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Validating your visa & remaining in Australia

Visa grant and initial entry date 

When a Subclass 189 visa is approved it is approved with the following key details. 

• Visa Grant Date (e.g. 8th July 2015)

• Must Make First Entry to Australia Before (e.g. 6th May 2016)
• Must Not Arrive After (e.g. 8th July 2020)

The Subclass 189 permanent residents (PR) visa is granted for 5 years from the date of approval. It also
has an initial first entry date that must be met. This date is based upon whichever date you undertake
first of either your medicals or police clearances. In the example above the medicals were done by the
family on 6th May 2015 (and police clearances shortly after). On this basis the visa holders have to enter
Australia within 12 months of that date - 6th May 2016. 

Maintaining permanent residency or Citizenship 

As long as the visa is validated the visa holder is able to travel in and out of the country whilst the visa
remains valid. Whilst the visa holder is in Australia they will maintain their residency even if the visa
expires. However if the visa holder wishes to leave and re-enter Australia after the visa expires they will
be required to obtain Australian citizenship - and leave and re-enter on their Australian passport - or they
will need to obtain a resident return visa (RRV) for their valid foreign passport.

• Australian Citizenship 

The main advantage of Australian Citizenship is that unless there are extreme circumstances - criminal
issues, you choose to revoke Australian citizenship for personal reasons or your current country of
citizenship does not allow you to hold dual citizenship N.B. this is not the case for the UK - you hold it for
life. This allows you to leave and return Australia at any time, no matter the period of absence. There is
further information about the benefits of becoming a Australian Citizen below.

Why should you become a citizen

Once you have met the eligibility criteria you can apply for citizenship. The process in general requires
each adult applicant to undertake a multiple choice test on Australian values & history, attend a
Citizenship ceremony and then they can apply for a passport. The costs are currently in the hundreds of
$AUD. In addition to the residency requirement - commencing with having a visa for at least 4 years - the
process from applying and then being granted citizenship is approximately 6 months.

Citizenship criteria and process 

• Resident Return visa (RRV)

If you do not hold citizenship, and you need to leave Australia or you are outside Australia with an
expired residency visa, you will need to apply for a RRV to re-enter Australia. In brief this visa can be
granted if you have spent 2 years in Australia during the 5 year period of your PR visa. It may also be
granted if you have spent one day in Australia in the past 5 years and/or you can evidence that have you
additional ties to Australia. This can be financial, personal (i.e. Australian spouse/children), employment,
business or cultural ties. As with Citizenship, the cost for an RRV is the hundreds of $AUD.  

What is the RRV criteria