The subclass 155 is the main Resident Return Visa. It is for current Australian permanent residents, and for former permanent residents and former Australian citizens, who want to keep or regain the travel facility that lets them leave Australia and return as a permanent resident. It is a permanent visa — once granted, you can stay in Australia indefinitely, work and study, enrol in Medicare, sponsor eligible relatives, and travel in and out of Australia as often as you like while the travel facility is valid.
You can apply from inside or outside Australia, but the visa must be granted before you travel. When you lodge an RRV application you are assessed against the criteria for both subclass 155 and subclass 157.
You can be granted a five-year travel facility if you were lawfully in Australia as a permanent resident or Australian citizen for a total of at least two years in the five years immediately before you apply. The two years do not need to be continuous, and there is no age requirement.
If you do not meet the two-in-five residence requirement, you may still be granted a one-year travel facility if you have substantial ties to Australia that are of benefit to Australia. Ties are generally shown through one or more of:
The Department weighs up your circumstances as a whole rather than ticking a single box, and the longer you have been outside Australia, the stronger the ties need to be.
You may also be granted a one-year travel facility as a member of the family unit of someone who holds, or has applied for and satisfies the criteria for, a Resident Return Visa. Each person still lodges their own application.
If you have been outside Australia for a continuous period of five years or more since you were last in Australia as a permanent resident or citizen, you generally also need to show compelling reasons for the absence, supported by documents.
Applications are lodged online through ImmiAccount with supporting documents attached. You can apply whether you are in Australia or overseas, and any non-English documents need an accredited translation. Each person who needs a travel facility applies separately — an RRV cannot cover several family members under one application.
There is a government application charge for the RRV. It is reviewed regularly, so check the current figure on the Department of Home Affairs website before you apply rather than relying on an old quote. Straightforward two-in-five cases are often decided within days, while substantial-ties and long-absence cases are more involved and can take considerably longer.
I can work out which travel facility you qualify for, tally your time in Australia against the two-in-five test, build a substantial-ties or compelling-reasons case where the residence test is not met, and prepare and lodge the application so nothing is missed.
The information on this page is provided for general information purposes only and does not constitute migration advice for your individual circumstances. Resident Return Visa requirements, fees and processing arrangements can change, and meeting the general requirements described above does not guarantee that an application will be approved. Professional advice should be obtained based on your individual circumstances before lodging an application.
