• stay in Australia permanently
• work and study in Australia
• enrol in Australia’s public health care scheme, Medicare
• sponsor your relatives to come to Australia
• travel to and from Australia for up to 5 years from date of grant as long as the travel facility remains valid
• apply for Australian citizenship, if eligible

This permanent visa allows you to stay in Australia indefinitely.

You become a permanent resident on the day you get the visa.

For citizenship purposes, your permanent residency starts on the day:

• we grant the visa if you are in Australia
• you enter Australia on this visa if you are outside Australia when we granted it

You can include members of the family unit in your application when you apply. You can also add members of the family unit to your application at any time before we decide on your application.

Family members who apply for the visa must meet our health and character requirements.

If you apply for this visa from outside Australia, family members who are not coming to Australia might also have to meet our health and character requirements.

You can be in or outside Australia when you apply for the visa but not in immigration clearance.

If you apply in Australia, we can’t grant you the visa if you are outside Australia when we make our decision.

If you apply outside Australia, we can’t grant you the visa if you are in Australia when we make our decision.

Your application might take longer to process if:

• you do not fill it in correctly
• you do not include all the documents we need, or we need more information from you
• it takes us time to verify your information

We cannot process your application if you do not pay the correct visa application charge. We will notify you if this is the case and if necessary return your application.

You and your family members must obey all Australian laws.

Travel to and from Australia for 5 years

You can travel to and from Australia as many times as you want for 5 years from the date we grant this visa. 

If you want to travel after the initial 5-year travel validity expires:

• you will need to apply for and be granted a Resident Return (RRV) so that you can re-enter Australia as a permanent resident
• you might also want to consider Australian citizenship. If you become an Australian citizen, you don’t require a visa to enter Australia. You will need to apply for an Australian passport and use it to leave and re-enter Australia. See more about eligibility requirements for Australian citizenship.

Note:

• if you leave Australia after your travel validity expires or your travel validity expires when you are outside Australia, you will not be able to return to Australia as a permanent resident. If you then wish to return to Australia as a permanent resident, you must apply for and be granted an RRV before your arrival in Australia. 
• the maximum travel period that can be granted to someone who does not meet the RRV residence requirement is 12 months.  This period is set by law it can’t be extended
• if you are already in Australia as a permanent resident, you do not need to apply for an RRV if you do not wish to travel

For more information on RRV, see: Resident Return visa (RRV). To see when your travel period ends, use VEVO.

We will digitally link your visa to your passport. You will not get a label in your passport.