STEVE Jobs's former right hand man and Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak is one step closer to becoming a permanent Australian resident and citizen.

Wozniak, who quit the company in 1987 after 12 years, today told Australian tech blog Gizmodo he was finalising the paperwork for a move down under, a plan he flagged during his visit to Australia in September.

"It is a high priority this month for me to finish some medical and police reports for my residency application,'' he said.

"Once I have a residency permit I might get a place to live but I plan a few years before living in Australia full time. That is because my current occupation as a world speaker requires too many air flights constantly.''

The former Apple guru also confirmed he was still keen on getting Australian citizenship.

"Once I'm living in Australia full time, or a major amount of it, I can work toward citizenship.

"It's not something you get without qualifying and working for. At least not in my case.''

In September Wozniak told the Australian Financial Review the national broadband network was one of the reasons he wanted to become a citizen.

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