READ MORE:* NZ officials asking questions about Australia citizenship changes for expat Kiwis* Australia crackdown 'shifts goalposts' for Kiwis* Australia opens citizenship door to Kiwis* Kiwi expats in Australia welcome agreement* Citizenship breakthrough: Kiwi winners and losersSince February 26, 2001, Kiwis arriving in Australia have been at a very nasty disadvantage. This week, when Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull announced a raft of new waiting periods and restrictions to Australian citizenship, Kiwis began to panic. Where a New Zealander is granted a permanent visa, they automatically lose FEE-HELP loan access and can't get that back until they apply for citizenship. There is only a 12-month window between being granted a permanent visa and applying for citizenship - which is not itself a major disadvantage. Either, include their teenage children in their permanent visa application so they can all become Aussies one day, but lose four years of higher education opportunities.

Source: Stuff April 21, 2017 04:07 UTC