Resident Return Visa (Subclass 155 and 157)

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.

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 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

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.

You can apply online right now, without providing any documents, if:

you are a permanent resident
you have resided in Australia for a total of at least 2 years within the last 5 years
your name and date of birth have not changed since grant of your last visa.

eligibility criteria
the visa, including what happens if you do not meet the 2 in 5 years residence requirement
the steps to apply, including the documents you might need to provide.

STREAM	75 PER CENT OF APPLICATIONS PROCESSED	90 PER CENT OF APPLICATIONS PROCESSED
155	4 Days	21 Days
157	Unavailable due to low volume of applications.	Unavailable due to low volume of applications

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 our character requirement.

Limitations

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

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

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

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.

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.

The visa you are granted depends on the information you provide in your application.

Subclass 155 visa

You might be granted a subclass 155 visa if you either:

meet the resident requirement (5 year travel facility)
have ties of benefit to Australia (1 year travel facility)
are a family member of someone who holds, or has applied for, a Resident Return visa and satisfies the criteria for grant (up to 1 year travel facility).

Subclass 157 visa

You might be granted a subclass 157 visa if all of the following apply to you:

you lawfully spent at least one day but less than two years in the past five years in Australia immediately before you apply for this visa
you were an Australian permanent resident or an Australian citizen the whole time you were in Australia
there is a compelling and compassionate reason for leaving Australia.

If you have been outside Australia for more than three continuous months immediately before you apply, you must have a compelling and compassionate reason for the absence.

Cost

AUD 405.

If you apply on paper, you need to pay an additional $80.

While they usually do not occur, if there are any additional costs associated with this visa, you are responsible for them.

Estimate the cost of your application

The visa pricing estimator is an online tool that calculates the total cost of your visa.

Location

If you are in Australia and the travel facility on your current visa has, or is, about to expire, you need to apply for, and be granted, an RRV before you leave Australia.

You can apply for the visa outside Australia, but it must be granted before you enter Australia.

How long the visas last

The subclass 155 and 157 visas are permanent visas, however, this does not mean that the visa always lasts indefinitely.

If you do not travel outside Australia the visa lasts indefinitely (it does not end) and you will not become unlawful when the travel facility ends
If you do travel outside Australia after the travel facility on the visa ends, the visa will end when you leave Australia. So it is best to apply for another Resident Return visa before you leave Australia. You can also apply from overseas.

How long the travel facility lasts

The length of the travel facility attached to your visa depends on information in your application and the visa subclass you are granted.

What to do when the travel facility ends.

There is important information for New Zealand passport holders.

Family

You cannot include family members in your application. Each family member must complete their own application.

Your obligations

You and your family members must comply with Australian laws