Moving to the UK from Australasia: Complete Guide

Australia and New Zealand sit on the useful side of most published lists: on the Youth Mobility Scheme at 18 to 35, on the majority English-speaking list, off the visa national list and off the tuberculosis test list, and Commonwealth countries for UK Ancestry. This guide sets out each route, the conditions that still apply, and what it costs.

Checked 4 March 202612 min readWritten by the Rowan Editorial Team

Section: Moving to the UK From...
Reading time: 12 min
Last checked: 4 March 2026
Source: The published Immigration Rules and GOV.UK guidance, linked throughout this guide.
Rowan does not: Look at your own case, tell you which route to choose, or say what the Home Office will decide. This guide shows the published rules and where to read them.

In short

Youth Mobility is open to Australians and New Zealanders aged 18 to 35: £340, up to 24 months, £2,530 in savings.
UK Ancestry costs £726 and lasts 5 years. A grandparent born before 31 March 1922 in what is now Ireland counts, as well as one born in the UK, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man.
No tuberculosis test and no English test. Several Pacific countries are on the tuberculosis list, and none of them is on the English list.
Neither country is a visa national, so a short visit needs a £20 Electronic Travel Authorisation, not a visitor visa.
The health surcharge is £1,035 a year, or £776 on Youth Mobility and student routes, paid up front for the whole visa.
Settlement costs £3,226 per person and citizenship £1,709 plus a £130 ceremony fee.

Australians and New Zealanders are outside most of the requirements that shape a UK application: no tuberculosis test, no English test, no visitor visa. What is left is a choice between routes — Youth Mobility at 18 to 35, UK Ancestry if a grandparent qualifies, Skilled Worker with a sponsoring employer, Global Talent, or a family route — and the cost, which is dominated by the immigration health surcharge rather than the visa fee.

The Australasian Route to the UK

Australians and New Zealanders have a long tradition of spending time in the UK, and the immigration rules reflect part of that history: both are Commonwealth countries, and both sit on the Youth Mobility Scheme at the wider 18 to 35 age band.

In immigration terms, Australia and New Zealand fall outside several requirements that shape applications from elsewhere. Neither country is on the tuberculosis test list. Both are on the Home Office list of majority English-speaking countries, so no English test is needed. Neither is on the visa national list, so a short visit takes a £20 Electronic Travel Authorisation rather than a visitor visa. And both are Commonwealth countries, which opens the UK Ancestry route. What is left is choosing a route and paying for it.

This is not true of the wider Pacific. Fiji, Nauru, Vanuatu and Timor-Leste are on the visa national list. Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Kiribati, the Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Palau, Tuvalu and East Timor are on the tuberculosis test list. And no Pacific country other than Australia and New Zealand is on the majority English-speaking list.

Visa Routes

Youth Mobility Scheme

The Youth Mobility Scheme is the most popular starting point for Australians and New Zealanders under 36. Key features:

Open to citizens aged 18 to 35 — the same band as Canada and South Korea, against 18 to 30 for the other participating countries
Up to 24 months of living and working in the UK
No sponsor required, and no restriction on the type of work
£340 to apply, plus £776 a year health surcharge
£2,530 in savings, held for 28 days in a row
You cannot apply if you have children under 18 living with you or children you are financially responsible for, or if you have already been in the UK under the scheme
A decision usually takes 3 weeks, and the earliest you can apply is 6 months before you travel

Many Australians and New Zealanders use the Youth Mobility Scheme as their first step, then transition to a Skilled Worker visa or Ancestry visa if they decide to stay longer.

Ancestry Visa

The Ancestry visa is particularly relevant for Australians. A large proportion of the Australian population has British heritage through post-war migration, and many Australians have grandparents who were born in the UK.

The published conditions:

Open to Commonwealth citizens, British overseas citizens, British overseas territories citizens, British nationals (overseas) and citizens of Zimbabwe
A grandparent born in the UK, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man; before 31 March 1922 in what is now Ireland; or on a ship or aircraft registered in the UK or belonging to the UK government
Adoption does not break the line, and neither does your parents or grandparents not having married. You cannot claim through a step-parent.
17 or over, able and planning to work
Able to support and house yourself and any dependants without public funds
£726, granted for 5 years, no sponsor and no minimum salary
A decision from outside the UK usually takes 3 weeks, and the earliest you can apply is 3 months before you travel
After 5 years you can either extend for a further 5 years or apply for settlement

New Zealanders also qualify if they have a UK-born grandparent, though the same conditions apply. See our dedicated guides for Australians and New Zealanders.

