Subclass 444 (Special Category Visa): What Kiwis Can Actually Do With It

If you are a New Zealand citizen living in Australia, you can buy a home here on close to the same footing as a local.

Many lenders will lend subclass 444 holders up to 95% of the property value, the same maximum they offer Australian citizens.

You can buy established homes during the foreign buyer ban. You skip FIRB entirely. And participating lenders have treated 444 holders as eligible for the First Home Guarantee since June 2024.

This guide covers what the 444 visa is, what it gives you as a buyer, and where its limits are. It also covers the costs and grants that apply. All positions are as at July 2026.

What the 444 visa actually is

The visa you never applied for

If you are a New Zealand citizen and you have ever flown into Australia, you already hold a Special Category Visa (subclass 444). There was no application, no form and no fee. It was granted automatically at the border the moment you cleared immigration.

It has no expiry date while you stay in Australia, and there is no paperwork to renew.

Temporary in name only

The strange part is that the 444 ends every time you leave Australia, and a fresh one is granted when you return. On paper it is a temporary visa.

In practice it behaves like nothing else in the migration system. It is a temporary visa that can last a lifetime, held by hundreds of thousands of Kiwis who have never thought about their visa status.

That temporary label is where the confusion starts. Plenty of Kiwis assume it locks them out of the deals reserved for permanent residents. As at July 2026, the opposite is closer to the truth.

What the 444 gives you as a buyer

Most lenders treat subclass 444 holders as locals, not foreigners, and the big government rules that punish foreign buyers largely carve New Zealand citizens out.

Nobody hands you this list when you land, so here it is. As at July 2026, a New Zealand citizen on a 444 who is ordinarily resident in Australia can access:

• Up to 95% LVR with most lenders. The majority of banks assess 444 holders under the same policy as Australian citizens. A deposit of around 5% plus costs can be enough, where a typical temporary visa holder is often capped at 80%.
• Exemption from the foreign buyer ban. The federal ban on foreign persons buying established homes runs from 2025 to 2029. But New Zealand citizens ordinarily resident in Australia are not caught by it. Established homes, not just new builds, are on the table.
• No FIRB application. No Foreign Investment Review Board approval, no application fee, no waiting on a decision before you can sign a contract.
• No 8% AFAD in Queensland. Queensland’s Additional Foreign Acquirer Duty adds 8% of the purchase price for foreign buyers. A 444 holder who is ordinarily resident pays standard duty like anyone else. Ordinarily resident broadly means around 200 days in Australia in the 12 months before the transaction.
• First Home Guarantee eligibility. Participating lenders have treated 444 holders as eligible for the federal Home Guarantee Scheme since June 2024. Buy with as little as a 5% deposit and skip Lenders Mortgage Insurance entirely. We confirm your eligibility with the lender before relying on it.
• QLD First Home Owner Grant. New Zealand citizens on a 444 can qualify for the Queensland First Home Owner Grant on an eligible new home. This is subject to the usual grant conditions.

Put together, that is a stronger buying position than almost any other visa in the system delivers. See how the 444 compares in our full guide to home loans by visa type. Or check your own position with the visa buying eligibility checker.

Read More: How the rules blend when a Kiwi buys with a non-Kiwi partner

What lenders will offer New Zealand citizens

How much can I borrow?

How much you can borrow depends on where you live, not just your citizenship:

• Living and working in Australia: up to 95% of the property value with many lenders, under the same policy as Australian citizens.
• Living in New Zealand or elsewhere: generally up to around 70% of the property value. Fewer lenders are available, and foreign buyer duty is potentially in play.
• On a 461 visa (New Zealand Citizen Family Relationship visa, held by non-NZ-citizen family members): up to 95% of the property value with some lenders.

One licence note: Hunter Galloway can only assist if you are a New Zealand citizen living and working in Australia. If you are living and working in New Zealand, we cannot arrange finance for you due to restrictions with our credit licence.

What does a 5% deposit actually look like?

Borrowing above 80% of the property value normally means paying Lenders Mortgage Insurance, which the LMI calculator prices at your target purchase.

Eligible first home buyers can avoid LMI at a 5% deposit through the First Home Guarantee. Other buyers can compare LMI waiver options. Our deposit calculator shows what your savings support.

Can my KiwiSaver help?

Possibly. KiwiSaver balances can be transferred to a complying Australian super fund under the Trans-Tasman portability rules. The First Home Super Saver scheme can then release eligible amounts towards a first home deposit, within ATO caps and conditions.

