SamanthaH

That's great, thanks Paul. Hopefully their Citizenship by Descent will be through in time, but it's reassuring to know that we have another option if we need to go before then. Thanks again for your help.

Hi Marisa and Paul, Thank you both for your replies. The Citizenship by Descent Application processing times may take too long for our plans. With the travel exemption and visa option, what class of visa would they need? Are they making exceptions on visitor visas for immediate family members of Australian citizens? Do you know if children of Australian citizens are fairly easily able to get travel exemptions or it's a difficult process and unlikely to be issued? Thank you again, I really appreciate your help. Best wishes, Samantha

Hi Marisa, Thank you for your reply. I have emailed the email address you provided and they said that they could not assist me as my children had not yet been registered as Australia Citizens. They told me that I can only apply for Australian Passports for them once they have been registered as Australian Citizens by Descent with the Department of Home Affairs. Is that your understanding as well? I looked on the Department of Home Affairs website and it has given a waiting time of 5 months for 75% of applications to be granted registration as an Australian Citizen by Descent, which seems like a long process to go through before you can even start applying for an Australian Passport. Thanks again. Samantha

Hi Paul and Marisa, Thank you both for your advice. Just to check, by validity, do you mean that I will have 12 months to enter Australia once the RRV is granted? In terms of our children, they only have British Passports at this stage. They are entitled to apply for Australian passports as my Husband is Australian, but looking at the AHC website for London, their offices are currently closed due to COVID, so I don't think we are able to get Australian passports for them until we get to Australia. If we only have British passports for them at our time of arrival in Australia, do they need a visa to enter and if so, do you know which one? Thanks again for your help. Samantha

Hi everyone, I’m hoping to get some advice regarding getting a Returning Resident Visa and moving back to Australia whilst COVID is still going on. I want to move back with my family in July/August time. I previously had PR but left Australia six years ago, so it has expired now. My Husband is an Australian Citizen and we have been back to Oz three time for holidays over the six years. Does anyone know whether this would be a fairly straightforward RRV application or whether it will take a long time to process? I’ve seen some posts on here that sound like the processing times vary greatly and I’m not sure when to submit my application. Once the RRV is granted, what is the validity on the visa? Whilst we plan to move in July/August, COVID could delay that and I don’t want it to expire before I’ve had a chance to get over there. Also, we were planning to apply for Australian Passports for our children, (2 and 5 years), before we left the UK but it looks like the London passport office is closed and that will not be possible. Does anyone know which visa we should apply for our children? Thank you in advance, any advice is greatly appreciated!