Spouse Visa Australia

SPOUSE VISA AUSTRALIA

As an Australian permanent resident, you do not have an automatic right to return to Australia from overseas.Your right of re-entry to Australia will depend on the validity of your travel facility on your permanent visa. Your travel facility is listed in both your visa grant notification letter, and in visa information provided by Further information on understanding your travel validity is available in ‘Travel facility on your permanent visa’If you migrated to Australia before 1987, and travelled outside Australia between 1 March 1976 and 31 December 1986, your passport may have been wet stamped to prove that you hold an Authority to Return or Return Endorsement. Please see ‘Authority to Return or Return Endorsement’ for further information.

Travel facility on your permanent visa

rst permanent visa, you are usually permitted

When you are granted your first permanent visa, you are usually permitted a 5-year travel facility. This means you can leave and re-enter Australia as many times as you like in the 5 years from the date your permanent visa was granted, as long as your visa remains valid.

'Resident Return visa'

if you enter Australia on a temporary visa when the travel facility on your permanent visa has expired, this will have an adverse impact on you. See ‘Resident Return visa’ below for details.

Resident Return visa

Australia as a permanent resident

If you wish to return to Australia as a permanent resident from any overseas travel, you may need to apply for and be granted a Resident Return visa (subclass 155 or subclass 157) if:

the travel facility on your permanent visa has either already expired or will expire while you are outside Australia
you are a former Australian permanent resident whose last permanent visa was not cancelled
you are a former Australian citizen who lost or renounced your citizenship.

Australia without a valid visa

If you intend to arrive in Australia without a valid visa, your entry will be denied (unless you are an Australian citizen).

Your permanent resident status will only be reinstated if your application for a Resident Return visa is granted. If your Resident Return visa application is refused, you may have to consider applying again for another permanent visa, such as a Former Resident visa, a family visa or a skilled visa. You will be provided with information regarding your eligibility for any merits review processes.

Authority to Return or Return Endorsement

An Authority to Return or a Return Endorsement is an old form of return documentation issued to Australian permanent residents. If you held an Authority to Return or a Return Endorsement immediately before 1 September 1994, you are taken to have been granted a Transitional (Permanent) visa by operation of law on 1 September 1994. The Authority to Return or Return Endorsement (Transitional (Permanent) visa) permits the holder to travel to and enter Australia within 3 years after each departure from Australia, and to remain indefinitely in Australia.