• travel to and from Australia as a permanent resident until the travel validity of your visa expires

If you leave Australia after your visa travel validity has expired, you will not be able to return to Australia as a permanent resident. If you wish to return to Australia as a permanent resident, you must apply for and be granted this visa before your arrival in Australia.

If you are already in Australia as a permanent resident, you do not need to apply for this visa if you do not wish to travel.

There are no limits on the number of Resident Return visas you can apply for.

AUD405 for each applicant if you apply online

AUD485 for each applicant if you apply on paper – unless you are exempt from paying the Non-internet application charge.

While it is unlikely for this visa, you might have to pay other costs for health checks, police certificates and biometrics. We will advise you if these are required in your case.

To work out what your visa will cost, use the Visa Pricing Estimator. The estimator does not take into account the other costs.

Travel validity will vary depending in your circumstances:

• If you have lived in Australia for 2 years (730 days) in the last 5 years as a permanent resident, former citizen or former permanent resident, then you meet what is known as the residence requirement and might be given a 5 year travel validity on your visa.
• If you have not lived in Australia for 2 years in the last 5 years as a permanent resident or former citizen or former permanent resident, then you might be given a maximum of 12 months travel validity on your visa if you can demonstrate substantial ties that benefit Australia. Check the substantial ties documents that you need to provide under Step by step, Gather your documents.
• If you meet the requirements only because you are a member of family unit of a person who holds this visa, then you can only be given a maximum of 12 months travel validity on your visa.
• If you don’t meet the requirement, but have compelling and compassionate reasons for departure, then you might only be given 3 months travel validity on your visa.

If you hold a Resident Return Visa (RRV), you should be aware of your travel validity’s expiry date. You can check this on VEVO. We will not send reminders to you when your travel facility is about to expire. If you need to travel, you should apply for a new RRV before your existing travel validity expires in order to avoid delays.

If you return to Australia without a permanent visa and a valid travel facility (for example, a visitor visa), this might impact your:

• entitlements as a permanent resident
• ability to satisfy the permanent residence requirements when applying for Australian citizenship or another Resident Return visa.

If your travel validity has expired and you do not wish to travel, you do not need to apply for a Resident Return visa.

You can’t include family members in your application. If other family members are also applying for this visa separately, then you can have your applications processed together, if you declare your family members in your application.

You can be in or outside Australia when you apply for the visa but not in immigration clearance. If you apply in Australia using a paper form, you must send your application to the specified address. You cannot apply in person. If you need to travel urgently, and have already applied for this visa but not received it, contact us.

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Subclass 155

• 75% of applications: 85 days
• 90% of applications: 88 days

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Subclass 157

• 75% of applications: 3 months
• 90% of applications: 4 months

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Generally, applications that:

• meet the residence requirements will be processed within 5 working days from lodgement
• do not meet the residence requirement will take longer to process. For example, this can be 12 weeks from lodgement

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Your application can also take longer to process if:

• you do not fill it in correctly
• you do not include all the documents we need
• we need more information from you
• it takes us time to verify your information

We can’t process your application if you do not pay the correct visa application charge. We will notify you if this is the case and return your application if necessary.

You must obey all Australian laws.

From the date we grant the visa, you can travel for a specified period of time depending on your circumstances. After that period, you will need another Resident Return (RRV) visa (subclasses 155 and 157) to re-enter Australia as a permanent resident. Alternatively, you may wish to consider your eligibility for Australian Citizenship so you can travel on an Australian passport. See when your existing travel component ends in VEVO.

We will digitally link your visa to your passport. You will not get a label in your passport.

• an Australian Permanent resident
• a former Australian permanent resident whose last permanent visa was not cancelled, or
• a former Australian citizen who lost or renounced citizenship

There are no age requirements for RRV applicants.

