Resident Return Visa Australia

Start with VEVO

Check VEVO before booking travel. It will show the travel-facility expiry date attached to your current visa. If you are living in Australia and do not intend to travel, an expired travel facility does not by itself cancel your permanent status. The problem is departure and re-entry: once the facility has ended, you cannot rely on that visa to return as a permanent resident.

A current Australian permanent resident

A former Australian permanent resident whose most recent permanent visa was not cancelled

A former Australian citizen who has lost or renounced citizenship.

An Australian citizen cannot obtain an RRV and should travel on an Australian passport. A former permanent resident is not eligible where their most recent permanent visa was cancelled.

One application covers consideration under both RRV subclasses. Home Affairs looks at subclass 155 first and can consider subclass 157 if the 155 test is not met.

What length of travel facility could you receive?

Visa	When it may apply	Maximum travel facility
Subclass 155	The two-year residence test, a qualifying substantial-ties route or an eligible family-unit route applies	Five years under the residence test; otherwise no more than 12 months under the other routes
Subclass 157	The shorter residence and compelling-reason test applies, or a limited family-unit route applies	No more than three months

These periods refer to travel. They do not turn the visa into a temporary visa or place a matching limit on how long the holder may live in Australia.

When five years may be available

For a five-year facility, the key number is 730 days. They must have been spent in Australia during the five years immediately before lodgement, while you held a permanent visa or were an Australian citizen. The days do not have to be continuous.

Home Affairs counts back from the day the application is lodged, not the day it decides the case. Arrival and departure days count. Where travel has been frequent or passports are incomplete, movement records can help establish the total before lodgement.

If the 730-day test is satisfied, the travel facility is five years. Strong Australian connections on their own do not produce that same period.

What if you have spent less time in Australia?

Falling short of 730 days does not always end the enquiry. Subclass 155 also contains routes based on substantial ties to Australia that benefit Australia. Home Affairs groups these ties as:

Business ties

Cultural ties

Employment ties

Personal ties, including family ties

This is an evidence-based assessment. Owning a property, having a relative here or keeping an Australian bank account does not settle the question by itself. The documents and personal statement should show how the connection operates, why it is significant and where the benefit to Australia lies.

Long absences bring extra requirements. The rules differ according to whether the application is made in Australia or overseas and whether an absence has exceeded the relevant five-year period. Compelling reasons may need to be shown. A subclass 155 granted through one of these routes carries no more than 12 months of travel.

When subclass 157 may apply

Subclass 157 is much narrower. Broadly, the applicant must have spent at least one day but less than two years lawfully in Australia in the previous five years while a permanent resident or citizen, and have a compelling and compassionate reason for leaving Australia. Someone applying overseas must also deal with a separate rule about the length of the latest absence.

A limited family-unit route exists as well. Subclass 157 never gives more than three months of travel. Work, study, illness or family circumstances may be relevant evidence, but none of those labels creates eligibility on its own.

Evidence that may support an RRV application

There is no universal RRV checklist. Useful material may include:

Passport and identity documents

Evidence of Australian residence and travel history

Employment contracts, payslips or confirmation of ongoing Australian employment

Business ownership, management or transaction records

Evidence of close family relationships and continuing personal commitments in Australia

Evidence of cultural participation or responsibilities

A personal statement and records explaining why a long absence occurred

Non-English records need an English translation prepared in the manner Home Affairs specifies. Family members do not share one RRV application; each person applies separately.

Applying from inside or outside Australia

An application may be lodged in or outside Australia, although not while the applicant is in immigration clearance. Online lodgement is through ImmiAccount, and the decision can be made while the applicant is either in Australia or overseas. Use the Home Affairs Visa Pricing Estimator for the charge at lodgement and its processing-time guide for recent decision data. Booked flights do not set the Department's timetable.

Lodging an application is not the same as receiving a visa. If you are overseas, confirm the grant and its travel dates before trying to return as a permanent resident.

How Kritin Global can assist

Kritin Global's registered migration agent can:

Calculate the relevant residence period

Assess which subclass 155 or 157 criterion may apply

Organise evidence of substantial ties and reasons for absence

Prepare and lodge the application

Help you understand the travel facility shown on the visa grant

Contact Us Today

Frequently Asked Questions

Not simply because five years have passed. The usual five-year limit relates to travel. If that facility has ended, you will generally need an RRV before leaving and returning as a permanent resident.

Subclass 155 covers the 730-day residence route and other routes based on substantial ties or an eligible family member. Its travel period may be five years or no more than 12 months. Subclass 157 is a restricted alternative carrying no more than three months of travel.

No. It usually follows only where you have accumulated 730 days in Australia in the five years before applying while a permanent resident or citizen. A different qualifying route brings a shorter travel period.

Yes. Lodgement and decision can occur while overseas. You cannot apply while in immigration clearance, and should have the grant before relying on an RRV for your journey back.

Possibly. Home Affairs will look at your previous status, when you left, how long you have been away, the Australian ties you still hold and any compelling reasons the law requires you to establish.

They may be business, cultural, employment or personal ties. A useful application shows what the connection is, how it has continued and why it is substantial and beneficial to Australia.

It varies. Check Home Affairs processing-time guide when you are ready to lodge. A case that needs evidence about ties or a long absence may take more assessment than a straightforward residence-based case.

You must not rely on the expired facility to come back as a permanent resident. Check whether a fresh RRV can be granted before travel. Entering on a temporary visa can affect entitlements and future residence calculations.

No. Citizenship is a separate application with its own residence and eligibility rules. An RRV deals with permanent-resident travel; it does not decide a citizenship application.