Skilled Worker Visa

The Skilled Worker visa needs a job offer from a UK employer holding a Home Office sponsor licence, and a certificate of sponsorship from that employer, used within 3 months of being assigned. The English requirement is met automatically. The rest applies in full:

Salary. £41,700 a year or the going rate for the occupation code, whichever is higher. A lower threshold of £33,400 covers a defined set of cases, including new entrants and jobs on the Immigration Salary List — but the full going rate still applies to those too. Being on the Immigration Salary List gives you the lower threshold and a reduced fee, not a discount on the going rate.
Skill level. Since 22 July 2025 a new applicant needs a job at graduate level (RQF 6). Jobs below that can only be sponsored where the occupation code is on the Immigration Salary List or the Temporary Shortage List, and Temporary Shortage List roles cannot bring dependants.
Money. £1,270 held for 28 days, unless your sponsor certifies your maintenance or you have already been in the UK for 12 months.

If you change employer or job, you apply to update your visa and wait for the decision before starting the new job. Do not start on the strength of a submitted application.

Spouse and Partner Visa

If your partner is a British citizen or has settled status, the Spouse visa route is available. The financial requirement applies, but the English language requirement is waived.

Global Talent Visa

The Global Talent visa covers science, digital technology, arts and culture, and academia, and needs no job offer. It costs £561 for the endorsement plus a £205 visa fee — £766 in total, and £766 for each dependant. A prestigious prize route pays the £766 in one payment. GOV.UK says settlement follows after 3 or 5 years, depending on the field and how you applied.

What You Do Not Need

It is worth being explicit about what Australians and New Zealanders do not need:

No TB test. Neither country is on the testing list.
No English language test. Both countries are exempt.
No document translation. Australian and New Zealand documents are in English.
No document legalisation. Both countries are members of the Hague Apostille Convention. A simple apostille is sufficient if document authentication is needed.

The Costs

Despite the procedural simplicity, moving to the UK from Australasia is expensive. The main costs are:

Youth Mobility: £340, plus £776 a year health surcharge — £1,552 over 24 months. £1,892 in all.
UK Ancestry: £726, plus £1,035 a year health surcharge — £5,175 over 5 years. £5,901 in all.
Skilled Worker from outside the UK: £819 for up to 3 years, £1,618 for longer; £628 and £1,235 for a job on the Immigration Salary List. Plus the health surcharge for the length of the visa.
Global Talent: £561 endorsement plus a £205 visa fee, £766 in total, and £766 for each dependant.
Family visa as a partner: £2,064 from outside the UK, £1,407 from inside, per person.
Settlement: £3,226 per person.
Citizenship: £1,709 plus a £130 ceremony fee — £1,839 for an adult.
Electronic Travel Authorisation for a short visit: £20.

Paying £500 for the priority service usually brings a decision within 5 working days, or 30 working days on a family visa. Super priority is £1,000 for the next working day, and is not available for citizenship applications.

For a complete breakdown, see our UK visa fees guide and our guide to the hidden costs of UK immigration.

Commonwealth Advantages

Both Australia and New Zealand are Commonwealth countries. That matters for two published things:

UK Ancestry. The route is only open to Commonwealth citizens and a few related categories.
Registering to vote, once you are living in the UK. The rules are not the same across the UK. In England and Northern Ireland a Commonwealth citizen can register if they have permission to enter or stay, or do not need it. In Scotland and Wales anyone with permission to stay can register for devolved and local elections, whatever their nationality.

For a full explanation, see our guide to Commonwealth citizens' rights in the UK.

First Practical Steps

Once you have arrived, the administrative tasks are:

Banking. Open a UK bank account as soon as possible. See our bank account guide. Some banks accept new visa holders immediately; others require proof of address.
Driving. Australian and New Zealand licences can be exchanged for a British one without retaking a test. How long you can drive on the original, and how long you have to exchange it, depend on the licence and on where in the UK you live — check the GOV.UK tools for driving on a non-GB licence and exchanging a foreign licence. Northern Ireland runs a separate process. See our driving licence guide.
Healthcare. Register with a GP as soon as you arrive; almost everything else in the NHS is reached through your GP. Paying the health surcharge puts you on the same footing as a UK resident, not on a free one: in England a prescription costs £9.90 and NHS dental treatment falls into bands of £27.90, £76.60 or £332.10. Prescriptions are free in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
National Insurance. Get your National Insurance number to work legally.

