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 12 September 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 | Home Affairs tool, read 12 Sep 2026: 50% in less than 1 day, 90% in 6 days. |
| Processing — 157 | 50% in 20 days, 90% in 67 days. |
| 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
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?
On Home Affairs figures read 12 September 2026, half of subclass 155 applications are decided in less than a day and 90% within 6 days. The 157 runs longer — 50% in 20 days, 90% in 67.
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 12 September 2026 — fee and processing figures verified against the Department of Home Affairs website and processing-times tool on that date. Figures current as at that date; confirm with the Department of Home Affairs before lodgement. This page is general information, not migration advice for your circumstances.
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