Resident Return (Permanent) Visa (subclasses 155 and 157)

The Resident Return visa is a permanent visa for current or former Australian permanent residents and former Australian citizens. This visa will allow you to maintain or regain Australian permanent residence status. The easiest way to do this is to apply for this visa before you leave Australia.

This visa is usually granted for up to 5 years. However, in certain circumstances, you may get less.

Requirements

There are various requirements, according to how long you intend to hold the visa for, your current location, and your citizenship and/or residence status.

1) To be granted this visa for 5 years, you must meet the following requirements:

• you must have lived in Australia as a permanent resident for at least 2 of the last 5 years; or
• you must be a former Australian permanent resident whose last permanent visa was not cancelled; or
• you must be a former Australian Citizen who lost or renounced your citizenship.
• family members must apply separately in their own name.

2) To be granted this visa for 1 year, and you are in Australia, you must meet the following requirements:

• you apply in Australia;
• you can demonstrate that you have substantial business, cultural, employment or personal ties which will be of benefit to Australia;
• if you have been absent from Australia for more than 5 continuous years since the grant of your most recent permanent visa, or since you ceased being a citizen, you must provide evidence that there was a compelling reason for your absence.

3) To be granted this visa for 1 year, and you are outside of Australia, you must meet the following requirements:

• you apply outside Australia;
• you must hold a permanent visa or you departed on Australia as a permanent resident or Australian citizen;
• you can demonstrate that you have substantial business, cultural, employment or personal ties which will be of benefit to Australia;
• if you have been absent from Australia for more than 5 continuous years since your last departure from Australia, you must provide evidence that there was a compelling reason for your absence.

4) If you do not hold a permanent visa and when you last left Australia, you were not an Australian permanent resident or Australian citizen, you must meet all of the following:

• you have been an Australian citizen, or an Australian permanent resident, less than 10 years before lodging your application;
• you must provide evidence that proves you have substantial business, cultural, employment or personal ties which will be of benefit to Australia;
• if you have been absent from Australia for a total period of more than 5 years since last departing as an Australian permanent resident or citizen you must provide evidence that there was a compelling reason for your absence.

5) To be granted this visa for 3 months (subclass 157), you must meet the following requirements:

• you must have spent at least 1 day in the last 5 years lawfully in Australia;
• you must have spent less than 2 years in the last 5 years in Australia;
• you must have been a permanent resident or an Australian citizen for the entire period spent in Australia;
• you must provide evidence that there is a compelling and compassionate reason for your departure;
• if you have been outside Australia for more than 3 continuous months immediately before making the application, you must also show that there is a compelling and compassionate reason for your absence.

If you do not meet any of the above requirements, you may still be eligible if you are the partner or dependent family member of a Resident Return visa holder. However, you can only be granted a visa for a period equal to the time remaining on your family member’s visa, but only for up to a maximum of one year.

If you want to continue travelling to and from Australia as a permanent resident you will need to obtain another Resident Return visa, as long as you meet the above requirements.

You do not need to obtain this visa if you hold a valid Authority to Return (ATR) or Return Endorsement (RE) in your passport. These two documents will still be valid if you have not been granted another visa which automatically ceases them, or you have returned to Australia within three years of each departure, or you have not become an Australian Citizen.

You cannot apply for a Resident Return visa for Australia if your most recent permanent visa was a Business Talent visa (subclass 132) and it has been (or will be) cancelled.

Entitlements

This visa allows you to:

• remain in Australia indefinitely;
• leave and enter Australia as often as you want, within the validity period of the visa (usually for up to 5 years), while maintaining your status as a permanent resident;

Obligations

Once you have been granted this visa, if you change your passport (eg. if it is lost, stolen or expired), you must notify the Department of Immigration in Australia. You can have your Resident Return visa re-evidenced into your new passport. Failure to adhere to this obligation will result in delays at the airport, and in extreme cases, denial of boarding your flight.

Other Australian visa types:

Australian Skilled Migration Visas

Australian Business Visas

Australian Employer-sponsored Visas

Australian Investor Retirement Visa

Australian Student Visas

Australian Family and Spouse Visa

Australian Resident Return Visa

Australian Working Holiday Visa

Australian Travel Visa