The Path to Settlement and Citizenship

Most work and family routes lead to settlement, or indefinite leave to remain, after 5 years. It costs £3,226 for you and the same for each dependant, you can apply from 28 days before the 5 years is up, and the decision usually arrives within 6 months of giving your fingerprints and photograph. A change from 5 years to 10 years has been proposed but is not law, so the qualifying period may change. Global Talent is the exception, at 3 or 5 years depending on the field and how you applied.

After settlement you can apply for British citizenship once you have held it for 12 months, or straight away if you are married to or in a civil partnership with a British citizen, where the residence requirement is 3 years rather than 5. It costs £1,709 plus a £130 ceremony fee and usually takes up to 6 months; the faster decision services are not available for citizenship. You will need the Life in the UK test — £50, 24 questions in 45 minutes, pass mark 75%, and no test if you are under 18 or 65 or over. The English requirement is met by your nationality.

British nationality law allows dual citizenship, so becoming British does not by itself cost you your Australian or New Zealand citizenship. Whether your own country lets you keep it is a question for that country.

Next Steps

For official information, visit the GOV.UK visa checker the GOV.UK Youth Mobility Scheme page, and the GOV.UK Ancestry visa page.

Questions and answers

Can Australians and New Zealanders get a Youth Mobility visa for the UK?

Yes. Australia and New Zealand are both on the Youth Mobility Scheme, at ages 18 to 35 — the same band as Canada and South Korea, and wider than the 18 to 30 that applies to Andorra, Iceland, Japan, Monaco, San Marino and Uruguay. The visa costs £340, lasts up to 24 months, needs £2,530 in savings and carries a £776 a year health surcharge. It allows work without a sponsor. A decision usually takes 3 weeks, and you can apply from 6 months before you travel.

Are Australians eligible for the UK Ancestry visa?

Australia is a Commonwealth country, so UK Ancestry is open to Australian citizens. GOV.UK's condition is a grandparent born in the UK, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man; before 31 March 1922 in what is now Ireland; or on a ship or aircraft registered in the UK or belonging to the UK government. An Irish-born grandparent can therefore qualify, if the birth was before that date. You must also be 17 or over, able to support yourself without public funds, and able and planning to work. Adoption does not break the line, and neither does your parents or grandparents not having married, but you cannot claim through a step-parent. The visa costs £726 and lasts 5 years.

Do Australians or New Zealanders need a TB test?

No. Neither Australia nor New Zealand is on the tuberculosis test list, and neither are Fiji, Samoa or Tonga. Several Pacific countries are on it: Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Kiribati, the Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Palau, Tuvalu and East Timor. Of those, only Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu have an approved clinic; the rest require testing in another country.

Are Australians and New Zealanders exempt from English language testing?

Yes. Australia and New Zealand are both on the Home Office list of majority English-speaking countries, so their nationals do not sit an approved English test on routes that have an English requirement. Fiji, Samoa, Tonga and Papua New Guinea are not on that list, however widely English is spoken there — it is a closed list rather than a judgement about language use.

How much does the Immigration Health Surcharge cost for Australians?

The immigration health surcharge is £1,035 per person per year on most routes, and £776 a year on the Youth Mobility Scheme, for students and their dependants, and for under-18s. Over a 5-year visa that is £5,175 per person at the standard rate, paid up front with the application. It buys NHS care on the same basis as a UK resident, which is not the same as free: in England a prescription costs £9.90 and NHS dental treatment falls into bands of £27.90, £76.60 or £332.10. Prescriptions are free in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The surcharge is a condition of the visa and is separate from the reciprocal healthcare arrangement that covers visitors.

Can I use my Australian or New Zealand driving licence in the UK?

Australia and New Zealand are both on the list of countries whose licences can be exchanged for a British one without retaking a test, but how long you can keep driving on the original and how long you have to exchange it depend on the licence and on where in the UK you live. Use the GOV.UK tools for driving in Great Britain on a non-GB licence, and for exchanging a foreign driving licence; Northern Ireland runs a separate process through nidirect.

Do Australians and New Zealanders need anything to visit the UK for a short trip?

Yes, but not a visa. Neither country is on the visa national list, so a short visit needs an Electronic Travel Authorisation. It costs £20 and covers travel of up to 6 months per visit. You only need one if you pass through UK border control, so changing planes airside does not require it. Fiji, Nauru, Vanuatu and Timor-Leste are visa nationals and need a visitor visa applied for before travel instead.

This guide is general information about published immigration rules. It is not advice about an individual application under s.82 Immigration and Asylum Act 1999, and Rowan is not regulated by the Immigration Advice Authority. Immigration rules change several times a year. For advice on a particular situation, contact an adviser authorised by the Immigration Advice Authority or an immigration solicitor. Always check GOV.UK for the authoritative current rules.

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