The rules on which amounts qualify are detailed, so confirm your position with your fund and the ATO before counting on it. The full steps, and a KiwiSaver transfer estimate tool, are in our guide to home loans for New Zealand citizens.

What if my situation is not covered?

Newly arrived Kiwis, self-employed applicants and applicants relying on NZ income history all sit at the edges of standard policy. Each is a lender-matching exercise.

Australians and Kiwis buying from overseas are a different lane again. Start with our Australian expat home loans guide, or book a free assessment for anything unusual.

What the 444 does not do

The caveats matter, because the 444 is generous right up until the point people assume it is something it is not.

It is not permanent residency

The 444 carries no path to Australian citizenship by itself. Some public sector roles and government benefits are assessed differently for 444 holders than for permanent residents.

If citizenship is the long-term plan, that is a separate application. The 444 will not get you there on its own.

The ordinarily resident hinge

Several of the concessions above depend on being ordinarily resident in Australia, not merely holding the visa. This applies to the foreign buyer ban exemption and Queensland’s AFAD exemption in particular.

A Kiwi who landed three months ago may not yet clear the roughly 200-days-in-12-months test, which can change their duty treatment on a purchase.

If you are newly arrived, run the numbers through our foreign buyer duty calculator before you commit to a contract date.

Leaving changes things

Because the visa ends each time you depart, moving overseas long-term can affect your ordinarily-resident status, and with it how a future purchase is treated. The 444 rewards people who actually live here.

444 vs permanent residency vs a typical temporary visa

How the three positions compare for a home buyer, as at July 2026:

The short version: for buying a home, the 444 puts you in the permanent-resident column on almost every line that matters. You get that without ever having applied for anything.

Compare that with the position of a partner visa holder, a student visa holder or someone on a bridging visa. Each of those faces FIRB, the ban and the duty surcharge until permanent residence.

Case study: a 5% deposit and the QLD grant

Liam, a New Zealand citizen living and working in Brisbane, wanted to buy his first home close to family and work. He found a $735,000 new build in a great location.

On his subclass 444 visa he was treated like a permanent resident. No FIRB approval, no foreign buyer duty, and access to lenders at a 5% deposit, which came to $36,750.

As a first home buyer building new, he was also eligible for the $30,000 Queensland First Home Owner Grant. That cut his out-of-pocket cash to around $6,750 plus purchase costs.

Outcome: Liam bought with a minimal deposit thanks to the grant and a low deposit home loan. He avoided foreign buyer fees completely.

Illustrative example as at July 2026. Grant eligibility has conditions, including that the home is new and valued under $750,000 including land.

The process for Kiwis buying in Australia

For New Zealanders, the process is often simpler than expected:

1. Confirm your position. Living in Australia on a 444 and ordinarily resident? You are treated like a permanent resident for the purchase.
2. Get assessed and pre-approved. We map your borrowing power across 30+ lenders, including how each treats NZ income history and newly arrived applicants.
3. Line up grants and schemes. First Home Guarantee places and the QLD First Home Owner Grant both have conditions and timing rules. So sort eligibility before you sign. Our first home buyer guide covers the full checklist.
4. Search with confidence. New or established, home or investment, the 444 leaves the full market open to you.
5. Contracts and conveyancing. A solicitor or conveyancer reviews the contract and confirms your duty position, which you can preview with the Queensland stamp duty calculator.
6. Settle and move in. Settlement typically takes 30 to 90 days from contract.

Do you need to wait for PR or citizenship?

For buying a home, no. Unlike every other visa page in this series, there is no repricing event to wait for. The 444 already gives you the buying position permanent residents have.

Formal permanent residency or citizenship still matters for other reasons, such as certain public sector jobs, benefits and the passport itself. None of those change your home loan options. So buying now versus waiting is purely a market and savings decision for most Kiwis.

Next steps and how to apply

This page covers what the visa itself does. For lender policies, deposit options, income rules and the buying process, start with the full guide to home loans for New Zealand citizens.

Want to know exactly where you stand? Call 1300 088 065 or book a free assessment online and we will map it out with you. The service costs you nothing, and we compare across 30+ banks and lenders.

Related guides:

• New Zealand citizen home loans
• Home loans by visa type
• Mixed-visa couples buying property
• Partner visa home loans
• The Home Guarantee Scheme
• First home buyer loans

Information as at July 2026. Lender and government policies change without notice and are assessed case-by-case. This is general information, not credit or legal advice.