Once you have been granted a permanent visa it has an initial five (5) year validity period. This validity period is essentially a travel facility.  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.

FIVE YEAR RRV

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.

ONE YEAR RRV

If you cannot meet the ‘2 in 5’ requirement you may be eligible for a resident return visa with one 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:

• Business

• Employment

• Family

• Cultural

THREE MONTH RRV

Permanent residents who have less than 2 years’ physical presence in Australia and who have not yet established substantial ties of benefit to Australia may be eligible for a three month RRV. For example, you may have settled in Australia when nearing the end of your migrant travel facility and need to travel overseas before you have established substantial ties.

As above, if you remain in Australia beyond the 3 month validity period your permanent residence does not expire, only your ability to depart and then re-enter Australia as a permanent resident is affected.

Eligibility

Residence status

You must be:

• an Australian permanent resident

• a former Australian permanent resident whose last permanent visa was not cancelled

• a former Australian citizen who lost or renounced their citizenship.

Passport

You must have a valid passport.

Character

You must meet the character requirements.

Limitations

You are not eligible for this visa if your last permanent visa was cancelled.

DHA will not accept an application if you have received a notice that your permanent business visa might be cancelled.

You should not apply for this visa if you hold:

• an Authority To Return (ATR) that was granted between 1 March 1976 and 31 August 1979

• a Return Endorsement (RE) that was issued between September 1979 and 31 December 1986

• a BF-111

What you can do?

Both the 155 and 157 visas are permanent visas. They let you undertake all of the activities that your original permanent visa let you undertake:

• stay in Australia indefinitely

• work and study in Australia

• enrol in Medicare, Australia’s scheme for health-related care and expenses

• sponsor eligible relatives for permanent residence

• travel to and from Australia as many times as you want while the travel facility is valid

• apply for Australian citizenship, if eligible.

How the visas differ?

The difference between the visas is the length of the travel facility:

• Subclass 155 – up to five years from the date of grant.

• Subclass 157 – 3 months from date of grant.