What is a special category visa and how do I know if I'm eligible?

In Plain English

A special category visa is a type of temporary visa. Generally, to be eligible, you must be a New Zealand citizen with a valid New Zealand passport and not be considered a risk to Australia's health or safety. The Minister can also declare other people or classes of people eligible if another type of visa wouldn't be appropriate for them.

Detailed Explanation

According to section 32 of the Migration Act 1958, a special category visa is a class of temporary visas.

To be eligible for a special category visa, the Minister must be satisfied that the applicant meets one of the following criteria:

• The applicant is a non-citizen who is a New Zealand citizen, holds a current New Zealand passport, and is not a "behaviour concern non-citizen" or a "health concern non-citizen" (as determined by the Minister).
• The applicant is a person declared by regulations to be someone for whom another class of visa would be inappropriate.
• The applicant is a person in a class of persons declared by regulations to be persons for whom another class of visa would be inappropriate.

The Migration Act 1958 also specifies conditions for presenting a New Zealand passport to an authorised system for visa consideration. The passport must be of a kind determined under section 175A to be eligible, and the system or an officer must not require the person to present the passport to an officer before the visa is granted.