Recording legal residence status 106-06020050

Verification of the customer’s arrival into Australia may be able to be used as evidence of their (or their parents, if applicable) legal residence status at the time. This may assist in determining if the customer is a legal resident. See Table 2 of Assessing if a customer is an Australian resident

Has legal residence been confirmed through verification of arrival?

• Yes, go to Step 3
• No, go to Step 2

Is the customer advising of a change in their legal residence details and the previous details were already coded?

• Yes, leave the existing details. Go to Step 11
• No:
  • Go to the RSLEG/CHRSLEG screen
  • Record the customer's country of citizenship the same as their country of birth from date of birth. Note: if the customer advises they have held Australian citizenship from birth, this must be verified. See Proof of Australian citizenship. If it cannot be verified, record 'XX' in the Country of Citizenship
  • If the country of birth is not Australia or New Zealand and the visa status is unknown or unverified, leave the Subclass Code blank
  • Go to Step 10

Go to the RSLEG/CHRSLEG screen.

• The Date of Event relates to the date of grant of citizenship:
  • For the date to use for Australian citizenship, see Date of event for Australian citizenship
  • If the country of citizenship is the same as country of birth, and no date of citizenship has been provided, date of event will be date of birth
• The Country of Citizenship is mandatory coding for most service reasons:
  • If the customer has citizenship for more than one country (which includes Australia), code the Australian citizenship
  • If New Zealand citizenship is not recorded, but is confirmed by the presence of a 444 visa, code New Zealand citizenship from the date they first entered Australia on a 444 visa
  • If the customer has more than one citizenship which includes New Zealand (but not including Australia), code the New Zealand citizenship

Is the customer an Australian citizen?

• Yes, go to Step 4
• No, go to Step 5

Australian citizens do not require a visa to be recorded. However, if an Australian citizen is relying on a Qualifying Residence Exemption (QRE) to qualify for payment (e.g. former refugee visa granted to a person who is now an Australian citizen but has only 4 years residence in Australia), they may not qualify for payment (e.g. Age Pension) unless the previous visa subclass is recorded.

Is the customer an Australian citizen who requires a former visa status to qualify for payment?

• Yes, go to Step 5
• No, go to Step 7

Visa details are needed to grant payment to any customer who is not recorded as being:

• an Australian citizen
• a Special Category visa (SCV) holder

Previous visas need to be recorded so they are included in the calculation of NARWP or qualifying residence period.

If in doubt, record all visa subclasses from the customer's arrival in Australia.

Customers may have 2 current visas at the same time. Both visas should be recorded. The system will use the more substantive visa to assess their entitlement.

For help interpreting visas, see Chapter 9.1 of the Social Security Guide.

Note: if the visa information is left blank or is incomplete, the residence status may be incorrectly assessed which will lead to an incorrect grant or rejection.

On the RSLEG/CHRSLEG screen:

• Identification Number/Visa Number is optional but should be recorded if known. The visa identification number is usually on the customer's entry documentation (e.g. passport)
• Subclass Code is required to grant any customer not recorded as an Australian or New Zealand citizen. The visa subclass is the 3-digit code on the customer’s entry documentation. If keying this also key the Grant Date:
  • If the visa grant date is before 1 September 1994 and the customer was a permanent resident of Australia on that date, key subclass '111' (or '444' for a NZ citizen). Note: the codes prior to 1 September 1994 were alpha and numeric codes. They will continue to display and can be updated
  • If a customer's legal residence has been cancelled but it is still being assessed (as per the RSREX/RSRD screens), No Current Visa (‘NCV’) coding needs to be added manually. For coding instructions, go to Step 6
  • If a customer's permanent residence visa has been reinstated (e.g. a visa cancellation is overturned on appeal), or they have been granted a new visa, and the RSREX screen shows 'NCV' is being assessed, the 'NCV' coding needs to be deleted. For coding instructions, go to Step 7
• Grant Date must be keyed if the Subclass Code or End Date are recorded. This is the date the visa was granted or issued
• End Date is optional. This is generally the date the visa has been ended, i.e. cancelled, ceased or deleted
• Application Date is optional for Special Benefit, Low Income Health Care Card (LIC), Family Tax Benefit, Parental Leave Pay, and Dad and Partner Pay customers granted on provisional visas only. Key the date the customer applied for the visa. If this information is not automatically provided through the Immigration Datalink, it can only be obtained from immigration via written request
• AOS Indicator defaults to Yes if the visa sub class has a mandatory Assurance of Support (AoS) agreement attached to it. If the AoS visa subclass needs to be updated, it must be referred to the AoS team. The Resources page contains a link to the list of AoS contacts
• Visa qualifier code displays additional visa qualifiers associated with the visa subclass to determine payment eligibility. This field is currently used for holders of visa subclass 403. If the visa qualifier code needs to be updated manually, it must be referred to CIS. See Referring inconsistencies in overseas departure and arrival information to Centrelink International Services (CIS)
• Start date must be keyed if the Visa qualifier code is recorded. This is the date the visa qualifier started
• End date is optional. This is used if visa qualifier condition has been ended

