meesham

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Ultimate Geek

#267237 27-Oct-2009 13:52

allstarnz: if you want to work for govt in Oz you usually need Aus citizenship

Only a small number of federal government and high security positions are unavailable to non-Australian citizens, most are available to NZ citizens. There was a state govt department recently that was breaking the law by not allowing a NZ citizen to apply for a position.

garvani

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#267244 27-Oct-2009 14:03

joker97: this must be the oddest thread in the entire geekzone history! :)

Nah theres been better in recent memory.. The vodafone thread that turned into everyone posting pictures of mammaries.. and the pie vs cake thread was quite random too.. LOL

freitasm

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#267245 27-Oct-2009 14:04

I am reading these answers and I still can't understand what you guys are on about.

The OP clearly noted "apparently from December 1st you will no longer need a passport"... And most of the replies are about the current situation - not the one in the future.

There is some noise around this topic and I remember reading that both governments are working towards changing the status of flights between our two countries to "domestic".

AFAIK nothing was decided, no date set, and certainly doesn't change requirements for living and working.

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