Australia Country Profile

Passport
For more details visit Australia Passport Ranking
  • Passport Grade
    A
  • Passport Ranking
    42/198
  • Passport Score
    171.7/198
  • Visa-free Countries
    155
  • Visa-required Countries
    43
  • Access to the World's GDP
    74%
  • Access to the World's Surface Area
    59%
  • Access to the World's Population
    45%
  • Access to the Unesco Sites
    78%
Citizenship and Naturalization
Birthright citizenship (Jus Soli)
  • Birthright citizenship (Jus Soli)
    Restricted
    Restricted: A child born in Australia will become a citizen at birth if at least one of the parents is an Australian permanent resident.
Naturalization - Standard Conditions
  • Minimum residency period
    4 years
  • Physical presence requirement
    Cannot be away from Australia for more than 12 total months during these 4 years, including no more than 90 days in the past 12 months
  • Language test
    Yes, English. (Not required if older than 60)
  • Need to renounce original citizenship?
    No
  • Can minor children naturalize?
  • Can naturalized parents pass citizenship to a child born abroad?
  • Can you lose naturalization due to prolonged absence/ naturalization elsewhere?
Naturalization - Your Spouse is a Citizen
  • Living IN the country: Residency/marriage requirement
    No provisions
  • Living ABROAD: Marriage requirement
    No provisions
  • Language test
    No provisions
  • Need to renounce original citizenship?
    No provisions
Naturalization - Other Beneficial Provisions
  • Your child is a citizen
    No provisions
  • Citizens of specific countries
"–": The provision has not been analysed.
Taxation
For more details visit Cost of Living
  • Taxation Type
    Residence-based
A tax resident of a country with a RESIDENCE-BASED tax system pays taxes on their WORLDWIDE income. However, if you lose tax residency status there (e.g., by moving out), the country will generally stop taxing you.

Foreigners with temporary (but not permanent) residency enjoy territorial taxation.
Australia and New Zealand signed the Trans-Tasman Travel Arrangement (TTTA) allowing their citizens to live and work in either country.
Schiff Sovereign's Take on Australia
Australia has a lot going for it: lots of sunshine, beaches, beautiful nature, fantastic cities, amazing wildlife in the Outback. The country is also very safe.

Australians tend to be laid-back. It’s easy to relax and be yourself there.

That’s all assuming you will be able to visit the country at all. During the pandemic, the Australian government banned not only tourists, but often their own citizens from coming to Australia. And for the longest time, they also did not allow anyone to leave the country without a “valid” reason, essentially returning to its days of a penal colony.

Still, Australia is a decent place to consider for employees, as wages are generally high there. And the country’s point-based immigration system makes moving to Australia quite straightforward.

But keep in mind that you are not likely to save anything while working there – Australia is very expensive. Housing prices are astronomical, so the housing market in any major city presents a formidable barrier for many expats. 

If you’re considering Australia for business, you might want to think twice. Australia is quite socialist, and almost anti-business. There are a lot of rules and regulations. High taxes are also an issue.

On the investment front, however, compelling opportunities can be found in Australia. In fact, most of the stock picks in our 4th Pillar investment letter are listed in Australia.

Australia is a resource-oriented economy, rendering the Australian dollar cyclical in value. The periodic slumps in natural resource prices easily take the AUD down 20% or more versus the US dollar.

At times when the Australian dollar is weak, buying into Australian companies can be a lucrative thing to do. 

On the downside, Australia has been rapidly increasing its debt, both public and private. Consumer debt is also spiraling out of control.

Students, if they can afford housing, might flourish in Australia. The quality of universities is very high there, and tuition prices are much more reasonable than in the US.

Bottom line – Australia is great to visit, but it’s a difficult place to find value, unless you’re a student or an investor from afar.
Schiff Sovereign's Rolodex
Service Providers available in Australia
  • Immigration (residency, citizenship)
  • Tax advice (attorneys and/or accountants)
  • Stock broker
Obtain access to our Rolodex by signing up for Sovereign Confidential Join Sovereign Confidential Today

Sovereign Global Explorer

Benefiting from over a decade of our team’s boots-on-the-ground experience, Global Explorer is where your international journey begins.
Australia Overview
  • Region
    Oceania
  • Capital City
    Canberra
  • Largest City
    Sydney
  • Currency
    Australian dollar
  • Languages
    English
  • Population
    26 million (53rd)
  • Life Expectancy
    83.1 years (14th)
  • GDP (Nominal)
    $1.7 trillion (14th)
  • GDP/Capita
    $66,372 (13th)
Useful Data
For more details visit Cost of Living
  • Cost of Living
    Extreme (7/7)
  • Climate
    Very comfortable (1/5)
  • Safety
    Very Safe (2/7)
  • Pollution
    Very clean (1/5)
  • English Proficiency
    Native

Sovereign Global Explorer

Benefiting from over a decade of our team’s boots-on-the-ground experience, Global Explorer is where your international journey begins.
PREMIUM REPORTS
Australia inside Schiff Sovereign resources

Articles featuring Australia

Trends & News

Two Weeks in an Australian COVID prison

Two Weeks in an Australian COVID prison Here’s our Friday roll-up of the most ridiculous stories from around the world that are threats to your liberty, risks to your prosperity… and on occasion, inspiring poetic justice. Australian Woman Describes Two Weeks in Quarantine Camp A 26 year old woman from Australia, Hayley Hodgson, was forced […]

Taxes

Australia wants to tax bank deposits. Does anyone think the US won’t?

April 1, 2015 Santiago, Chile Several months ago, the government of Australia proposed to tax bank deposits up to $250,000 at a rate of 0.05% (5 basis points). Their idea was for the money to be invested in a rainy day Financial Stabilization Fund to insure against in the unlikely event of a banking crisis… […]

Trends & News

Australia’s astonishing tyranny keeps growing

In the early summer of 1798, an Irish stone mason named Philip Cunningham reached his breaking point. Cunningham was sick and tired of English rule in Ireland. And along with 50,000 of his fellow Irishmen, Cunningham picked up a weapon and started in uprising against Great Britain. Their rebellion was a complete disaster; the rebels […]

Trends & News

Why the Australian dollar is going to get weaker

[Editor’s note: This column was written by Sovereign Man Chief Investment Strategist Tim Staermose] Earlier in the year I published a piece, setting out why I thought a weaker Australian dollar was inevitable. In light of the recent bounce in the Australian dollar, some people have asked me about it. My views have not really […]

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