Carer visa holders become eligible for Australian citizenship once they have lived in Australia lawfully for 4 years, including the last 12 months as a permanent resident, and that permanent residence starts on the grant date of a subclass 836 or on the day a subclass 116 holder first enters Australia on the visa. An 836 carer who waited out the queue in Australia on a bridging visa usually already has the 4 years at grant, so the 12 months as a permanent resident is often the only wait left, while a 116 carer arriving from overseas usually needs the full 4 years.
When can a Carer visa holder apply for citizenship?
A Carer visa holder can apply for citizenship after 4 years of lawful residence in Australia that ends with at least 12 months as a permanent resident, measured back from the day the application is made.
The test is the general residence requirement in section 22 of the Australian Citizenship Act 2007 (Cth), which the Department of Home Affairs restates on its permanent resident citizenship page. It means citizenship is possible after only 1 or 2 years as a permanent resident, as long as the earlier years were spent in Australia lawfully on other visas. The Department's Residence Calculator checks a set of dates before anything is lodged.
For example, an 836 applicant who has lived in Australia on a bridging visa since 2022 and is granted the visa in March 2027 reaches the 12-month mark in March 2028. The dates are an illustration, not a forecast.
When does the residence clock start for an 836 and a 116?
The permanent-residence clock starts on the day the visa is granted for a subclass 836 and on the day of first entry to Australia on the visa for a subclass 116.
| Checked 24 September 2026 | Subclass 836 (granted in Australia) | Subclass 116 (granted outside Australia) | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Permanent residence starts | The grant date | The date of first entry on the visa | Department's 836 and 116 pages |
| First entry deadline | Not applicable | The date in the grant letter, generally 12 months from grant | Department's 116 page |
| Earlier time in Australia | Time on a bridging or other visa counts toward the 4 years if it was lawful | Counts only if the carer lived in Australia lawfully before | Citizenship Act s 22(1)(a)–(b) |
| Travel facility | 5 years from grant | 5 years from grant | Migration Regulations cl 836.511, 116.511 |
The Department's subclass 836 page says permanent residence for citizenship starts on the day the visa is granted, and its subclass 116 page says it starts on the day the holder enters Australia on the visa.
The onshore route, from lodgement to grant, is set out in the guide to applying and waiting in Australia. A carer granted an offshore Carer visa should plan the first entry with the citizenship clock in mind, because nothing counts as permanent residence until that day.
Does time on a bridging visa count for an 836 holder?
Time on a bridging visa counts for an 836 holder toward the 4 years, because section 22(1)(b) of the Citizenship Act excludes only time as an unlawful non-citizen, and a bridging visa holder is lawful.
The same time does not count toward the 12 months as a permanent resident, which runs only from the 836 grant date. A carer who spent a gap between visas as an unlawful non-citizen during the 4 years does not meet paragraph (b) until that gap falls outside the 4-year window, and the Minister has a limited discretion only where the gap came from administrative error (section 22(4A)).
How do absences on a Carer visa count towards citizenship?
Absences on a Carer visa count as time in Australia for citizenship as long as they total no more than 12 months in the 4 years, and no more than 90 days in the final 12 months.
Section 22(1A) treats absences of up to 12 months in total across the 4 years as presence, and section 22(1B) does the same for up to 90 days in the last 12 months, if the person was a permanent resident during those absences. Trips on a Bridging visa B while an 836 was queued are absences too. The Department's record of each departure and arrival, available through a request for international movement records, is the most reliable way to count them.
What should New Zealand passport holders on a Carer visa check?
New Zealand passport holders on a Carer visa should ask the border officer not to grant them a Special Category visa (subclass 444) on arrival, because the Department warns that a 444 grant might affect their eligibility for citizenship.
The warning appears on both Carer visa pages. New Zealand citizens who hold a Special Category visa are treated as permanent residents for citizenship with their own start-date rules, which the Department's citizenship page sets out.
What has to happen before a Carer visa holder can apply?
Before a Carer visa holder can apply, the visa must be granted, the residence clock must have run, and the absences must fit within the limits. The steps run in this order.
- The visa is granted (836) or the carer first enters Australia on it (116).
- 12 months pass as a permanent resident, inside 4 years of lawful residence, with no more than 12 months away in the 4 years and 90 days in the last 12 months.
- Travel stays covered. The Carer visa's travel facility lasts 5 years from grant, and a carer still travelling after that needs a Resident Return visa to return as a permanent resident.
- The visa stays in force. Until citizenship is conferred, the carer holds a visa, and the rules on visa cancellation after grant still apply to it.
- The application is lodged online on Form 1300t, with a fee of A$595 (A$85 for eligible Pensioner Concession Card holders, and nil for children under 16 on a parent's form). Form 1290, for other situations, costs A$365. The fees come from the Department's Form 1298i (design date July 2026). On 24 September 2026 the Department's web pages still showed older figures of AUD285 and AUD180, and this guide uses the form.
- The test or interview follows. Applicants aged 18 to 59 sit a 20-question test and need 75% with all 5 values questions correct, while applicants aged 60 or over do not sit the test and may be interviewed instead (section 21(4)).
- Approval and the ceremony. The Department says it processes 75% of applications in 13 months and 90% in 16 months, up to the ceremony, and holds the ceremony within about 6 months of approval. Citizenship takes effect when the pledge is made.
Every stage before citizenship, from the medical assessment to the grant, is mapped on the Carer Visa Australia home page.
A registered professional makes a grant more likely
Citizenship applications are refused when the 4-year or 90-day arithmetic is out by a few days, and the fee is not refunded. A registered migration agent or an Australian legal practitioner checks the movement records and the permanent-residence start date against section 22 before lodgement, which makes approval more likely. No one can promise an approval date or a ceremony date.
Ask about your caseRead next
Subclass 836 Carer visa: applying and waiting in AustraliaThe 836 lets you apply in Australia and stay lawful while you wait.
Subclass 116 Carer visa: applying from outside AustraliaThe 116 is lodged from overseas, decided overseas, then entered by a set date.
Resident Return visa: travelling after a Carer visa grant and the 5-year travel facilityFive years of travel from grant, then a Resident Return visa or citizenship.