Australia has always been a popular destination for people looking to relocate to another country. The country has advantages, such as a booming economy, which implies greater work chances. Australia offers a higher standard of living and a multicultural community that is peaceful and harmonious.
Immigrants to Australia can apply for an Australian permanent residency visa, sometimes a PR visa. The PR visa for Australia is valid for five years. You can relocate to Australia with your family if you have a PR visa. After four years in Australia on an Australia PR visa, you can seek citizenship.
How to maintain your Australian permanent residency visa?
Many individuals are unaware that when they are awarded permanent residency, they are given a travel permit that is only good for five years.
To keep your Australian permanent residency visa status, you must either satisfy a residency requirement in Australia or demonstrate strong links to the country.
The conditions for extending your permanent resident status are discussed in this article.
Travel Facility on a Permanent Visa
While your permanent visa allows you to stay in Australia permanently, your travel permit is only good for five years.
If you want to travel to and from Australia after the original 5-year period, you must either:
- Apply for a Resident Return Visa (RRV); or
- Apply for Citizenship in Australia
Australian citizenship is preferable since it allows you to return to Australia anytime. You might potentially get an Australian passport as an Australian citizen.
To become an Australian citizen, you must fulfill stringent residency requirements. The Resident Return Visa (RRV) is the next best choice if you do not satisfy these requirements.
5-Year Resident Return Visa (RRV)
This alternative would need demonstrating that you had spent at least two of the previous five years physically present in Australia.
The best approach to keep your permanent residency in Australia is to spend at least two years in Australia out of every five years. You will receive a 5-year travel permit and will not be subject to any discretionary conditions (e.g., close ties to Australia or compelling reasons for absence).
12-Month Resident Return Visa (RRV)
If you cannot achieve the two-of-the-last-five-year residence criteria, a 12-month Resident Return Visa is your best alternative.
Close Ties of Benefit to Australia
To qualify for the 12-month RRV, you must have significant business, cultural, employment, or personal links to Australia. This is typical:
- In Australia, close family members
- In Australia, you can have a job or establish a business.
Evidence proving you have established a residency in Australia, such as leased housing, enrolled children in school, or relocated most of your assets to Australia.
Absence from Australia – Compelling Reasons
If you have been gone from Australia for more than five years, you must demonstrate that you have compelling grounds for your absence. The case of Lorenzo Paduano v Minister for Immigration, Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs, and Migration Review Tribunal [2005] FCA 211 (10 March 2005) concerned “compelling grounds for absence from Australia.” When considering this problem, the relevant question is: ‘Were the reasons for the absence persuasive in the sense that they were forceful?’
Particularly noteworthy:
- The petitioner must have been ‘compelled’ to leave because of the grounds for absence.
- Applicants are not required to show an involuntary aspect, such as circumstances beyond a person’s control or a physical or legal need.
- Compelling must be defined widely; compelling grounds for absence may include moral imperative or other situations that are convincing due to their forcefulness.
Examples of Compelling Reasons for Absence
The Department of Immigration Procedures Advice Manual provides seven instances of “compelling grounds for absence.” They are as follows:
- A foreign family member’s severe sickness or death
- Work or school obligations
- Living in another country with an Australian citizen partner
- Travel is prohibited due to complex or extensive medical treatment.
- Legal processes such as the sale of property, custody, or contractual responsibilities are examples of legal proceedings.
- Natural calamities or political uprisings that make travel impossible
- Significant personal events, such as waiting up to a year for a kid to finish their schooling
While the Procedures Advice Manual recognizes that the applicant does not need to demonstrate that the circumstances were beyond their control, cases would be given extra weight when this is the case.
Also Read: How to Migrate to Australia for Resident Return Visas?