How Your Permanent Residency Start Date Is Calculated for Citizenship on a Subclass 100 Visa in 2026
For holders of a Partner (Migrant) visa (subclass 100), how the start of your permanent residency is counted for Australian citizenship, and how to check which date applies to you.
For citizenship purposes, if you hold a Partner (Migrant) visa (subclass 100), your permanent residency starts on the day your visa was granted if you were in Australia at the time of grant, and on the day you first entered Australia on that visa if you were outside Australia when it was granted. That is the rule published by the Australian Department of Home Affairs on its official Partner (Migrant) visa (Subclass 100) page (Partner (Migrant) visa (subclass 100)), as at October 2026. Everything that follows comes down to one question: which of those two days is yours.
This article explains the published rule in general terms. It is not personalised advice about your own eligibility, and your dates should be checked against your visa grant letter and official records, or with a registered migration professional, before you rely on them for a citizenship application.
Which day does the Department count from?
The published rule splits on where you were on the day the permanent visa was granted, not on where you live now and not on which office processed the case.
| Where you were on the day of grant | Day permanent residency starts for citizenship | Where that date comes from |
|---|---|---|
| In Australia | The day the visa was granted | The date of grant in your visa grant letter |
| Outside Australia | The day you first entered Australia on this visa after it was granted | Your arrival record for that first entry |
Two facts decide the outcome: your location on the grant day, and, if you were outside Australia, the date of your first arrival on the visa.
Why "permanent resident from the grant day" is not always the same day
The Department states that you become a permanent resident on the day it grants the visa. For citizenship counting, however, the same page gives a separate rule that looks at grant day or first entry depending on your location at grant.
So an applicant granted a Subclass 100 visa while overseas holds permanent residency from the grant day, but the day used for citizenship is the day they first arrive in Australia on that visa. The gap between those two dates can be the difference between an application year and the one after it.
How do I work out which day applies to me?
Work through your own records in this order:
- Open your visa grant letter.
- Note the date the visa was granted.
- Check whether you were inside Australia on that date.
- If you were inside Australia, that grant date is your start date.
- If you were outside Australia, find the date you first arrived in Australia after the grant.
- Confirm your visa is still valid using VEVO.
- Request your international movement records if you need official evidence of the arrival date.
Your visa number, which you need for a VEVO check, is in the grant letter.
If you were outside Australia at grant, what counts as the first entry?
The date that counts is the first time you entered Australia on this visa after it was granted. An arrival before the grant is not the relevant entry, because the published rule ties the start date to entry on the visa following grant.
Your grant letter also shows a first entry arrival date (first entry, arrive by). The Department requires you to enter Australia before that date if you were outside Australia when the visa was granted. You can still travel to Australia with an expired first entry arrival date if the visa itself remains valid, but the Department warns that the visa may still be cancelled before arrival or at the border. If you are relying on a late first entry, check the visa's current status in VEVO before you book travel.
Does delaying your first entry delay the citizenship count?
Yes. Where the first-entry rule applies, the start date is the arrival day, so a later arrival means a later start. The grant letter's first entry arrival date does not rescue the count: it is a deadline for making that first entry, not a substitute for it. Entry after that date carries the cancellation risk described above.
The practical consequence is straightforward: for an offshore grant, the day you choose to fly in sets the beginning of the period you will later be counting.
Does anything else move the start date?
The published rule turns only on location at grant and, for offshore grants, first entry on the visa after grant. Other events in your file — a new passport, the end of the visa's initial five-year travel facility, or a return to Australia later on a Resident Return (RRV) — are separate matters. Once the five-year travel facility on the visa ends, you need to apply for and be granted an RRV to travel to Australia as a permanent resident.
The rule also does not depend on Medicare access, work rights, study, or whether you later sponsor family members.
One extra step for New Zealand passport holders
If an immigration officer processes your clearance at the Australian border, tell them that you hold a permanent Australian visa and that you do not want a Special Category visa (subclass 444). If you do not, you might be granted a subclass 444 visa, and the Department states that the grant of a 444 visa will override your permanent visa and might affect your eligibility for Australian citizenship.
How to plan your citizenship year
Fix the start date first, using the two-step test above. Then check the residence criteria for citizenship on the Department's becoming-a-citizen pages, which set out the eligibility requirements separately from the start-date rule. The start date determines where your counting period begins; whether you can lodge depends on those other requirements as they are published at the time.
Because citizenship settings can change, confirm the residence criteria against the official pages current when you are ready to apply. This piece is general reference material only.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is my start date the day I was granted the temporary Partner visa (subclass 309)?
No. The rule published for the permanent Partner (Migrant) visa (subclass 100) starts the count at the grant day of the permanent visa, if you were in Australia, or at your first entry on that visa after grant, if you were not.
I was overseas on my grant day and have not entered Australia yet. When does my count start?
It starts on the day you first enter Australia on the visa. Until that arrival happens, the period used for citizenship has not begun.
Where do I find my visa grant date?
Your visa grant letter states the date of grant and contains your visa number. You can use that number in VEVO to view your current visa details and conditions.
Can I still travel to Australia after my first entry arrival date has passed?
You can travel with an expired first entry arrival date if the visa is still valid, but the Department may still cancel the visa before arrival or at the border. Check the visa's status in VEVO before travelling.
I hold a New Zealand passport. What should I do at the border?
Tell the immigration officer that you hold a permanent Australian visa and that you do not want a Special Category visa (subclass 444). A granted 444 visa overrides your permanent visa and might affect your citizenship eligibility.
What happens when the five-year travel facility on my visa ends?
You must apply for and be granted a Resident Return (RRV) to travel to Australia as a permanent resident. The end of the travel facility is a travel matter and is not part of the rule that fixes the citizenship start date.