Australia PR — Return Visa: the rule, how days are counted, examples

Summary

An Australian permanent resident who wants to travel after the first travel period on the visa has ended needs a Resident Return visa (RRV). You get a 5-year RRV if you were in Australia for 2 years, counted as 730 days, in the 5 years before you apply, as a permanent visa holder or as a citizen. With fewer days you can still get a visa of up to 12 months if you show strong ties to Australia. The Department of Home Affairs decides the application.

Goal: 730 days in Australia
Period: The 5 years immediately before you lodge the application
Which days count: Days in Australia as a permanent visa holder or as an Australian citizen
Arrival and departure: Both days count, and a part day counts as a full day
Law: Migration Regulations 1994, Schedule 2, subclasses 155 and 157
Run by: Department of Home Affairs

Who it applies to

Permanent residents whose first 5-year travel period is close to its end.
Permanent residents who live or work abroad for long periods and want to keep the right to return.
Former permanent residents abroad whose travel period has already ended.
Permanent residents who are not yet citizens and plan a long stay outside Australia.
Families where one partner met the 2 years and the other did not.

The rule

A permanent visa lets you stay in Australia with no end date. The right to travel is different. It is called the travel facility, and on a first permanent visa it usually lasts 5 years from the grant date. After it ends you may stay in Australia as long as you like, but if you leave you need a new visa to come back as a permanent resident. That visa is the Resident Return visa, subclass 155 or 157, set out in Schedule 2 of the Migration Regulations 1994.

The clean route is the residence requirement. You meet it if you were present in Australia for 2 years in the last 5 years as the holder of a permanent visa or as an Australian citizen. Home Affairs counts the 2 years as 730 cumulative days. The 5 years are counted back from the day you lodge the application, not from the day of the decision. If you meet this, you get a travel facility of 5 years.

If you do not have 730 days, you can still apply by showing substantial ties to Australia that are of benefit to Australia. The ties can be business, cultural, employment or personal ties, including family. In this route the travel facility is 12 months at most. If you were away for 5 years or more in a row, you must also show compelling reasons for the absence.

A member of the family unit of a person who holds an RRV, or who has applied and meets the requirements, can also apply, again for up to 12 months. Subclass 157 is a short visa with a travel facility of 3 months at most. Home Affairs can grant it to people who do not meet the requirements for subclass 155 but have compelling and compassionate reasons.

Why it exists

Australia wants permanent residence to mean that a person actually lives in the country. The first visa gives new residents 5 years to settle. After that, the RRV test asks for proof of a real connection: either 2 years of life in Australia, or ties that benefit the country. People who become citizens no longer need the visa at all.

Counting the days

You count the days you were in Australia as a permanent visa holder or citizen, inside the 5 years that end on the day you apply. This rule is a goal: you want to reach 730 days.

Choose the date you plan to apply and count back 5 years. For an application on 1 January 2026, the period is 1 January 2021 to 1 January 2026.
Remove any time before your permanent visa was granted. Days on a student, work or visitor visa do not count.
List each period in Australia. Count the day you arrived and the day you left.
Count one day only when you arrive and leave on the same day.
Add the days. With 730 or more you meet the residence requirement.
If you are not sure of your dates, ask Home Affairs for your travel records.

How Countr counts it. Countr counts every day on which you were in Australia for any part of the day, in the 60 months that end today, and shows your progress towards 730 days. This matches the way Home Affairs treats arrival days, departure days and part days. The app cannot see when your permanent visa was granted. If some of the days it shows are from before the grant, take them out yourself. The app also does not judge the substantial ties route.

Track Australia PR — Return Visa on your phone.

Countr finds your past trips in your photos and keeps counting from there.

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Examples

Two and a half years, then a job abroad

Lucas received his permanent visa and arrived on 1 March 2021. He lived in Brisbane until 30 September 2023 and then moved to Dubai for work. He applies for an RRV on 1 June 2026, so the 5 years run from 1 June 2021. Inside that period he was in Australia from 1 June 2021 to 30 September 2023, which is 852 days. That is more than 730, so he meets the residence requirement and gets a travel facility of 5 years.

The same person, eight months later

Suppose Lucas waits and applies on 1 February 2027. The 5 years now start on 1 February 2022. His days in Australia inside that period run from 1 February 2022 to 30 September 2023, which is 607 days. He no longer has 730 days, because each month of waiting pushed old days out of the period. He must now show substantial ties of benefit to Australia, and he can get 12 months at most.

Days before the permanent visa

Hana studied in Sydney and received her permanent visa on 1 July 2022. She stayed until 31 December 2023, which is 549 days as a permanent resident, then lived in Japan. She returns on 1 January 2027 and applies on 1 June 2027, with 152 more days. Her total is 701 days. The month of June 2022 is inside the 5 years, but she was a student then, so those 30 days do not count. She is 29 days short of the 5-year visa.

Exceptions

You do not need an RRV while you stay inside Australia. Your permanent visa lets you remain with no end date, and only the travel facility ends.
Australian citizens do not need the visa. A permanent resident who becomes a citizen travels on an Australian passport.
People with fewer than 730 days can qualify through substantial ties of benefit to Australia, for a travel facility of up to 12 months.
After an absence of 5 years or more in a row, Home Affairs also asks for compelling reasons for the absence.
Family members of an RRV holder or applicant can qualify without their own 730 days, for up to 12 months.
Only one day is counted when one visa ends and another is granted on the same day.

Common misconceptions

“My permanent residence ends after 5 years.”: Only the right to re-enter ends. If you are in Australia when the travel facility ends, you are still a permanent resident and can stay. You need an RRV only if you want to leave and come back.
“I must live in Australia for 2 years without a break.”: The 2 years are 730 cumulative days. They can come from many separate stays inside the 5 years before you apply.
“All the time I spent in Australia counts.”: Only days as a permanent visa holder or as a citizen count. Days on a student, work or visitor visa before the permanent visa was granted are left out.
“With fewer than 730 days I lose my permanent residence for good.”: There is a second route. If you show substantial ties that benefit Australia, Home Affairs can grant an RRV with a travel facility of up to 12 months.

Questions and answers

Does the day I arrive in Australia count?

Yes. Home Affairs includes both the arrival date and the departure date in the count, and a part day spent in Australia by a permanent visa holder counts as a full day.

From which date are the 5 years counted?

They are counted back from the day you lodge the RRV application. The date of the decision does not matter, and the date your first visa was granted does not matter.

What happens if I have 729 days?

You do not meet the residence requirement, so the 5-year visa is not available. You can wait in Australia until you reach 730 days, or apply through the substantial ties route for up to 12 months.

Can I apply from outside Australia?

Yes. You can be in or outside Australia when you apply, but not in immigration clearance. If your travel facility has ended while you are abroad, you need the RRV before you can return as a permanent resident.

Does this count help with citizenship too?

No, citizenship has its own residence test. It looks at 4 years in Australia and limits time away to 12 months in total, with no more than 90 days in the last year.

How long does the new travel period last?

It lasts 5 years if you meet the 730 days. It lasts up to 12 months in the substantial ties and family routes, and 3 months for subclass 157.

Sources

Other rules for Australia

Australia Citizenship — Time Away in 4 Years 365 days away in any 4 years
Australia Citizenship — Time Away in the Last Year 90 days away in any 12 months
Australia Tax Residence 182 days in each tax year from 1 July
NSW Land Tax Surcharge 200 days in each calendar year

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This page explains the rule and how the days are counted. It is not legal or tax advice. The authority decides each case on its own facts.