Former PR - what visa do I need to travel for an interview?

[CaptainC]

Hi all, I’m back here again after a loooooong hiatus, I was a moderator on here for a while.  

I applied for and was granted a 189 Skilled Visa in 2015, I activated the visa before returning to the UK.  For various complicated reasons I was unable to return to Australia and instead remained in the UK.

Obviously my 189 has expired now, I’m aware that there’s a chance I could apply for an RRV, but before all that I may need to travel to Australia for an interview in the next couple of weeks.

I have an old drink driving conviction when I was stupid teenager so I’m aware that I can’t apply for an eVisitor, but presume I can travel on a 600 visitor visa, but wonder if this will/can affect further visa applications? Or am I overthinking it? 

[Peach]

Hey welcome back. Has been a long while since I thought about visas, but pretty sure the wording is that "PR visas don't expire, only the part that allows you to travel into Australia does". Hence you can be in Australia as a PR 'forever' without needing a visa or to become a citizen.  However if you want to travel you need a new visa -- this is where the RRV comes in. From past posts, immigration can be quite generous with RRVs i.e. if this your first time of asking for one they will likely grant you one and getting a job offer would be sign of a commitment to Australia (which is one of the criteria).

Not sure how true it is, but was often said that applying for an  evisitor/visitor visa is a terrible idea, as the risk is your overwrite your PR status and are left in a worse state than before you started.

Is prolly worth getting some agent advice, to not stuff it up.

[CaptainC]

9 minutes ago, Peach said:

Hey welcome back. Has been a long while since I thought about visas, but pretty sure the wording is that "PR visas don't expire, only the part that allows you to travel into Australia does". Hence you can be in Australia as a PR 'forever' without needing a visa or to become a citizen.  However if you want to travel you need a new visa -- this is where the RRV comes in. From past posts, immigration can be quite generous with RRVs i.e. if this your first time of asking for one they will likely grant you one and getting a job offer would be sign of a commitment to Australia (which is one of the criteria).

Not sure how true it is, but was often said that applying for an  evisitor/visitor visa is a terrible idea, as the risk is your overwrite your PR status and are left in a worse state than before you started.

Is prolly worth getting some agent advice, to not stuff it up.

Thanks Peach, I guess that ‘overwriting’ is what I was worried about, but at fairly short notice I think it’s my only option for a quick travel visa.   Will have to consult with an agent to get a definitive answer.