Resident Return Visa (subclass 155 & 157)

Australian Citizens can travel to any country and don’t need a visa to reenter Australia. Permanent residents initially will get a visa with a validity of five years. They can travel to any country and return to Australia as much as they want while the validity of a PR visa.

After five years Permanent residence need to apply for Resident Return visa in order to return to Australia

  • Only Australian citizens can travel to any country and return to Australia without a need for a visa.
  • If the applicant who wishes to travel to Australia as a permanent residence from any country, they may need to apply for and be granted a Resident Return Visa (subclass 155 or subclass 157) if:
    • Applicant’s permanent visa has either already expired or will expire while they are outside Australia. An applicant is a former Australian permanent resident whose last permanent visa was not canceled. The applicant is a former Australian citizen who lost or abandoned their citizenship.
  • Unless the applicant is an Australian citizen their entry will be denied without a Valid visa.
  • The person should stay in Australia for at least 2 years in the past 5 years or hold substantial business, cultural, employment, or personal ties to Australia to apply for a Resident Return Visa.
  • Resident Return Visa(155) will be valid for five years, If the passport expires they need to get new stamping in the new passport.
  • If the applicant has a strong reason to travel internationally they might likely to apply for Resident Return Visa (subclass 157) with the validity of 3 months
  • Returning to Australia without a permanent visa that has a valid travel facility (for example, entering Australia on an ETA or visitor visa) may impact both your:
    • entitlements as a permanent resident ability to satisfy the permanent residence requirements when applying for Australian citizenship or when applying for another Resident Return visa. if the applicant is a permanent resident who files a Resident Return visa will be processed within one business day.If an application filed outside Australia will take approximately two weeks