Summary

• The 5-year travel facility on permanent residency visas expires, and without Australian citizenship or a valid Resident Return Visa (RRV), you may not be able to re-enter Australia after travelling.
• Many long-term residents are caught out at the airport, especially older Australians who assumed they were citizens, only to find their travel rights had expired.
• To avoid being locked out of Australia, check your VEVO status, consider applying for citizenship, or secure a Resident Return Visa before travelling.

If you’re a permanent resident of Australia, don’t assume you can always come back once you leave. Your ability to return depends on your visa status and it may not be as secure as you think.

Many permanent residents don’t realise that the five-year travel facility granted with their permanent residency visa doesn’t last forever. Once that period ends, you can still live in Australia, but you cannot automatically re-enter if you leave. Unless you have become an Australian citizen, you’ll need a Resident Return Visa (RRV) (subclass 155/157) to come back.

This is especially important for older Australians who arrived here as children with their parents. You may have lived here your whole life, raised a family, and assumed you were a citizen, only to discover at the airport that your permanent residency travel rights expired years ago.

Imagine flying overseas to see loved ones, only to find out you can’t return without applying for a new visa. Processing can take time, and being stranded away from home is stressful and costly.

What can you do to avoid this?

• Check your status now on VEVO.
• If you qualify, consider applying for Australian citizenship for full and permanent travel rights. We can help you with this application.
• If you’re not a citizen and your five-year facility has expired, apply for a Resident Return Visa before you travel.

Don’t get caught out

If you’re planning to visit family and friends overseas, take a moment to check your status first. It could save you from being locked out of Australia.

Speak with one of our Registered Migration Agents who can guide you through your RRV or citizenship application and give you peace of mind before you travel.