Resident Return visas

All Australian permanent visas granted with an initial five (5) year validity period. This validity period is essentially a travel component. If you remain in Australia beyond the five years your permanent residence does not expire, only your ability to depart and then re-enter Australia as a permanent resident is affected. The essence of any Australian “return” visas (Resident Return Visas) is to enable people who were previously granted an Australian permanent visa, and whose “travel component” has expired, to travel outside the country. Without a permanent visa with a valid “travel component” you will not be allowed to board a plane to Australia, as upon arrival in Australia without a permanent visa with a valid “travel component” you will not be allowed into the country. If your permanent residence visa has expired “travel component” or you have lost your Australian citizenship, then “resident return” visas give you the right to return to Australia in order to at least fulfill the requirements for obtaining another Australian “return” visa if you plan to travel again outside Australia after that or to obtain citizenship Australia. How to apply an Australian Resident Return Visa (RRV) to a situation where it is not possible to fulfill the requirements for the required duration of physical stay in Australia to obtain Australian citizenship?

How to obtain a Resident Return visa (RRV) with a “travel component”?

Australian Resident Return visas may have a “travel component” for five years, one year or three months. To obtain a new five (5) year travel facility (called a resident return visa, or RRV) the basic criteria is that you have spent at least two (2) years out of the last five (5) physically present in Australia as the holder of a permanent visa. If you cannot meet the ‘2 in 5’ requirement you may be eligible for a resident return visa with one (1) year travel validity. As noted above, if you remain in Australia beyond the one year validity period your permanent residence does not expire, only your ability to depart and then re-enter Australia as a permanent resident is affected. To meet the requirements for the one-year RRV you must demonstrate that you have substantial ties to Australia that are of benefit to Australia. Substantial ties can be under any of the following:

• You have lived in Australia for at least one day on a permanent residence visa.
• You have a business activity: a share in a business and personal participation in this business at the decision-making level.
• You input into the cultural life in Australia, whether you participate in intellectual, theatrical, sports, or religious activities that enrich Australia’s cultural life.
• You have a job or a job offer in Australia, or you work for an Australian organization outside Australia or work as an Australian representative to an international organization.
• You have personal ties: you have been an active participant in Australian society for a long time, lived for a long time outside Australia with an Australian spouse, have close family members living in Australia, etc.

A return visa with a “Travel component” for three (3) months can be obtained in a situation where there are no grounds to issue a “Travel component” for five (5) years or a “Travel component” for one (1) year. As above, if you remain in Australia beyond the three (3) months validity period your permanent residence does not expire, only your ability to depart and then re-enter Australia as a permanent resident is affected. If you require any further information regarding Australian Resident return visas, need help in obtaining them, or need assistance with any other matters related to immigration to Australia, please book a free preliminary interview.