Brissybear

You can apply for your RRV in Australia or overseas but you can't turn up at the airport needing one.

 

According to a recent post by @wrussell who is a knowledgeable and respected RMA, if you want to travel to Australia and apply there for an RRV, you must get an ETA to travel to Australia and you must apply for the ETA at an Australian visa office outside Australia. You cannot lodge the ETA application online or through an airline or an approved agent. If you do it the wrong way, you risk cancellation of your permanent visa - in most cases, the grant of a new visa cancels any previous visa.

http://www.pomsinoz.com/forum/migration-issues/224455-resident-return-evisitor-visa.html#post1936655156

Thanks so much for the information. What is an ETA btw?

My PR was originally granted in 2012 however I was back for 10 days on 2014. This seems as if I have 5 years to get a RRV from last year as a former permanent resident. However you can't apply to sponsor spouse etc as a former resident.

If my partner gets her divorce money through then we can easily afford to apply in November and that's the perfect scenario. However I can't see that happening.

Does anyone know what evidence you need to supply for a 16 year old from the UK? Is it just a letter from a lawyer or do you have to go to court?

Thanks again but it's looking more and more likely that without getting the money we won't be able to do this.

The only other thing I could think of was I fly back before my visa expires and apply for my partner and the girls while they are in the UK ? Can this be done ? I was thinking they could come over on 3 month holiday visas while the applications were being processed but they would need to offshore if they were granted.

No, it isn't necessarily 'over for good' when your right to return expires.

 

As you've seen, the standard RRV is a 5 year one which you get without any further requirements if you've lived for at least 2 out of the previous 5 in Australia on a permanent visa but for people who have spent less time than that in Australia (even if their right of re-entry has expired), there are still 1 year and 3 month RRVs. They're not as easy to get as the 5 year variety, but provided you can satisfy the processing officer that you should have one, a 1 year or 3 month RRV is still possible and that would allow you to re-enter Australia as a PR. The granting of 1 year and 3 month RRVs is very subjective with all manner of undefined terms like 'compelling', 'substantial', 'benefit to Australia' so it will depend on how well you present your application. It shouldn't cost much to get advice from a good RMA to make sure you make the best possible application.

http://www.immi.gov.au/Visas/Pages/155-157.aspx See Visa applicants > Who could get this visa for conditions of shorter RRVs

 

If you get an RRV and stay for 2 years, you will then be able to get a 5 year RRV, or, when you've met the citizenship residency requirements (not out of Australia for longer than 1 year in total in the 4 years immediately before applying including not more than 90 days in the last year), apply for citizenship which provides a permanent solution to the problem.

Thanks for the reply!

Yeah I am genuinely staring to worry about my health around this issue. It's like a black cloud hanging over me thinking I could lose it. Would you apply for these shorter RRV visa's from the UK or would you plead your case at the airport?

Another worry I have is my step daughter. Do you wait until she is 16 before applying as a dependent or after she is 16? I've been told as long as she is 16 when the visa is issued then there should be no problem but other people have told me that even though she is 16 we will need some sort of court order that says she can decide who she wants to live with legally. The court order is a bit of a grey area as I was given advice that it was nothing more than a letter from a lawyer to an actual order from a judge? Really confusing.

Is that it over for good?

I have my permanent residency however the right to return expires in feb 2017. I know you can get resident return visa but the main one requires you to have lived in Oz 2 of the last 5 years when you apply as a pr.

I lived in Brissy from 2008 to 2012 when I left but only 5 months as permanent resident before that I was on a temp spouse visa (NZ) citizen.

Back home I have since met a new partner and we have had a wee girl together who is now 16 months. The problem is we have a step daughter who will not be 16 until June next year. I am desperate to go back to Oz but we can't do anything until my step daughter is 16. My partners dad and half sister are Australian citizens living in Brisbane.

I am going to put my partner and the girls on my visa as Spouse 309 (100) visa. However the clock is ticking and I just can't see us having the money to pay for the visa's in time.

If you don't return after the travel date expires is that really the end ? Is there nothing you can do?

Also could you apply onshore? My OH dad would put us up and help financially but it would mean putting everyone on cheaper tourist visas while waiting on the visas being processed.

Anyway hope you are all good first time poster!

Any advice greatly appreciated x