​​People can become a permanent resident of Australia in different ways. Three common ways of becoming a permanent resident are through gaining:

• A family-stream permanent visa

• A work-stream permanent visa

• Business or Investor-Stream Permanent visa

Check that you meet our criteria before you apply. If your visa has a “no further stay” condition attached, you cannot stay in Australia beyond the period specified in your visa in order to apply for permanent residency.

To find a visa that suits your needs, explore visa options.

Family-stream permanent residence visas

Work-stream permanent residence visas

Business or investment-stream permanent residence visas

Family-stream permanent residence visas

These are for:

• Partners, children, parents or dependent relatives of an Australian citizen, permanent resident of Australia or Eligible New Zealand citizen

• Children being adopted or in the process of being adopted outside of Australia

• Carers who need to move to Australia to provide long-term care for an approved relative

Explore permanent visa options for families.

Work-stream permanent residence visas

These are for workers who have an Australian employer sponsoring them to work in Australia, or have skills that Australia values.

Explore permanent visa options for workers.

Business or investment-stream permanent residence visas

Explore permanent visa options for business or investment.

Retirement visa pathway

The Australian Government has recently created a pathway to permanent residency for eligible retirees.

This pathway provides options to long-term residents who have contributed to, and are well-established in the community.

The government has built the pathway by setting aside a portion of places from the permanent migration scheme for parents.

Learn more about the Retirement visa pathway.

Former Resident visa

This visa is for certain permanent Former Residents.

Global Talent visa

This visa is for people with an internationally-recognised record of exceptional and outstanding achievement.

• Global Talent visa (subclass 858)

• Refugee and humanitarian visas

These visas are for people who left their home country due to persecution.

To learn more about refugee and humanitarian visas, explore visa options.