You must either:

• have lived in Australia for 2 years (730 days) in the last 5 years as the holder of a permanent visa (or entry permit), or as an Australian citizen
• be able to demonstrate substantial ties to Australia that are of benefit to Australia

You are not eligible for this visa if you hold either an:

• Authority to Return (issued between 1 March 1976 to 31 August 1979)
• Return Endorsement (issued between 1 September 1979 and 31 December 1986)

See what you need to do if you hold one of these in Overseas travel as a permanent resident.

You must meet our character requirement.

You might not be eligible for this visa if you have cancellation action on business grounds for your business skills visa – as listed below:

• Class EA subclass 132 visa
• Class BH subclass 840-846 visas (repealed)
• Class EB subclass 188 visa
• Class UR subclass 160-165 visas
• Class EC subclass 888 visas

You might not be eligible for this visa if you are, or were the holder of one of the above visas and have:

• been granted a subclass 155, 157 or 159 visa
• cancellation action for your subclass 155, 157 or 159 visa on the same business visa grounds.<l/i>

If you are or were a family member of a person affected by the above, and either hold or have held one of the above visa subclasses as a dependant family member, you might not be eligible for this visa.

You might not be granted this visa if you previously had a visa cancelled or refused while you were in Australia. Check if visa cancellation affects your eligibility.

Coming to Australia

Before you leave

Check your travel documents

You must have:

• a valid visa to enter Australia
• a valid passport or other travel document

At the border

Completing an Incoming Passenger Card

All people arriving in Australia must complete the Incoming Passenger Card.

Leaving the airport faster

We have an automated process that uses facial recognition technology and your ePassport. You might be able to leave the airport faster if you use SmartGate.

New Zealand passport holders

If an immigration officer processes your clearance at our border, we recommend you tell them that you have a Return Resident visa and that you do not want a Special Category visa (subclass 444). If you do not tell them, you might be granted the 444 visa which might affect your eligibility for a Resident Return visa and Australian citizenship.

In Australia

What you can do when you have this visa

• stay in Australia indefinitely
• work and study in Australia
• enrol in Australia’s public health care scheme, Medicare
• sponsor your relatives to come to Australia
• travel to and from Australia while your visa is valid
• apply for Australian citizenship, if eligible

To see your specific conditions and work entitlements, use VEVO.

What you must do on this visa

You must obey all Australian laws.

Tell us if things change

Things you need to let us know about include:

• changes to your phone number, email, address or passport
• if you want to withdraw your application
• if you are issued with a new passport (we will then link your RRV to your new passport)

Tell us if there is a change in your situation.

Travelling on this visa

From the date we grant the visa, you can travel for a specified period of time depending on your circumstances. For information on the travel validity, see How long this visa lasts.

After that period, you will need another Resident Return (RRV) visa (subclasses 155 and 157) to re-enter Australia as a permanent resident. Alternatively, you may wish to consider your eligibility for Australian Citizenship and travel on an Australian passport.

To see when your travel condition ends, use VEVO.

Proving you have a visa

To prove you have a visa and show your conditions to someone, use VEVO.

Working

You are protected by Australian workplace law. See your workplace rights and entitlements.

Bringing a family member

As an Australian permanent resident, you might be able to sponsor eligible family members to come to Australia.

To find a visa for your family member, explore visa options.

Becoming an Australian citizen

After a certain time, you might be eligible for Australian citizenship. Find out more about becoming a citizen.

For citizenship purposes, your permanent residency starts either:

• on the day we grant the visa, if you were in Australia
• on the day you entered Australia on this visa, if you were outside Australia when we granted it

Leaving Australia

Before you leave

Check your travel documents

You must have a valid passport or other travel document to leave Australia.

Ensure your visa is still valid

Check your conditions and the expiry of your Resident Return visa in VEVO. See what to do if your visa has expired or is about to expire.

At the border

Leaving the airport faster

We have an automated process that uses facial recognition technology and your ePassport. You might be able to leave the airport faster if you use SmartGate.