Fiji Immigration and Citizenship Reforms 2026

25 May 2026 Category : Immigration.

Fiji Immigration and Citizenship Reforms: What you need to know

Proposed Immigration and Citizenship Reforms 2026

Introduction

  1. The Fiji Parliament is currently considering three Bills which, if enacted, will significantly change the rules for expats living and working in Fiji and the pathway to Fiji citizenship. These are the:
  1. The key message for client is, permanent residency (a category unavailable in practice) is about to become, at least from 1 January 2030, much more important. If you are an expat, investor, employee or spouse of a Fiji citizen, these reforms will directly affect you. You should review your permit status, check your residency records and plan.

At present – naturalisation applications are suspended

  1. While the existing law refers to the 5 out of 10-year requirement, acceptance of naturalisation applications have been suspended since October 2025 pending this review.

Citizenship by naturalisation: increase in qualifying period from 5 to 8 years

  1. The Citizenship of Fiji (Amendment) Bill 2026 proposes that:
  • once the new law commences until 1 January 2035: an applicant for citizenship by naturalisation must be lawfully present in Fiji for 8 of the 10 years immediately before applying. You will not need to hold a permanent residence permit during this period but should be aware that the window for applying under this transitional pathway is limited.
  • from 1 January 2035, you will need to hold a valid permanent residence permit in addition to meeting the qualifying residency period. Where an applicant has held more than one permanent residence permit, only consecutive periods of permanent residence will count. It appears that gaps between permits, or time spent on temporary permits, will be excluded.
  1. What this means for you: if you are thinking about applying for citizenship, do not wait. Once the new law commences, the transitional pathway (which does not require a permanent residence permit) will be available for a limited period only. After 1 January 2035, the pathway becomes significantly harder.

Citizenship by marriage

  1. The Bill also changes the pathway for adults married to Fiji citizens. From commencement of the new law until 1 January 2030, a spouse, or former spouse, of a Fijian citizen must be lawfully present in Fiji for 3 of the 5 years immediately before applying. From 1 January 2030, the applicant must also hold a permanent residence permit.

Permanent residence will be critical

  1. Permanent residence is currently available under the Immigration Act 2003 and the Immigration Regulations 2007 but has been difficult to obtain. The proposed reforms do not create a new permanent residence regime — the details will still be set out in regulations — but they make permanent residence a mandatory stepping stone to citizenship from 2030 (for spouses) and from 2035 (for all other applicants). This is important for expatriates, investors, spouses of citizens and other long-term residents thinking of applying for Fiji citizenship. Applicants should keep careful records of their permit history, time spent in Fiji, renewals, absences from Fiji and any changes in permit category.

Immigration changes

  1. The Immigration (Amendment) Bill 2026 also proposes broader changes to the Immigration Act 2003. Some of these include:
  • proposing to expand the work rights of visitor permit holders. Under the current law, visitor permit holders may only work for up to 14 or 21 days in limited circumstances. Under the proposed new law, visitor permit holders will be entitled to work for up to one month, with the possibility of longer periods being prescribed by regulations for short-term work, business, investment, study, research, or consultancy. This provides a more practical and flexible route for short assignments, business visitors, consultants, and urgent technical work. However, these changes should not be relied on until the Bill is passed, has commenced, and any supporting regulations are in place.
  • amending the definition of “child” from under 21 years to under 18 years.
  • introducing a new infringement notice regime, allowing immigration and enforcement officers to issue on-the-spot fixed penalties for specified offences. This is a significant expansion of enforcement powers. The details — including which offences attract infringement notices, the penalty amounts, and the procedures — will be set out in regulations that have not yet been released. The standard for issuing an infringement notice is low: an officer need only have reason to believe an offence has been committed. Clients and employers should be aware of this development and monitor the regulations closely once they are published.

Conclusion

  1. The proposed changes are not yet law, but they represent one of the most significant updates to Fiji’s immigration and citizenship framework in recent years. The direction of travel is clear: the pathway to citizenship will become longer and more demanding, and permanent residence will become increasingly important.

Contact

  1. For any questions on this legal alert, please contact Glenis Yee or Shyniya Prasad.