In short: A New Zealand citizen who holds, or is eligible for, a Special Category visa (subclass 444) does not need foreign investment approval to buy Australian residential property, including established homes. Victoria also exempts New Zealand citizens who ordinarily reside here from the 8% foreign purchaser duty. Lenders generally treat you like a resident borrower.
The 444 is the strangest visa in the Australian system. It is technically temporary, yet it lets you stay indefinitely with no work limitation, and for property purposes it is treated better than most permanent visas held by anyone else. Almost every restriction covered in buying property as a temporary resident does not reach you.
What the visa is
New Zealand citizens are granted a Special Category visa on arrival under the Trans-Tasman Travel Arrangement, subject to health and character requirements. It allows you to live, work and study in Australia indefinitely. Since 1 July 2023, Special Category visa holders have been able to apply directly for Australian citizenship by conferral, without first obtaining a permanent visa.
What applies to you
| Question | Position for a New Zealand citizen |
|---|---|
| Visa type | Temporary in law, indefinite in practice |
| Foreign person under foreign investment law | No, if you hold or are eligible for a Special Category visa |
| Foreign investment approval needed | No, including for established dwellings |
| Foreign investment application fee | Nil |
| Can buy an established dwelling | Yes, the federal ban does not apply to you |
| Victorian foreign purchaser additional duty | Exempt if you ordinarily reside in Australia for six consecutive months within the 12 months before or after settlement |
| Victorian First Home Owner Grant | Yes; for settlements from 26 November 2025 New Zealand citizens are eligible whether or not they hold a Special Category visa |
| 5% Deposit Scheme | Written around citizens and permanent residents; confirm your position before relying on it |
| Typical maximum LVR | Up to 95%, as for a resident borrower |
The foreign investment exemption is unusually generous. The Foreign Investment Review Board's own guidance gives the example of a New Zealand citizen still living in Auckland, eligible for a Special Category visa, buying an established Australian dwelling with no approval required. Compare that with a 482 or 485 holder living and working here, who cannot buy an established home at all. Our FIRB approval for property page covers when approval is needed and by whom.
The Victorian duty position
Victoria's foreign purchaser additional duty of 8% does not apply to a New Zealand citizen who ordinarily resides in Australia for six consecutive months within the 12-month period before or after settlement. "Ordinarily reside" means where you regularly and customarily live, not a temporary or occasional stay. For settlements before 26 November 2025 the test was different: you had to hold a Special Category visa at settlement.
If you are relying on the six-month period after settlement and it turns out you will not meet it, you must notify the State Revenue Office within 30 days. That matters if you are buying an Australian investment property while still based in New Zealand, because the exemption is a residence test, not a citizenship test. See foreign purchaser additional duty and confirm your position at sro.vic.gov.au.
Other states use their own tests. New South Wales, for example, looks at whether you have been physically in Australia for at least 200 days in the 12 months before the contract date. Check with the relevant revenue office before you budget.
Where you still need to check
Government schemes. The Australian Government 5% Deposit Scheme is written around Australian citizens and permanent residents, and a Special Category visa is neither in strict terms. The way Housing Australia and individual lenders apply that to New Zealand citizens is a question to settle before you make an offer, not after. Ask us to confirm it with the lender in writing. Help to Buy, the federal shared equity scheme, is more restrictive again and requires Australian citizenship at the time of writing.
KiwiSaver. If you have transferred KiwiSaver savings into an Australian super fund under the trans-Tasman portability arrangements, do not assume the money is available as a deposit. Transferred New Zealand-sourced amounts are treated differently from ordinary Australian contributions, including under the First Home Super Saver Scheme. Check with the ATO and your fund before you count on it.
Credit file. A recently arrived New Zealander often has a thin Australian credit file and no local savings history, which is the same practical problem every new arrival has. Home loans for new migrants covers the fixes.
Worked example: an established home in Greenvale
Kane and Aroha are New Zealand citizens who have lived and worked in Melbourne for three years. They earn $118,000 and $86,000 and have saved $85,000. They buy an established four-bedroom house in Greenvale for $780,000.
