What is a Resident Return visa?
Permanent residency in Australia never expires — but the travel facility on your visa does, usually after five years. If you are a permanent resident (or former PR, or former citizen) whose travel facility has run out and you want to leave and re-enter Australia as a PR, you need a Resident Return visa (RRV): subclass 155 (up to five more years of travel) or 157 (three months). If you never leave Australia, you never need one — your PR continues without it.
At a glance (updated 26 October 2026)
| Item | Position |
|---|---|
| Application charge | $1,475 per person, applying online (+$80 non-internet charge on paper). Applications cannot be combined — each family member pays. |
| Processing — 155 | 50% in less than 1 day, 90% in 6 days (Department processing-times tool, updated 29 September 2026, read 26 October 2026). |
| Processing — 157 | 50% in 18 days, 90% in 65 days (same tool and dates). |
| Full 5-year facility | Granted if you spent 2 of the last 5 years in Australia as a PR or citizen. |
| Shorter facility | Substantial ties of benefit to Australia → maximum 12 months. |
| 157 | 3-month facility — compelling and compassionate reasons, and not absent 5+ years. |
Confirm the current charge on the Department of Home Affairs website before applying.
The residence rule: 2 years in 5
Spend a total of two years physically in Australia within the last five, as a permanent resident or citizen, and the 155 with a full five-year travel facility is close to routine — most are decided within days, many within hours.
Short on residence: substantial ties
If you have not met the two-year rule, the 155 can still be granted on substantial ties of benefit to Australia — business, cultural, employment or personal — but the travel facility is capped at 12 months, renewable. Ties need evidence, not assertion: the family here, the business trading, the employment contract, the house. Long absences raise the bar — an absence of five continuous years or more needs compelling reasons on top.
The 157 (three months)
For PRs caught short — needing to travel urgently without the residence or ties case for a 155 — the 157 offers a three-month facility where there are compelling and compassionate reasons for the absence pattern, and you have not been away five-plus years.
Traps worth knowing
Unused facility does not carry over — a new RRV replaces the old travel facility; time left on the old one is not added or refunded
Booking travel before checking the facility date — the airline-desk discovery is the classic RRV emergency
Thin ties evidence — 12-month RRVs are refused on assertion- only applications
Each person applies separately — a family of four pays four charges; children's facilities expire on the same schedule
Citizenship is the permanent fix — meet the residence requirement and the RRV cycle ends; we flag it in every RRV consultation
RRV help — Australia-wide and offshore
Most 155s are straightforward; the ones that are not — long absences, ties cases, families split across countries — benefit from a properly evidenced application, prepared once. Migration Vision handles both for clients anywhere in Australia or overseas, online, same-week where travel is urgent.
Frequently asked questions
What is the subclass 155 visa?
The subclass 155 (Five Year Resident Return) visa is a permanent visa that lets a permanent resident, a former permanent resident or a former Australian citizen travel to and re-enter Australia. If you were in Australia for at least 2 of the last 5 years as a permanent resident or citizen, it is granted with a 5-year travel facility. Otherwise it is usually one year, based on substantial ties of benefit to Australia. A former permanent resident whose last permanent visa was cancelled cannot get one (Migration Regulations, Schedule 2, clauses 155.211, 155.212 and 155.511).
Can I apply for a 155 visa from outside Australia?
Yes. You can be in or outside Australia when you apply and when the visa is granted, but not in immigration clearance at the airport. If you are overseas and have not met the 2-in-5-years rule, you need substantial ties of benefit to Australia, and absences of 5 years or more need compelling reasons. Applicants outside Australia must also meet a special return criterion at decision time (Migration Regulations, Schedule 1 item 1128 and Schedule 2, clauses 155.212(3), 155.221 and 155.411).
Can my family get a resident return visa on my 155?
Each family member makes their own application and pays their own charge. A member of your family unit can qualify through you if you already hold a 155 that is in effect, or you meet the rules and have lodged your own application. Their travel facility is capped at one year, or the length of yours if that is shorter, so a family member granted this way does not get the full 5 years (Migration Regulations, Schedule 2, clauses 155.212(4) and 155.511).
How much does a Resident Return visa cost in 2026?
$1,475 per person applying online (paper applications attract an $80 surcharge). Family applications cannot be combined — each person pays their own charge.
How long does the 155 take?
Subclass 155: 50% in less than 1 day, 90% in 6 days. The 157 runs longer — 50% in 18 days, 90% in 65 days (Department processing-times tool, updated 29 September 2026, read 26 October 2026).
Do I need an RRV if I never leave Australia?
No. Permanent residency itself does not expire onshore — only the travel facility does. You need an RRV only to re-enter Australia as a PR after the facility ends.
What if I haven't lived in Australia 2 of the last 5 years?
You can still get a 155 with a 12-month travel facility by showing substantial business, cultural, employment or personal ties of benefit to Australia — with evidence. Absences of five continuous years or more also need compelling reasons.
Does my old visa's unused travel facility carry over?
No. A new RRV replaces the previous travel facility; unused time is neither added nor refunded.
Is citizenship a better fix?
Usually, if you qualify — citizens never need an RRV. If you meet the citizenship residence requirement, that application often makes more sense than a second or third RRV cycle.
Reviewed by Dr Asad Muhammad Khan, Registered Migration Agent, MARN 2619525. Updated 26 October 2026 — the charge verified against the Department of Home Affairs current visa pricing (read 26 October 2026) and Schedule 1 item 1128 of the Migration Regulations 1994 (compilation No. 289, 2 October 2026); subclass 155 criteria against Schedule 2, Subclass 155, of the same compilation; processing figures against the Home Affairs processing-times tool (updated 29 September 2026, read 26 October 2026). Figures current as at 26 October 2026; confirm with the Department of Home Affairs before lodgement. This page is general information, not migration advice for your circumstances.
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