A Permanent Resident of Norfolk Island visa was a type of

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

immigration Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, and ...

visa Visa most commonly refers to: *Visa Inc., a US multinational financial and payment cards company ** Visa Debit card issued by the above company ** Visa Electron, a debit card ** Visa Plus, an interbank network *Travel visa, a document that allows ...

granted on arrival in Australia to a non-

citizen Citizenship is a "relationship between an individual and a state to which the individual owes allegiance and in turn is entitled to its protection". Each state determines the conditions under which it will recognize persons as its citizens, and ...

who is a

permanent resident Permanent residency is a person's legal resident status in a country or territory of which such person is not a citizen but where they have the right to reside on a permanent basis. This is usually for a permanent period; a person with such ...

Norfolk Island Norfolk Island (, ; Norfuk: ''Norf'k Ailen'') is an external territory of Australia located in the Pacific Ocean between New Zealand and New Caledonia, directly east of Australia's Evans Head and about from Lord Howe Island. Together with ...

. Before 1 July 2016,

was the only inhabited Australian territory that was outside the

Australian migration zone The Australian migration zone is a legal device created by the Australian Government for the purpose of Australia's visa policy and immigration policy, as the territory in which Australia's visa policy applies. The Australian migration zone co ...

and had its own immigration laws (which ''did apply'' to Australian citizens). Since

Australian nationality law Australian nationality law details the conditions in which a person holds Australian legal nationality. The primary law governing nationality regulations is the Australian Citizenship Act 2007, which came into force on 1 July 2007 and is applic ...

does extend to the territory, Norfolk Islanders are Australian citizens, and therefore have the same right to enter and live in Australia as any other Australian citizens. For Norfolk Island permanent residents who are not Australian citizens, the

Government of Australia The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government, is the national government of Australia, a federalism, federal parliamentary system, parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Like other Westminster system, Westminster-sty ...

created a ''Permanent Resident of Norfolk Island'' visa (subclass 834) to grant them automatic residence status when they travelled to the Australian migration zone before 1 July 2016. No advance application was required and no visa charge was levied. Applicants must present to an Australian immigration officer a passport endorsed with a right to reside permanently on

Australian permanent resident Australian permanent residents are residents of Australia who hold a permanent visa but are not citizens of Australia. A holder of a permanent visa may remain in Australia indefinitely. A 5-year initial travel facility, which corresponds to the ...

status remained valid for as long as the visa holder remained in the

. The visa ceased on departure from the migration zone but a new visa can be granted when the person returned, if

permanent residence is still held. Although a permanent visa, this visa could also be used to take short holidays or business trips in Australia as an alternative to the Electronic Travel Authority. It could also be used for permanent settlement in Australia. This visa was very similar to the

Special Category Visa A Special Category Visa (SCV) is an Australian visa category (subclass 444) granted to most New Zealand citizens on arrival in Australia, enabling them to visit, study, stay and work in Australia indefinitely under the Trans-Tasman Travel Arrang ...

except that it was permanent (without a re-entry facility) while the SCV is technically a temporary visa.

Norfolk Island reform

On 1 July 2016, the Norfolk Island Immigration Act 1980 was repealed and the Australian migration zone has extended to include Norfolk Island. Arrangements have been made to transfer Norfolk Permanent Resident Permits to Australian permits. New Zealand citizens residing in Norfolk Island are automatically granted the

(subclass 444) regardless of their previous status, while residents of other nationalities are eligible for the Provisional Resident Return visa (subclass 159) and/or the Confirmatory (Residence) visa (subclass 808). As travelling between Norfolk Island and Australia is now domestic, immigration clearance is not required and the Permanent Resident of Norfolk Island visa is no longer granted.

References

{{Visa policy by country

Government of Norfolk Island

Norfolk Island reform

See also

References