Victorian land transfer duty on $780,000 is $2,870 plus 6% of the excess over $130,000: $2,870 + $39,000 = $41,870.
| Line | Kane and Aroha (NZ citizens) | The same purchase on a 482 visa |
|---|---|---|
| Property they can buy | Established house, $780,000 | Not permitted; a new build at $780,000 instead |
| Deposit | 10% = $78,000 | 20% = $156,000 |
| Loan | $702,000, plus mortgage insurance | $624,000 |
| Land transfer duty | $41,870 | $41,870 |
| Foreign purchaser additional duty at 8% | Nil | $62,400 |
| Foreign investment application fee | Nil | $15,600 |
| Conveyancing and costs | about $3,000 | about $3,000 |
| Cash needed at settlement | $122,870 | $278,870 |
For illustration, at 6.00% p.a. over 30 years, $702,000 costs about $4,209 a month. The right-hand column is not a criticism of the 482; it is the ordinary treatment of a temporary resident, and it shows exactly how much the Trans-Tasman arrangement is worth. See Sunbury mortgage broker and Greenvale mortgage broker for the areas in this example.
How lenders see a 444
Comfortably. Most lenders treat a Special Category visa holder living and working in Australia as a resident borrower, with access to standard products, standard pricing and up to 95% of the property value with lenders mortgage insurance. A handful still ask visa questions, and policy differs lender to lender and changes without notice, so we confirm before you commit. Our home loans for visa holders page and the visa subclass comparison show how the 444 sits against every other subclass.
Frequently asked questions
Do New Zealand citizens need FIRB approval to buy in Australia?
No. New Zealand citizens who hold, or are eligible for, a Special Category visa are exempt from the requirement to obtain foreign investment approval for residential land. The exemption covers established dwellings as well as new ones, and it applies even if you are still living in New Zealand at the time of purchase. It is set out in the foreign investment regulations and confirmed in the Foreign Investment Review Board's residential land guidance.
Do New Zealanders pay the foreign buyer stamp duty surcharge?
Not in Victoria, if you ordinarily reside in Australia for six consecutive months within the 12 months before or after settlement. If you buy while based in New Zealand and do not meet that residence test, the 8% additional duty applies and you must notify the State Revenue Office within 30 days if you know you will not meet it. Other states apply their own residence tests, so check before you sign.
Can a New Zealand citizen get the First Home Owner Grant in Victoria?
Yes, if you meet the other conditions. For settlements on or after 26 November 2025 New Zealand citizens are eligible to apply whether or not they hold a Special Category visa. The grant is $10,000 on a new home that has never been sold or occupied, valued up to $750,000, and at least one applicant must live there for 12 continuous months starting within 12 months of settlement.
Can a 444 visa holder use the 5% Deposit Scheme?
That needs confirming for your specific application. The scheme's published criteria name Australian citizens and permanent residents, and a Special Category visa is a temporary visa. How Housing Australia and each participating lender apply that to New Zealand citizens is the question, and it is one we put to the lender in writing before an offer is made rather than assuming an answer either way.
Should I become a permanent resident or citizen first?
For buying property, there is little to gain. You already have the foreign investment exemption, the duty position and full lender access. Citizenship matters for other things, including the Help to Buy scheme and certain government benefits, and since 1 July 2023 Special Category visa holders can apply directly for citizenship by conferral. That is a migration decision to take with a registered migration agent, not a property one.
Talk to GNT Finance
If you are a New Zealander buying in Australia, most of your questions are about lender choice and structure rather than eligibility, because the hard barriers do not apply to you. Gorakh Timilsina worked as a senior credit officer before founding GNT Finance and can have the lender's position in writing before you bid. Book a free consultation or call 0426 403 703.
This page is general information only and not legal, tax, migration or financial advice. Visa and foreign investment rules change — confirm current requirements with the Department of Home Affairs, the Foreign Investment Review Board or a registered migration agent.
Written by Gorakh Timilsina
Founder, CEO & Senior Mortgage Consultant at GNT Finance. Gorakh started as a broker assistant, spent years as a senior credit officer assessing loan applications, and now helps Melbourne families get the right loan approved. English, Nepali and Hindi spoken.