Go to Step 10.

Check the RSLEG screen.

‘NCV’ coding is required if all of the following apply:

• a recent entry is a permanent residence visa (see Resources page for a link to the guide to determine if a visa is temporary or permanent) or a visa subclass 444, and
• it has an end date, and
• there are previous visa entries with no end date, and
• the Current visa subclass code on the RSREX screen shows a visa is being assessed, and
• there is evidence that that the visa has been Cancelled or Deleted (Note: if a permanent or 444 visa has been Ceased, it does not meet this criteria) – evidence may be a letter from the customer, or the Visa Status in the MR Database showing as ‘C’ for Cancelled or ‘D’ for Deleted. Note: specific access is required to view the MR database.

Note: the Visa Status in MR will show as: S=Ceased, C=Cancelled, Z=Deleted.

Is ‘NCV’ coding required? Note: if unsure, go to Step 9 to refer to CIS.

Yes:

• update the RSLEG screen:
  • Grant Date: date of visa cancellation + 1 day
  • Subclass Code: NCV
• finalise the activity
• if the customer’s payment cancels, contact them to advise
• ‘INV’estigate any resulting debts
• DOC the record with the details. Suggested text: Customer's visa has been cancelled. [insert evidence used to determine visa has been cancelled]. As a result they are not to be treated as an Australian resident for payment/benefit purposes. NCV has been entered on the RSLEG screen with the visa cancellation date + 1 day
• procedure ends here

No, procedure ends here.

Current ‘NCV’ coding exists if the:

• RSLEG screen has an entry of ‘NCV’ with a start date but no end date
• RSREX screen has ‘NCV’ in the Current visa subclass code

To determine if the customer has a current visa and therefore ‘NCV’ coding needs to be removed, go to the:

• RSIMME screen and ensure the Customer Immigration link status is ACTIVE. If it is not Active, request the Immigration Datalink
• RSLEG screen and check for any new entries of a visa with a blank end date

Note: for staff who have access to the MR database, the customer’s visa status can be checked in the database.

If the customer:

• had their previous visa reinstated (e.g. a visa cancellation is overturned on appeal) the NCV coding needs to be deleted
• has been granted a new visa, or the same visa with a new start date, the NCV coding needs to be end dated

The Resources page contains examples.

Does the customer hold a current visa (that is their previous visa was reinstated or a new visa granted)?

• Yes, go to Step 8
• No, the current coding on the RSLEG screen is correct. Procedure ends here

Go to the RSLEG screen:

• in the Visa Details section, find the current ‘NCV’ entry (the entry with no end date)
• check the ‘Channel’ code for that entry

Is the Channel code ‘CSO’ or is the staff member actioning the record in CIS?

• Yes, if the previous visa was:
  • reinstated from the original grant date, Delete the entry of NCV
  • not reinstated, but another visa granted from a later date, End Date the entry of NCV - use the date one day before the grant date of the new visa
• No, the Channel code is ‘IMC’ (and the staff member is not in CIS):
  • only CIS staff can remove the ‘NCV’ coding
  • go to Step 9 to refer the case to CIS

A referral to CIS is needed if:

• the Service Officer believes ‘NCV’ coding needs to be added, but is unsure
• existing ‘NCV’ coding needs to be removed and the original coding is ‘IMC’ Channel

In Process Direct:

