Resident Return Visa Information

For after you have your Permanent Residency (PR), and your initial entry visa has expired, but before you get your Citizenship...

Resident Return Visa (RRV)

A Resident Return Visa is valid for 3 months or 5 years (depending on circumstances).

It allows Australian permanent residents to travel to and from Australia as often as they wish within the validity of the visa, while maintaining their status as permanent residents.

A 5 year RRV costs AUD$240 (July 2008) regardless of whether you apply within Australia or overseas.




How do I apply for a Resident Return Visa (RRV)?

To be eligible for a Resident Return Visa (RRV), you must be:

• a permanent resident holding a valid permanent visa,
• a former permanent resident whose last permanent visa was not cancelled, or
• a former Australian citizen who has lost or renounced their Australian citizenship.

In addition to the above, to be eligible for a five year RRV:

• you must be lawfully present in Australia for a total of at least 2 years in the 5 years immediately before lodging the application for the visa, or
• you must have substantial and beneficial business, cultural, employment or personal ties to Australia and compelling reasons if you have been absent from Australia for more than 5 years, or
  
• you must be a member of the family unit of a person who holds a valid RRV or who has applied for and met the criteria for an RRV.

If you do not meet these criteria, but have to leave Australia for compassionate and compelling reasons, you may be eligible for a 3 month RRV. If you are unable to meet the RRV requirements in your own right, but you are a member of the family unit of a person who holds an RRV, you may be granted an RRV with the same validity period as the family head's RRV.

More details at:


• www.immi.gov.au/migrants/residents/155/index.htm

Resuming Australian Residency after Resident Return Visa RRV expires.

Most Australian Permanent Residents will have a 5 year RRV when they leave Australia, so that they can prove Resident status on their return.

If that RRV expires during their absence from Australia, they can be refused re-entry into Australia.

For most people this will mean re-applying for residency...

This can be a long and complex process, without a guarantee of success.

For those with an Australian partner and/or children, the process is easier, but can still involve interviews with the Immigration Department.