136 visa issued in 2006

[Darren stone leese]

I’m after a little advise and wondered if any of you had experience of this.. at 26 years old I acquired a 136 skilled visa with my wife and 6 month old son. We sold up, quit my job and cashed in my savings and hopped on a plane to Perth. We were only there for a couple of months when my wife said she missed home and was coming back to the UK with my son. Long story short.. I returned with her, divorced her and raised my son. He is now 18years of age and old enough to move without his mother’s consent.  Is it ridiculous to think a RRV could be issued or even considered for me and my son to return to Perth 18 years on? I’m now 44 and have continued to progress in the industry I gained the visa in initially. 

any advise would be greatly appreciated.

thanks in advance.
 

Darren  

[Toots]

If it has been longer than 10 years since you held a Permanent Residence visa and you enter Australia on a 601 electronic travel authority, you may be able to meet the requirements for 12-month Resident Return visa Subclass 155 (RRV) if you can demonstrate substantial ties which are of benefit to Australia AND there are compelling reasons for your absence from Australia.

Substantial ties

Substantial ties to Australia must be both substantial and beneficial to Australia. There can be different ties to Australia. These include:

• Business – e.g. owns an Australian company
• Cultural – e.g. program listing your artistic or cultural performances
• Employment– e.g. employment contract with an Australian company
• Personal – e.g. have an Australian partner and child

You would have to provide documents to evidence your ties.

A migration agent would give you the best advice.

Good luck!

[Marisawright]

I'd say it's an extremely long shot!    

Your chances of getting a RRV have nothing to do with how well you've done in your career.   As Toots said, they look at your connections to Australia.  Currently you and your son have none at all, so that doesn't look promising. 

It could make a difference if you could get an offer of a job in Australia, but whether that would be enough, only an agent can advise.  I would book a paid consultation with a good agent.   Try Suncoast Migration or Go Matilda. If you don't ask, you'll never know.  

[Steve Elliott]

A colleague of mine just today secured a 155 RRV for a fellow who spent just three years in Australia between 1954-1957 as a child. He originally came to Australia on the ex- serviceman's free passage scheme.

Now that's what I call impressive , especially after a leave of absence of 68 years 

 

[paulhand]

12 hours ago, Darren stone leese said:

Is it ridiculous to think a RRV could be issued or even considered for me and my son to return to Perth 18 years on?

Not ridiculous, but you will need to show that you have substantial ties to Australia which are of benefit to Australia and, if you haven’t been back regularly in the interim, compelling reasons for the long absence. Your son would need his own RRV. 

[rammygirl]

You now have two agents who believe it could be possible. If you want to go I suggest you get in contact with them. I believe it will be worth the fee to secure an RRV.

Be aware though you will only get one year to move and settle so be sure your plans match this.

[Ken]

On 09/01/2025 at 16:50, paulhand said:

Not ridiculous, but you will need to show that you have substantial ties to Australia which are of benefit to Australia and, if you haven’t been back regularly in the interim, compelling reasons for the long absence. Your son would need his own RRV. 

Wouldn't the fact that his ex-wife was keeping his son in the UK be a compelling reason to be in the UK?

[Tulip1]

5 minutes ago, Ken said:

Wouldn't the fact that his ex-wife was keeping his son in the UK be a compelling reason to be in the UK?

It doesn’t say the ex is keeping him in the UK just that at 18 the son doesn’t need his mother’s permission to leave move to another country. 

[paulhand]

39 minutes ago, Ken said:

Wouldn't the fact that his ex-wife was keeping his son in the UK be a compelling reason to be in the UK?

Yes … I think that would definitely be part of the argument. 

[Darren stone leese]

Thank you all so much for your advice. Just to be clear (as I was attempting not to ramble in the initial post), my son was 6 months old when we moved out to Perth. My ex wife would have never allowed me to take him back to Oz but now he is an adult he doesn’t need her approval to move. Its been a bummer to put life on hold but now we can start to think about moving forward again, just would have been nice to do it when I was younger and allow him to grow up in Australia.