• Go to the Immigration Link Details (RSIML) and/or Child's Immigration Link Details (CHIML) screen.
• Click the Report a problem with Immigration data link at the bottom left of the screen and the IMQ screen will display. Note: the IMQ screen presented for a child record through the CHIML screen will be on the parent’s record.
• Select the option ‘CSA has reason to believe that the data provided by the immigration link is incomplete'
• Within the field that starts with ‘Please provide detailed information…’, record all relevant information and request ‘NCV’ coding on the RSLEG screen be:
  • added, or
  • removed

In Customer First:

• Go to the Investigate Match Questionnaire (IMQ) screen
• Select the option ‘CSA has reason to believe that the data provided by the immigration link is incomplete'
• Within the field that starts with ‘Please provide detailed information…’, record all relevant information and request ‘NCV’ coding on the RSLEG screen be:
  • added, or
  • removed

If the customer is in hardship, contact CIS to advise that an urgent response is required.

Put the claim on hold for 14 days.

CIS should update the customer’s record and either create a Display on Access (DOA) DOC or end date the existing DOA DOC (depending on whether they are inserting or removing NCV coding).

Procedure ends here.

Check if the customer satisfies the qualifying residence requirement or NARWP according to information recorded so far (e.g. adequate Australian residence, Australian citizenship or refugee visa).

To assist in determining this:

In Process Direct - navigate to the Entitlement (ELD) screen.

In Customer First - go to the Assessment Results (AR) screen.

Do not finalise the activity. If the customer's payment is rejecting for a residence related reason, further details may be required.

Note: a non-protected SCV holder who has lived in Australia continuously for at least 10 years immediately before claiming and is residing in Australia may qualify for JSP or YA and is not subject to the NARWP. For more information, see New Zealand 10 year residence exemption.

Does the customer satisfy the qualifying residence requirement or NARWP?

• Yes, go to Step 12
• No, go to Step 11

The system does not automatically assess all the NARWP or qualifying residence exemptions.

A special field needs to be coded to apply any of the following exemptions when the customer is:

• a family member of a refugee or former refugee at the time the refugee arrived in Australia and who is still a family member of that person - or if that person has since died, was a family member of that person at that time, or
• a refugee who arrived in Australia prior to 1 September 1994, or
• claiming JobSeeker Payment (JSP), Youth Allowance (YA) (job seeker), or Parenting Payment Single (PPS) and became a lone principal carer since the start of the current period as an Australian resident, or
• claiming Special Benefit (SpB) or Low Income Health Care Card (LIC) and has had an unforeseen change in circumstances since they first arrived in Australia, or
• claiming Mobility Allowance (MOB) and the event occurred while an Australian resident, or
• claiming Carer Payment (CP) and is a special needs relative

Could the customer satisfy one of the above residence exemption reasons?

• Yes, assess if the exemption can be applied. See Australian residence requirements for payment and select the procedure relating to the payment being claimed from ‘Contents’. Procedure ends here
• No, go to Step 12

The system will generally assess whether the customer is legally entitled to lodge a claim and their residential qualification based on information on the following screens:

• RSLEG/CHRSLEG
• CRES
• Customer Advised Travel Information (RSCD)
• Immigration Advised Movements (RSIM)

Check the outcome:

• If there is immigration data before the Immigration Limiting Date (ILD), which needs to be assessed for a correct outcome (such as travel movement or visa), manually move the ILD back
• If the customer is a New Zealand citizen, protected Special Category visa status may need to be verified before the claim can be finalised. Where this is required, a Manual Follow-up (MFU) will be generated for CIS to verify the customer's status. For more information, see Australian Residence Rules for New Zealand citizens
• If the customer has lost their legal residence status, payment will automatically cancel
• If payment cancels because the customer is not residentially qualified, check if they can claim an alternative payment
• If the customer is residentially qualified and payment had been incorrectly cancelled (e.g. NSR and the error has since been corrected i.e. Residence information has been verified and updated), payment can be restored. See Restoration of payments
• If the customer is receiving Special Benefit (SpB), check if they are now qualified for an alternative payment. For example, if the customer was on a visa subclass 309 receiving SpB and was granted a visa subclass 100, they will lose entitlement to SpB once they have served the qualifying residence period or NARWP and become entitled to Parenting Payment (PP) or JobSeeker Payment (JSP)